If you'd like to meal prep more regularly
but struggle with knowing what to prep ahead,
then this video is for you.
Today, I'll be showing you how to do some ingredient prep
over the weekend and actually store your food correctly
so that it stays fresh all week long,
right up until the moment you go to make your meals.
Hey, guys, welcome back to my channel.
It's Taylor from the Girl on Bloor.
I'm all about sharing easy meal prep strategies
so that you can save time, money, and stress.
Food storage is a huge concern
I hear from so many people
when they first start meal prepping.
As you probably know from watching my other videos,
I'm really big into ingredient prep
as opposed to spending a full day
cooking several meals from scratch in the kitchen.
My meal prep method helps you get organized
over the weekend, but cuts down on the time
you spend cooking during the week,
because you're doing half the work ahead of time.
It's like mini-meal prep,
all the benefits without the crazy time investment.
You probably don't like the idea
of eating leftovers all week long
and want to be able to cook fresh meals each night
without spending an hour in the kitchen after a long day,
so this meal prep method is much more sustainable
in the long run,
and is something that you can easily stick to.
But a question I get all the time
is how the ingredients stay fresh
before I go to use them all,
so, today, I'll be showing you
my exact food storage tips and tricks,
including the best way to store produce,
and to do this, I'm going to show you
my weekend ingredient meal prep routine.
I'll show you the containers I used to store it all
and then walk you through four easy, healthy recipes
that you can whip up within 15 or 20 minutes
each night during the week.
I've got an easy prep ahead checklist
along with the recipes for the week, so be sure
to head to the link in my description to get that
if you want to follow along
and make the meals from this weekly meal plan yourself.
Now, here's what we'll be prepping for.
We'll be making peanut chicken bowls, scallop tacos,
hibachi chicken, and a copycat of Wendy's taco salad.
We're going to start by prepping as many of the ingredients
as we can for the recipes in advance,
and I'll show you how to store them properly along the way.
So the first thing that I do is take a look at each recipe
and then make a prep ahead checklist.
I sort it into grains, proteins, sauces, and veggies.
First up, you're going to make the rice
for the fried rice component of the hibachi chicken.
I always start with grains,
since they take the longest to cook and cool
before you can refrigerate.
Just add one cup of rice, 1 1/2 cups of water,
one pinch of salt, and one teaspoon of butter
to a rice cooker or a pot on the stove
and cook until the liquid has absorbed.
Let it cool for about an hour,
then put the rice cooker container right into the fridge.
Once your rice is going in the rice cooker,
you can start on the sauces.
Mix together 1/2 a cup of light mayo,
one tablespoon of soy sauce, one tablespoon of rice vinegar,
and one tablespoon of Dijon mustard in a mason jar.
Store that in the fridge for the hibachi chicken.
Then you'll whisk together 1/3 of a cup of peanut butter,
one tablespoon of soy sauce,
one tablespoon of lime juice, one tablespoon of honey,
one teaspoon of dried ginger, and 1/4 of a cup of water
in another mason jar for the peanut chicken sauce.
I like using mason jars for sauces
because most sauces can be kept in the fridge
for a few weeks if they use shelf stable ingredients.
Plus, if you have leftovers,
you want containers that take up less space
and won't be used as often for meal prep.
Now you can start on prepping your veggies.
Peel and slice one carrot,
then slice one cup of mushrooms, chop one yellow onion,
and chop one zucchini for the hibachi chicken,
storing all these veggies in a large container together.
You'll just add them to a skillet
the night you go to make the recipe.
Then you can mince eight cloves of garlic
for the hibachi chicken.
Store half in a small container for the fried rice
and the other half, you can leave out on the cutting board
to go in the chicken marinade for the same recipe,
and we'll be making that later.
Finally, slice four green onions
and store those in a small container
for the fried rice component of the hibachi chicken.
Now you'll slice up two cups of red cabbage.
Half will be stored in a large container
for the peanut chicken,
and the other half will be stored for the scallop tacos.
Then you'll chop up one red pepper
and one cup of romaine lettuce for the peanut chicken.
