Sunday Prep Series Week Three

Well, this is it, mamas! Jenn is providing us with the last guest post in the series. She’ll show us a lineup of healthy & delicious meals for the week. Remember, we do all the cooking on Sunday (in under 2 hours) and it will provide your family with lunch and dinner through mid-week. For breakfast, try these smoothie packs!

We’d like to extend a great big THANK YOU to Jenn Wolfe for giving us a glimpse into her kitchen the past few Sundays. She’s answered all of our questions and provided inspiration and advice for making wellness a priority for the entire family. 

Of course, we have a few last questions for her. We need every burning question answered! But, don’t worry! If you still have questions for Jenn after the meal prep series is done, her contact info is at the end of this post. 

Now that we’re going to be shopping on our own, can you tell us the best way to navigate the grocery store?

Absolutely! Learning how to work the grocery store to your advantage is key! To get clean, whole foods you will mainly stay around the perimeter of the store. Going up and down aisles leads you to bags and boxes of foods with several ingredients. Many of the ingredients you can’t pronounce or recognize, and guess what? Your body won’t either! 

What’s the best way to turn our favorite recipes into meal plans for the week?

Great question! I think about the foods I love and create meals out of them. For instance, this week’s Pad Thai is a favorite of ours, but with a couple simple switches of ingredients and pasta it can be made much healthier. There are plenty of healthy substitutes. I share these with my clients to allow them to feel they aren’t being deprived while making small daily adjustments to meet their personal wellness goals. Remember to keep it simple, keep variety in your meals week to week, and avoid processed foods. 
 

What tips do you have for getting the family on board with making health a priority?

I’ve always cooked one meal and everyone eats that meal. Thankfully we have no dietary restrictions (other than mine), and my girls and husband eat (and like) everything. If you aren’t as lucky, and you’ve been struggling to find a meal everyone will eat, I think starting out basic is key. Choose a protein everyone likes, choose a vegetable everyone likes, and play around with the starch or complex carb. Then the next week, play around with a different food group while sticking with your safe foods for 2 of the 3 meals. No one will go hungry. Let’s face it, if they are hungry enough- they will eat!
 

Ok, ladies! Let’s get shopping.

Shrimp  Pad Thai


18oz raw shrimp (2 bags if you are feeding 4 people) OR chicken breasts or shrimp isn’t your thing
4oz (56g) flat brown rice noodles
3 tbsp garlic paste
1 red bell pepper
1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
1 cup green onions (chopped)
1.5 cup bean sprouts
Fresh cilantro

Sauce:
1/4 cup rice vinegar (or fish sauce)
1/8 cup coconut aminos (low sodium soy sauce)
1/8 cup red chili pepper sauce
2 tbsp coconut sugar
Juice from 1 lime

  1. Boil brown rice noodles. Drain and set aside. Do not OVERCOOK- they get mushy!
  2. Chop veggies- bell pepper, mushrooms, green onions, limes, cilantro.
  3. Peel and devein shrimp OR slice chicken breast into small pieces.
  4. In a bowl, mix rice vinegar or fish sauce, coconut sugar, red chili pepper sauce, & fresh lime juice.
  5. Spray a nonstick skillet with coconut oil, then add garlic paste.
  6. Toss in Shrimp OR chicken breast pieces and cook.
  7. Finally, add noodles, then fresh veggies and the sauce.

Note: This is Sunday dinner for us because we’re using shrimp. If you’re using chicken, it will last longer in the fridge.

 

Stuffed Chicken with Spinach and Feta


1  tablespoon olive oil, divided
1  medium onion, chopped
10 oz spinach, fresh
1  teaspoon zest of lemon
1⁄4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1  teaspoon table salt, divided
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1  lb boneless skinless chicken breast

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large nonstick skillet heat 1 teaspoon oil and saute onion until golden, about 5 minutes.
  3. Wilt spinach (steam spinach or heat damp spinach over medium heat in nonstick pan); stir in zest, feta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, set aside.
  4. Slice chicken breast in half lengthwise and place even amount of spinach mixture on each breast.
  5. Roll up and secure with toothpicks.
  6. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.
  7. In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat.
  8. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
  9. Remove toothpicks.
  10. Cook 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F.

