Meal Prep Work and Weekly Meals

Swimming, soccer, & parties – that seems to be our life these days. Well, and then there is work and school of course. Not that I am complaining, but life is busy, like for many.

Oh, and we met Batman, but as you can see, the kid wasn’t all that impressed…

To remain calm (most of the time), I am still planning our weekly meals and do as much prep work as possible on the weekend.

Here is what I usually prep on Sundays:

• Boil eggs: Hubby and I only eat the egg whites of the eggs I boil. Hubby takes two eggs to work almost every day and eats the whites in addition to his sandwich. He says the egg whites really keep him full until dinner time. I often make an egg white open-faced sandwich when I am home for lunch. I like spreading a Laughing Cow cheese wedge on a slice of European bread from TJ’s and top it with two sliced egg whites. Then, I drizzle a little Sciracha sauce on top. These days I usually eat a couple freshly picked tomatoes with the open-faced sandwich.
• Wash and cut veggies and fruits: Yesterday, I cut up a watermelon and a cantaloupe. I also washed grapes, pears, apples, mini tomatoes, regular tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. I cut up a few carrots and a small cucumbers for today’s dinner. I also washed (and dried very well) some lettuce.
• Cook meat for the week: We don’t eat a lot of meat, but I usually cook one meat dish per week. Yesterday, I marinated some thinly sliced beef in my bulgogi marinade. 
• Cook rice: I usually cook some rice/mixed grains on the weekend. If we don't have the grains for dinner during the week, I often have some for lunch. I also like to top some rice with an over-easy egg once in a while for breakfast.
• Cook pasta: It doesn't take long to boil pasta, but on busy nights, it really pays off if everything is ready to go. I have found that it's best if there are absolutely no excuses to get take-out...

Here is this week’s menu:

Meal 1: Bulgogi, mixed grains, & a salad.
Meal 2: Lots of veggies, a few Asian noodles, & a little bulgogi meat.
Meal 3: Mushroom, onion, egg sandwiches. I’ll toast some bread. In the meantime, I’ll sauté lots of mushrooms & onions. Once the onions and mushrooms are sautéed, I’ll set them aside. I’ll mix a few eggs with a little milk and salt and pepper and make an “egg pancake.” I’ll cut the egg pancake into pieces and assemble the egg pancake, sautéed mushrooms & onions, lettuce, and tomato slices on the toasted bread, on which I spread just a bit of hummus.
Meal 4: Salad topped with spicy tuna salad. I’ll mix some canned tuna with plenty of lemon juice, spicy mustard, and just a little wasabi mayo. I’ll assemble the tuna salad on mixed greens, lightly dressed with olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, & pepper.
Meal 5: Leftovers/refrigerator finds.

Questions: What’s on your menu this week? Do you do meal prep work on the weekend? Any tips & tricks you’d like to share?

Be well,
Andrea