Store the red pepper for the peanut chicken
in the same container with the red cabbage,
then store your lettuce in a reusable bag,
squeezing out all the air.
Finally, slice up one jalapeno pepper
and store it in the same medium sized container
as the red cabbage for the scallop tacos.
Now you'll make the mango salsa for the scallop tacos.
Dice one cup of pineapple,
1/2 a cup of red pepper, and one small red onion.
Mix it all together in a medium sized bowl,
one tablespoon of lime juice,
two tablespoons of chopped cilantro,
and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt,
and you've got your pineapple salsa.
You'll also want to make the guacamole
for the scallop tacos
if you don't want to buy store bought guacamole.
Mash one avocado in a small to medium sized container,
then mix with one clove of minced garlic,
two teaspoons of lime juice, and a pinch of salt.
And the last bit of veggie prep
is to dice two small yellow onions,
dice three stalks of celery, and mince two cloves of garlic,
stirring it all together in the same container
for the Wendy's taco salad.
Okay, last, we'll prep the proteins.
I like to do the chicken last,
so you don't have to worry
about contaminating the veggies with raw meat.
Cut one pound of chicken breast into one-inch pieces
and add them to a medium sized container.
Add one tablespoon of sesame oil,
two tablespoons of soy sauce,
two tablespoons of hoisin sauce,
the remaining minced garlic you prepped earlier,
and one teaspoon and minced ginger.
Stir it all together,
then store in the fridge for the hibachi chicken.
And the very last step is to cut one pound of chicken breast
into one-inch pieces and add them
to a medium sized container for the peanut chicken.
All you have to do is dump in a skillet
and cook the night of.
Okay, you saw me using mostly glass containers
with lids for all thee recipes,
and that's what I recommend, because glass is dishwasher,
microwave, and usually oven safe,
and it does keep food fresher than plastic.
I like how you can stack them in your pantry,
so that they're easily organizable
and you can see through them easily
when your ingredients are in the fridge.
I have the variety pack of Anchor Hocking bowls,
which come in one cup, two cup, four cup, and six cup sizes.
I use all of them for ingredient prep,
so I would say get one or two variety packs,
and you'll be set for life in terms of food storage.
I also like having mason jars kicking around,
because they're good for sauces and dressings
and they are super affordable.
Then, of course, I've invested in some Stasher bags,
because they're a great way to save space in the fridge
and will totally replace your Ziploc bags.
I keep them for ingredients where a large container
may not make the most sense.
They're great for freezer dump meals, too.
I'll have to do another video on that soon.
Okay, once your meals are all prepped for it,
let me show you how easy it is to make each recipe
once you've got all the ingredients prepped.
This is the real game changer.
We'll start by making the peanut chicken.
I have you making this first
because chopped up lettuce will only last in the fridge
for a day or two.
Part of food storage is knowing what will go bad and when,
and this takes a little bit of practice.
If you take a look at my food storage blog post,
which is linked to in the description,
I'll give you even more tips
to keeping your food fresh for longer,
such as storing chopped up lettuce in resealable bags,
storing fresh herbs in water,
adding a wet paper towel over top of spinach
and other greens, and storing cut up potatoes in water
so they don't dry out.
Of course, the meal plan and prep ahead checklist
is in the same blog post for easy access.
Okay, so for the peanut chicken bowls,
you're going to take a medium sized skillet,
then heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.
Add your chicken and saute for seven to eight minutes
until brown and cooked through.
Add one tablespoon of soy sauce and one teaspoon of sriracha
and cook another couple of minutes
before removing from heat.
In the meantime, take your prepped peanut sauce
and your prepped veggies out of the fridge.
When the chicken is done cooking, add it to a bowl,
along with your lettuce, red cabbage, red pepper,
some carrot match sticks,
and then drizzle your peanut sauce over top.
Top your bowls with chopped peanuts
and sesame seeds if you'd like, and then dig in.
See how easy that was?
You can see now why I love ingredient prep so much.
Dinner comes together in a flash.
Next, we're going to make the scallop tacos.