Cucumber Quinoa Salad


1 English cucumber, diced
2 cups chilled, cooked quinoa (Cook the night before to save time on Sunday)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup julienned or roughly-chopped fresh basil leaves
1 batch Lemony Italian vinaigrette (see below)*

*You can also use Italian dressing or Braggs Vinaigrette instead of making your own 

Lemon Italian Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, homemade or store-bought
pinch of salt and black pepper

Turkey Taco stuffed sweet potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 tsp olive oil

1 ¼ cup canned crushed tomatoes
¼ cup grated pepper Jack cheese
2 tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley

1 Package of Mrs. Dash Taco Seasoning OR these ingredients:
1 ¼ tsp ground cumin, divided
¼ + ⅛ tsp salt
¼ + ⅛ tsp ground pepper
¾ lb. lean ground turkey
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp paprika

  1. Pierce sweet potatoes all over using a fork.
  2. Cook in the microwave on HIGH until tender when pierced with a fork, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
  3. Let potatoes rest until cool enough to handle.
  4. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop the flesh out of the potatoes and place in a medium-sized bowl. Reserve the skins.
  5. With back of a fork, mash potato flesh until most lumps are gone. Stir in olive oil, ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  6. Divide mashed sweet potato evenly between the potato skins. Place on baking sheet.
  7. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat with cooking spray.
  8. Add ground turkey and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through.
  9. Stir in garlic, chili powder, remaining ¾ teaspoon cumin, oregano, paprika, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt and pepper OR 1 package Mrs. Dash Taco Seasoning.
  10. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in crushed tomatoes.
  11. Spoon the turkey mixture into each sweet potato.
  12. Heat Potatoes in oven or Microwave when you are ready to eat.
  13. Top with grated cheese if desired.

Chicken, Beans and Cauliflower

1 lb chicken breast

4 garlic cloves

2 green bell peppers

3 tbsp green onions

1 Large Onion

2 tbsp Mina Harissa OR red chili pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar & salt

1 15oz can Tomato Sauce

Salt and Pepper

EVOO

2lbs or cauliflower OR buy already RICED in the frozen sections of grocery store

2 14oz cans of low sodium black beans

  1. If you’re making your own RICED cauliflower you will need a food processor. Add cauliflower florets in batches and process until “rice” forms. If you process too much it will turn to mush. Transfer to a bowl.
  2. Preheat a large and deep non-stick skillet on medium heat and add EVOO. Add cauliflower rice and cook for 3-4 mins. (If you bought frozen, skip step 1 and cook now.) It should be golden brown. Season with salt and pepper and add to bowl.
  3. Add more EVOO to skillet and add onion, garlic and green bell peppers. Cook for 7 minutes.
  4. Add Chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.
  5. Add tomato sauce, black beans, and Mina Harissa. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 10 mins.
  6. Remove from Heat. Add rice and sprinkle green onions on top.
  7. Serve on its own or with extra brown rice for those hungry people In your family!

* Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Hard Boiled Eggs

  1. Put as many eggs as you can eat in 4 days in a pot. They have to be covered in water.
  2. Bring to a boil.
  3. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
  4. Pour cold water over and when you can handle peel and store in zip lock baggies. This makes it easy to grab and go! 

More photos of the finished product!

Here’s how to contact Jenn for guidance on health and wellness, information on AdvoCare and the 24 Day Challenge:

Website: www.wellnesswithwolfe.com

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Jenn Wolfe /jennifer.wolfe.77715

Instagram: @wolfe.jenn

Do you know of a mom with something to share in a guest post or series of guest posts? Contact us!

Sunday Prep Series Week 2

Written by Glens Falls Mom, featuring Jenn Wolfe

Welcome back to our Sunday Prep Series! If you’re just tuning in for the first time, take a look back at last week’s post for some introductions and the tips & tricks to help get started with Sunday meal prep. We’re prepping breakfast, lunches, and dinners in under 2 hours. Yes. Seriously. 2 hours. (I tried it myself, and every last dish was clean by the 2 hour mark. I even had to stop halfway through to feed my 5 month old!)

Thanks to the fabulous Jenn Wolfe for letting us have a peek into her kitchen again this Sunday! Jenn is a local mom, teacher, and business owner who makes health and wellness a priority in her house every day. She loves to post ideas for meal prep, so we asked her to share, and she agreed! 

We’re starting off this week’s posts with a few more questions for Jenn. 

Thank you for joining us for the second post in our Sunday Prep Series! Let’s get into some of the details of prep day. Can you tell us about the kitchen equipment we might want to keep on hand for Sunday Prep?

