*SIGH*
What's the point in trying to be healthy?
It's holiday time!
Might as well give up on meal prep—
...a cranberry??
AHHHHHHH!
When meal prep spirit starts to fade,
remember the taste of the holidays!
Hey munchies!
It’s November, so I know what most of you are NOT thinking about:
MEAL PREP!
So why am I making this video?
To inspire you to NOT just “give up” at the end of the year!
Of course, we are going to have those holiday indulgences, and that’s totally fine,
But, if you’re feeling like that mindset is coming on that,
“well, during the holidays it’s just too hard to stay on track,
so I’m just going to wait until the New Year…”
think again!
Today I am sharing a weekday meal prep that is HOLIDAY THEMED,
so you get all of those fun holiday flavors in healthy recipes for your week.
For breakfast, we’ve got EGGNOG flavored overnight oats!
For prep purposes, I add my dry ingredients to jars:
oats,
chia seeds,
cinnamon,
vanilla powder for extra holiday flair,
along with nutmeg and a pinch of salt!
Close those up and give ‘em a shake,
and you’ve got your dry ingredients all prepped for your weekdays!
The night before, simply add eggnog—
now I know, eggnog is definitely not typically healthy,
but I do have a dairy free and a vegan eggnog recipe that I shared
last year if you want to check out the video,
and they’re also in my ho ho healthy eBook,
OR you could use any lighter eggnog that you prefer.
You could really just use any overnight oats recipe and sub the milk for eggnog.
Shake it up, let it set in the fridge,
and in the morning you’ll have delicious eggnog flavored overnight oats!
Not a mistake!
Such a fun way to switch it up this time of year, because
I know overnight oats can become very redundant.
For lunch, I’m sharing a hearty Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup!
In a saucepan, melt some grass fed butter—
or you could totally use coconut or avocado oil, whichever you prefer,
but this time of year I love veggies sautéed in butter.
It’s like Thanksgiving over and over again!
I add garlic paste and onion and sauté until translucent.
Then I add in celery and carrots and allow those to soften for a minute
before adding in some mixed mushrooms.
Cook for 10 minutes until they’ve reduced in size and are sweating,
stirring here and there as you go.
Then you can add in wild rice, dried thyme and sage,
salt & pep and vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat and turn down to a simmer for about 45 minutes,
until the rice is cooked through.
You’ll get to enjoy all the Thanksgiving smells as it cooks—so good!
This is a meal in itself—hearty carbohydrates with LOADS of veggies,
and feel free to stir in some shredded chicken for added protein.
I topped it off with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
So cozy on a cold day with tons of winter flavors!
I’ve got to have a few snacks prepared, just in case,
so the first thing I make is a winter fruit salad.
All I do is add mango, kiwi, orange slices, pomegranate arils,
mandarin slices, grapes, sliced ginger, a drizzle of honey if desired,
lime zest and juice,
and lemon zest and juice to a bowl, and give it a toss!
I chose some fruits that you can find ripe and delicious this time of year,
but you can use any seasonal fruit you that prefer.
Having this prepped makes it SO much easier to make a healthy choice
when I open the fridge and rummage around for a snack.
For a savory snack, I’m making some herbed citrus olives.
Combine olives—I chose Kalamata and green—
olive oil, orange zest and juice,
lemon zest and juice,
parsley, cilantro, sliced garlic, and crushed red pepper to a bowl,
Toss to combine.
Transfer to a jar or storage container and allow those flavors to infuse!
Give the jar a turn every day or so to keep the flavors infusing and moving,
and you’ve got a tasty, savory snack to pop throughout the week.
I recently have acquired an olive obsession so I LOVE these!!
For dinner, I’ve got a nice plate of BBQ cranberry & pesto meatballs,
maple roasted sweet potatoes, and lemon garlic green beans!
Let’s start with those green beans.
First, I add the trimmed green beans to boiling water
and blanch them for just a few minutes until they’re vibrant!
I prefer to eat this dish as a cold salad, so I am just cooking them quickly
so they maintain their crispness when cold, but, if you prefer warm green beans,
just add the water and beans to a pot, bring it to a boil, and cook until tender,
about 5-6 minutes.
I transfer the blanched beans to an ice bath to stop the cooking process
and then I can make my dressing!
I combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic paste, and salt & pep.
So simple!
Add those green beans and toss to coat.
Feel free to add some slivered almonds if you’d like, too!
Again, this can be warm or cold.
I package mine separately from the rest of the dinner
because I like a cold salad element with the rest of my warm dinner.
Next up: my maple roasted sweet potatoes!
I whisk together maple syrup, coconut oil,
lemon juice, cinnamon and salt & pep.
Then I add my peeled and cubed sweet potato—
not gonna lie, I bought the package of prepped potatoes so I didn’t have to do it myself—
and transfer to glass baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake for about 45 minutes, removing the foil and tossing along the way,
until tender and beginning to brown.
Maple and sweet potato with cinnamon is such a comforting holiday combo!
Why not have it for dinner?
The last piece of my prep are cranberry & pesto turkey meatballs!
In a mixing bowl, I add ground turkey—
I used two different packs of turkey,
one was leaner than the other because that’s what I had,
but you could use whatever you prefer.
Then, I add in quick oats, chopped cranberries,
celery, pesto, parmesan, an egg, and salt & pep.
Mix it together, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!
I use a cookie scoop to make the meat mixture into meat balls,
and then I cook them up on the stove.
I add a bit of coconut oil to my pan, allow that to warm for a few minutes,
and then I add those meatballs and cook them until they’re browned on all sides
and completely cooked through.
I serve these with barbecue sauce—yum!
They are so moist, and that turkey with the cranberries is just a classic holiday combination
that can totally be meal-preppable.
I store the meatballs and sweet potatoes together for easy access throughout the week,
and the green beans on the side so I can keep them cool.
And that is my Holiday themed meal prep!
With a little creativity, we can bring “healthy” and “holiday” together.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like to eat the same thing every day, that’s cool,
I have a video showing how I mix it up every night for dinner!
Check out my meal prep playlist for more ideas.
Overall, this is just here as general healthy inspiration this season,
and I hope you find it helpful!
Let me know your favorite holiday dish in the comments below!
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season,
remember that you don’t have to let your food and health life fall apart around you—
just do your best.
I’ll see you tomorrow on my pizza channel,
I’ll see you right here next week, and remember,
it’s all a matter of Mind Over Munch!