If scallops are a bit too pricey for you
or you failed to get them on sale, like I did,
you can always use shrimp.
Because you made your guac
and pineapple salsa ahead of time,
all you have to do is cook the scallops.
Defrost them and dry them using a clean paper towel,
then season them with salt and pepper.
Next, heat one tablespoon of olive oil
in a medium sized skillet over high heat.
Add your scallops to the pan once the oil starts smoking,
searing for one minute on each side.
Make sure to set a timer for this, trust me.
While the scallops are cooking,
you can get out your corn tortillas, guacamole,
pineapple salsa, red cabbage, and jalapenos.
Microwave the corn tortillas for a few seconds to warm them,
then spread each one with guacamole,
topping with red cabbage, four or five scallops each,
your pineapple salsa, and your jalapenos.
Easy peasy.
This meal is so hands off
once you've done the ingredient prep.
Moving on to recipe number three,
which is our hibachi chicken.
This restaurant quality dish
will come together faster than you can order take out
with the prep you did over the weekend.
First up, take your chicken
and cooked rice out of the fridge.
Heat a medium sized skillet over medium high heat,
then cook your chicken for 10 minutes or so
until cooked through.
Remove it from the heat and wipe the pan clean.
And at the same time,
you'll melt another two tablespoons of butter
in a large skillet, then saute the garlic
you've prepped over the weekend
for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add in your cooked fried rice,
and then three tablespoons of soy sauce,
cooking for five minutes until the rice is heated through.
Then you'll make a hole in the center of the rice
and crack in an egg, scrambling until it's just set.
Toss your rice and stir the green onions
you prepped on Sunday,
then remove from the heat and set aside.
The final step is to saute the veggies.
In the same skilled you used for the chicken,
add one tablespoon of olive oil,
then add the carrots, mushrooms, onion, and zucchini
that you prepped on Sunday.
Season with salt and pepper and one tablespoon of soy sauce,
cooking for five minutes or so
until the veggies are tender crisp.
Remove those from the heat,
and now it's time to serve it all.
Add your chicken, rice, and veggies to a plate
with some mustard sauce in a small bowl on the side,
then you're ready to dig in.
You're gonna love this dish.
Now, onto our final recipe,
which is my favorite, Wendy's taco salad.
First things first, you're going to make the chili,
which you can technically also prep on Sunday
if you'd like.
Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot
over medium high heat.
Add the onion, celery, and garlic you prepped on Sunday,
sauteing for two to three minutes until the veggies soften.
From there, you'll add one pound of ground beef
and brown for another two to three minutes
before adding one tablespoon of chili powder,
one teaspoon of cumin, one teaspoon of coriander,
one teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper.
Finally, add one can of drained kidney beans,
one can of drained Pinto beans,
one can of diced tomatoes, and one cup of beef broth.
Cook that for 20 minutes,
and you can assemble the rest of your salad.
You'll cut up your remaining head of romaine lettuce,
dice up one tomato, grate some cheddar cheese,
and then get out some tortilla chips.
When your chili is ready,
add it over top of your lettuce, add on some tomatoes,
sprinkle on some cheese, and add your chips.
Boom, another restaurant favorite, made healthier at home.
How easy were all of these recipes
once you had your ingredients prepped?
This is, hands down, my favorite way to meal prep,
and I hope I showed you just how simple
food storage can really be.
There's no secret to it,
just solid glass containers stored in the fridge
for up to five or six days.
Avocado, tomatoes, and lettuce are really the only produce
that don't last that well for that timeframe,
so go ahead and start prepping
and storing your produce ahead.
You'll be surprised by how fresh everything stays
once you try my method.
Okay, guys, that's all from me for today.
I hope you enjoyed watching my ingredient prep
and food storage tutorial,
and don't forget, if you want to try the recipes,
make sure to head to the link in my description
to get the full meal plan, recipes,
and prep ahead checklist.
And if you enjoyed this video and want to learn more
about meal prep, make sure to give this video a thumbs up
and send it to a friend who wants to learn how it's done.
Thanks for watching,
and I will see you in my next video.