This Sunday’s food prep will include the use of a crock pot, baking sheets, muffin tins, large mixing bowls, cutting boards and knives. Most of these items are staples in anyone’s kitchen. If you don’t have a crock pot, I seriously encourage you to get one! 

Tell us about freezing on Wednesdays. Why Wednesday? What’s the process like?

Assessing your leftover foods is important to do on Wednesdays because you shouldn’t let cooked food last more than 3-4 days. Luckily in my house between my kids and my husband we rarely have to freeze food, but when we do I use freezer safe containers that stack easily.

How do you recommend we organize our Sunday Prep recipe ideas? Tell us more about how you pick your recipes and how you mix it up from time to time.

I wish I could say I was super organized! The truth is I often shop first, and then figure out what I am going to do either while I’m walking around looking at ingredients and what looks good (I avoid shopping when I’m hungry), or when I get home. I try to avoid boredom with food. Last week was full of chicken recipes, and although they were different, I knew I wanted more variety this week. I made the meatloaf cups a few weeks ago, and my husband and kids LOVED them, so I knew that would be a good fit. The crock pot recipe is always a crowd pleaser. To better answer your question, I mix and match protein (chicken, ground turkey, pot roast, steak), spices, and pair them with a different grain or starch each week.

One last question…we’ll make it a fun one! What’s your favorite local activity to do when you’re done with meal prep on Sunday?

I’m a HUGE fan of being outside. If I’m not coaching my girls sports teams, I love to drag them up mountains. We call it “Girls Day”. One of our favorites is Sleeping Beauty. We hike to the top and then I reward them for hiking by taking them down to Shelving Rock waterfall. We spend the afternoon splashing away and enjoy a picnic lunch. We’ve made some great memories out in nature!

We know what you’re really here for…the recipes! Here’s what you’ll need from the market this week:

 

Remember our tip…try to shop on a day other than Sunday to avoid burnout. You don’t want to spend the entire day shopping and cooking, unless you like that sort of thing! 

Groceries

Other general cooking tips to keep in mind:

Focus on the meal you struggle with most. If you rush to get breakfast in, make some easy eggs cups, make ahead breakfast sandwiches, etc. If you struggle with lunch/dinner, prep those items you need most.

Make a plan, stick to your grocery list. This is time and money saving! I’ve found Hannaford To Go to be extremely helpful. Don’t try to shop and prep in one day, that can be overwhelming.

Keep it simple! Don’t attempt several new recipes. It will monopolize your time and you will never want to do it again. Think/shop/cook in food groups and then mix and match.

Mix things up. You don’t want to be bored. Food should be fun!

Have plenty of storage containers and zip lock baggies handy.

Here’s how Jenn says a typical Sunday should go:

A typical Sunday prep takes me about 2 hours start to finish, including clean up. I make and focus on lunches and dinners.

I also make hard boiled eggs and I bag nuts for when we are on the go or as salad toppers.

I plan for 3-4 days. If I get to Wednesday and I find I have a lot of leftovers, I will freeze and use later.

Food prep shouldn’t be overwhelming, start small, and keep it simple.

Maximize your time in the kitchen by:

Chopping veggies while protein is cooking. You can also chop them the night before and store in a zip lock bag.
 
Lay out all ingredients on your kitchen table or counter so you save less trips to the pantry or fridge.

Clean as you go. I always make sure my dishwasher is empty and ready to be loaded. It’s much less overwhelming when you finish and don’t have a sink full of dishes!
 

Dinner Prep

Make a few dinners ahead on Sunday, and you’ll have a quick, ready-to-go dinner for the weeknights!

Turkey Meatloaf Cups

Mix ground turkey (1-2 packages) in a large bowl with…
1 egg
¾ cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Chopped onions
Chopped peppers (Use the tops of the pepper you’re slicing for the cups- less waste)
 
Slice peppers into thick rings
Lay on baking sheet (Use parchment paper for easier clean up!)
Fill cups with meat loaf mixture
If you have left over meat loaf mixture- freeze or put into a muffin tin and bake
Add ketchup and sriracha to the tops of each cup (If you like it spicier…add sriracha to mixture too)
Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins or until ground turkey is done
Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of the cups
 
Turkey Meatloaf Cups
 

Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls

Combine chicken thighs, 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, ½ cup chicken stock, chili powder and cumin
Make sure Chicken is covered
Add more stock if needed
Cover with lid; cook on high for 3-4 hours
Add 1 cup of rice, black beans, chopped onions and remaining chicken broth
Replace lid and continue cooking on low for another 3-4 hours
Check rice in the last hour of cooking, stirring occasionally 
(6-8 hours total cooking time)
 
Notes:
If it’s too dry, add more chicken broth
If rice is cooked but there’s too much liquid, take lid off and let cook on high to evaporate liquid
You can also cook rice separately and add the black beans/onions in the last 30 minutes of cooking time
Top with salsa or other desired toppings!
 
 

Sausage, Peppers, Onions Over Rice

Cook turkey sausage in a large saute pan
While turkey cooks, slice peppers and onions
Remove sausage when cooked 
Add peppers and onions to the pan, using remnants of sausage for extra flavor
When peppers are cooked, chop and store with peppers and onions
(Total cook time 25 minutes)
 
Notes:
We will eat over brown rice during the week
Batch cook the rice so it is already cooked for use in other recipes
 
 
 

Lunch Prep

Chicken & Salad

Chicken this week will be cooked three ways to serve over salads. Use mushrooms and cucumbers in salad along with any other salad toppings you like! To prepare the 3 types of chicken, use aluminum foil in the pan to separate. On baking sheet, lay down parchment paper and roll aluminum foil to create “walls” between each flavor of chicken.

  1. Sriracha/Lime Chicken
  2. Lemon/Garlic Chicken
  3. Buffalo Chicken

Evenly coat in sauce and place lemon or lime slices on chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Place on salads when cooled.

Breakfast

Egg White Muffins

Grease muffin tin with olive oil or coconut oil
Pour in egg whites
Bake at 350 for 20 mins or until fully cooked
*Add turkey sausage, spinach, tomatoes, or whatever you like to jazz these up!
 
 

Here’s how to contact Jenn for guidance on health and wellness, information on AdvoCare and the 24 Day Challenge:

Website: www.wellnesswithwolfe.com

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Jenn Wolfe /jennifer.wolfe.77715

Instagram: @wolfe.jenn

A special thank you to Jenn for helping us with this series! Keep following along for the next post in our Sunday Prep Series.

The Macro-Friendly Mac & Cheese That Broke the Internet

 

Ok, so it didn’t exactly break the Internet. But my macro-friendly mac & cheese recipe from my old blog has been pinned over 1,000 times on Pinterest. That makes me Pinterest famous, right? I’m a one-hit Pinterest wonder.

To be honest, there isn’t anything crazy special about this mac & cheese. And you might be wondering what macro-friendly even means! Well, I’d need a longer post to explain counting macros. In a nutshell, if you actually measure the fat, protein, and carbs you take in every day, you can make big changes in your health and lifestyle based on these numbers. 

At one time in my life (pre-baby) I measured and counted these macros to study my eating habits. I made adjustments and learned a ton about what I was putting into my body. (I will write a more detailed post about this in the future if you’re interested in how to do this yourself.)

While on this food journey, I wanted some mac & cheese. Because, well, who doesn’t crave a bowl full of cheesy carbs now and again?

The great part about tracking your macros is that you can eat whatever you want. It’s the anti-diet. But, you want to be sure you’re keeping your fat, protein, and carbs at a certain number for the day. So, I set out to make a single-serving mac & cheese that would fit within my daily numbers.

This can easily be made into a family-sized recipe, and it includes a serving of broccoli, which means the kids will be getting their veggies in. You could also throw together a single serving for your own lunch…if you have that kind of time!

Macro-Friendly Mac & Cheese
Serves 1
Ingredients
  1. 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1 tbsp coconut flour
  3. 1/3 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
  4. 1/2 cup skim milk or 2 tbsp light cream and 1/2 cup starchy water
  5. 1/3 cup elbow mac
  6. 1 cup frozen broccoli
  7. Dash of salt and pepper
  8. Dash of nutmeg
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Boil mac and cook broccoli according to directions, reserving starchy water from pasta.
  2. Heat EVOO in a small sauce pan. Add coconut flour and combine.
  3. Add milk or cream/starchy water mix, then stir in cheese to finish sauce. Set aside.
  4. Drain pasta. Combine with broccoli and cheese sauce, adding starchy water as needed to thin out the sauce to desired consistency.
  5. Add salt and pepper, sprinkle with nutmeg.
Calories
319 cal
Fat
15 g
Protein
20 g
Carbs
31 g
Print
Glens Falls Mom https://glensfallsmom.com/

Setting up for Success with Sunday Prep

 

Written by Glens Falls Mom, featuring Jenn Wolfe

We all know preparing weekly lunches and snacks ahead of time sets us up for success for the week. If our lunches are yummy enough, it’s much easier to pass up that treat someone baked and left in the office break room. We might be less likely to bust open a bag of chips after work if there are snacks in the fridge already cut up and ready to eat.

But who has time to give up an entire day off of work to cook?

Here’s how Sunday prep usually goes for me:

  1. Check Pinterest for meal prep ideas.
  2. Pick out the most complicated (but delicious-looking!) prep plan ever.
  3. Print out pages and pages of shopping lists. 
  4. Spend half the day at the grocery store.
  5. Spend the other half making a disaster out of the kitchen.
  6. Finally fill the fridge with meals for the week and realize I have nothing for dinner tonight.
  7. Ignore all the dishes in the sink and order pizza.
  8. Decide not to do Sunday prep ever again.

(And that was BEFORE I had a baby!)
So each Sunday when I see my friend Jenn Wolfe posting her Sunday meal prep pictures on Facebook, I wonder how she has it all together. She is a busy mom to twin girls, a teacher, and she runs a business on the side! Where is she finding time to make health a priority for her family? I had to find out.

Of course, Jenn being the generous person she is, she offered to meet with me to share her tips and tricks! Here’s the really exciting part. She’s going to share with you too!

We’re thrilled to present the first article in our Sunday prep series, where Jenn will share her meal prep plans in hopes of inspiring you to get in (and out of) the kitchen on Sundays. It’s all about your health and the health of your family.

When we started discussing how we would lay out the series, I asked Jenn if she wanted to do recipes and shopping lists (like the Pinterest-style Sunday preps I mentioned above). Her answer was no! She wanted to keep things simple. (I knew I liked this girl!)

Our Sunday prep series will give you ideas for an easy weekly meal plan, but any ingredient can be easily substituted for something your family likes. Everything is designed to be done and ready to go without taking up your entire Sunday. 

Let’s get to know Jenn and why she’s so passionate about health and wellness, then we’ll get straight to the cookin’!

In the Kitchen with Jenn

We love your posts about Sunday food prep and inspirational quotes! What are some ways you spread awareness about health and wellness? How does it tie in with your business?

I love to hear my posts are helpful! I’m passionate about empowering women to take charge of their health and wellness. Women are often the gate keepers of nutrition in their home. They may do the grocery shopping and most of the cooking. Teaching women how to take charge of these aspects of their life impacts the rest of their family.

I have been a Independent Distributor with AdvoCare for 3.5 years. I offer free coaching to all clients. I teach people how to eat clean, grocery shop, supplement properly to fill nutritional gaps, incorporate exercise and of course, food prep.

I offer consults to discuss goals, supplementation, workouts and strategies for success. I also have get-togethers at my house a couple times a month. Women come for a multitude of reasons- support, accountability, interest and ideas. I offer conference calls as well, so I can reach women that are not local. My philosophy is where there is a will there is a way. I’ll support you in any way I can. Your goal becomes my goal.

What inspired you to begin your journey with health? What are some of your goals going forward?

I was inspired by some of my close friends that were having success with AdvoCare. I had never used supplementation before, but was feeling very stuck and insecure in my own skin 3.5 years ago. After having my girls, I felt like everything changed. Having been an athlete growing up and being active I was able to maintain a healthy weight, and eat what I wanted. That all changed.

I was around 200 lbs and I would yo-yo diet by restricting calories and strapping myself to a cardio machine. I’d lose the weight, only to gain it right back when what I was doing wasn’t sustainable anymore. I was frustrated, and simply not being the mom or wife I wanted to be.

I said yes to AdvoCare and began the 24 Day Challenge. It is a very structured, fool-proof program offering a daily meal guide, cook book, and grocery shopping list. I realized then that I had no idea how to eat, cook healthy, or supplement properly. Those 24 days were the catalyst to everything that has happened since. I knew if I could do this, anyone could!

I have lost over 50 lbs, went from a size 14/16 to a size 8/10. From that point on I have shared with others, and expanded on what I can offer my clients. My goals moving forward are to continue helping others realize this is something even the busiest person can do.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. I’m busy too- I teach kindergarten full time, raise two little girls, coach their sports year round, and also run a business. I find value in what I offer and what I provide to my family. We aren’t running through a drive thru on our busy nights because we have a healthy meal waiting for us. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.

Tell us about a failure, challenge, or a time you had to overcome a fear during your journey.

Full disclosure and vulnerability… (Being more vulnerable is my New Year’s Resolution) I am currently experiencing my biggest challenge ever in my journey, and possibly in my life. I have been living with Rheumatoid Arthritis for years, but am dealing with a side affect from the medication I was on. It’s directly affecting my lungs. I am having difficulty breathing, am often short of breath, and experience extreme fatigue. I have also recently been diagnosed with Chronic Lyme.

Why is this so difficult? I love working out, typically 5-6 times a week, and I haven’t been able to since November. I am often so tired I hardly want to get out of bed, let alone work, cook, clean, etc. While these obstacles are difficult to be dealing with, I know that there is a lot still in my control.

I know I feel better when I eat better. That motivates me to continue food prep and move my body even if it’s just walking or stretching. I’ve been able to maintain my weight even though I haven’t been able to workout. This is directly related to food prep and my mindset. After all, nutrition is 80% of a healthy lifestyle.

What is the secret to making time for health as a busy mom?

You have to prioritize. Sometimes you have to look at your house and say, “Maybe the house isn’t perfect today, but I’m going to get my workout in.” Many times I wake up early before the day gets away from me and work out, or even food prep. That way I don’t feel “mom guilt” or like I’m missing out on too much. Some women I coach struggle because they are always at their kid’s practices or events, so I recommend that they walk during the practice or design workouts that they can do while they wait. Health is the greatest wealth of all.

Let’s talk Sunday prep. Why do you find it so important to your weekly routine?

It’s crucial to my weekly routine. I teach full time, so I am out of the house each day until 4 or 5:30 on the days I work out or have meetings. If we have sports, we typically aren’t home until 7-8pm. Having food prepped and ready to go saves us from binge eating, ordering out, or hitting up a drive-thru. 

It saves a lot of time by simply mixing and matching food that is already cooked and simply heating it up. Dinner is on the table in less than 10 minutes. It also saves money. Eating out is expensive!

What are your tips for making shopping for Sunday prep quick and easy?

Focus on the meal you struggle with most. If you rush to get breakfast in, make some easy eggs cups, make ahead breakfast sandwiches, etc. If you struggle with lunch/dinner, prep those items you need most.

Make a plan, stick to your grocery list. This is time and money saving! I’ve found Hannaford To Go to be extremely helpful. Don’t try to shop and prep in one day, that can be overwhelming.

Keep it simple! Don’t attempt several new recipes. It will monopolize your time and you will never want to do it again. Think/shop/cook in food groups and then mix and match.

Mix things up. You don’t want to be bored. Food should be fun!

Have plenty of storage containers and zip lock baggies handy.

What does a typical Sunday prep look like for you?

A typical Sunday prep takes me about 2 hours start to finish, including clean up. I make and focus on lunches and dinners.

When I cook, I start with the items with the longest cooking time, typically my protein- a roast chicken, turkey meatloaf, cauliflower rice stir fry, stuffed peppers, etc.

While my oven is being used, I’m chopping veggies to be roasted.

After that I’m prepping my salads for the week and my dinner for that night. (I learned this the hard way. I would finish all my food prep for the week, and forget completely about dinner that night!) Now, I put dinner in the crock pot.

Some dinners I make in the crock pot are roast chicken, ground turkey and quinoa burrito bowls, pot roast, homemade soups and chili.

I also make hard boiled eggs or egg white muffins for snacks, and I bag nuts for when we are on the go or as salad toppers.

I plan for 3-4 days. If I get to Wednesday and I find I have a lot of leftovers, I will freeze and use later.

Food prep shouldn’t be overwhelming, start small, and keep it simple.

Ok, let’s get into the nitty gritty. What’s cookin’ this week, Jenn?

To start, you’ll want to get your dinner for tonight going in the crock pot. You can set it up now and forget about it for the day!

Crock Pot Chicken

Place on 4 foil balls to keep out of liquid
Place onion in cavity
Drizzle olive oil, lemon juice and fresh ginger
Top with fresh basil and pepper
Cook on high 6-8 hours depending on size of chicken
 
We’re starting with the recipes that need to cook the longest, so next will be our protein for the week. Each week you can switch up your proteins or cook different types of protein, but I’m sticking to chicken this week to keep things simple.
 

 

Pesto Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

Cut boneless breast in 1/2 length wise
Spread pesto on each breast
Add sundried tomatoes
Drizzle with Olive Oil
Bake at 375 for 30 mins
 

Pesto Artichoke Chicken

Cut boneless breast in 1/2 length wise
Spread pesto on each breast
Add Artichokes
Drizzle with Olive Oil
Bake at 375 for 30 mins
 

 

Chicken, Peppers and Onions

Dice Chicken
Slice peppers, and onions
Place in skillet 
Drizzle with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and pepper. 
Saute on the stove top for 15-20 mins

While all of this is cooking, you can start chopping veggies and preparing snacks and salad toppers. 

Roasted Veggie Tray

Chop Brussels. I chop off ends first, peel outside layer, and then cut in 1/2
Chop Sweet Potatoes in small wedges. You want them relatively thin, as these take the longest to cook.
Chop Red Onion in large rings. Save this for LAST or your eyes will be burning! 🙂
Place on baking sheet and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil on each veggie. 
Bake 375 for 40 mins or until sweet potatoes are done.
 

 

Sweet Potato Mash

Cut 2 Sweet potatoes into smaller chunks (This will decrease cooking time)
Boil until soft (approximately 10-15 mins)
Drain water and put in bowl
Add chicken broth, garlic and salt and pepper
Smash until you get them the consistency you like
 
 

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cover eggs with water
Bring to a boil
Turn off heat and cover
Let sit for 10 minutes
Drain and cool with cold water before peeling
I place 2 in a zip lock bag for storage and easy snacking!
 
 

Salad Prep

Place lettuce in containers
Add veggies you want (this week was mushrooms, cucumbers and left over artichokes from my chicken dish)
Add chicken when it’s finished and cooled down
 

 

Nuts, Trail Mix, Celery

I added these in baggies so they are easy to grab in the morning. We eat as a snack, or as salad toppers. 
 

Remember…

  • On Wednesday, freeze any leftovers for lunches/dinners next week!
  • Add in egg white muffins or another breakfast item if desired.
  • Start simple! We purposefully only used chicken this week and used the same ingredient in more than one dish to keep the grocery list short and the kitchen time for a minimum. You want to get IN the kitchen and OUT of the kitchen! You can add more variety as you get your techniques down.
  • All this prep was done before the kids and husband were out of bed. The goal is not to spend the entire day in the kitchen. Remember to shop ahead of time!

And here’s the finished product!

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If you’re a shopping list person, here it is!

 

What advice would you give other moms interested in making health a priority for their family?

Support and accountability are extremely important. I’m here to help and support you in your transition. Start with one thing and slowly build. If you try to do food prep, diet, exercise, supplementation, convincing your whole family to join you, it can be very overwhelming. Truly, I started with myself, and from there, over time, it spread to my entire family both immediate and extended.

Here’s how to contact Jenn for guidance on health and wellness, information on AdvoCare, your financial goals, or to become part of her team of leaders:

Website: www.wellnesswithwolfe.com

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Jenn Wolfe /jennifer.wolfe.77715

Instagram: @wolfe.jenn

A special thank you to Jenn for helping us with this series! Keep following along for the next post in our Sunday Prep Series.

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts {And How to Break up with Bitter Brussels Forever}

When you’re making your Sunday grocery list, I bet brussels sprouts aren’t the first on the list. In fact, they may conjure up memories of bitter chunks of ickyness slathered in butter. If this is your only memory of brussels, I’m begging you to give them another chance! You might even be able to convince the little people in your house to eat their veggies when you attach the words “maple” and “bacon” to the title.

Making a few small changes to the way you prepare this vegetable makes all the difference. Follow a few simple rules to break up with bitter brussels forever.

Does this look bitter and icky to you? {If you answered yes, fine. Just scroll on by this recipe. But seriously. They’re good. And they’re covered in bacon & syrup…just sayin’.}

 

First rule of Breaking up with Bitter Brussels: DON’T buy them in the freezer section. Brussels sprouts are best when purchased fresh. You may even be able to find them at our local Farmer’s Market! Buy more than you think you’ll need- they cook down quite a bit, and they’ll go fast. They are even better as leftovers because the syrup has a chance to really sink in.

Rule number two: Slice ’em super thin. This takes a while, but you want to slice them as thin as possible and rinse them off well. The thinner they are, the less bitter they are.

Third. Cook them for a really long time on the stove top using low heat. To really soften the brussels, we need them to cook on low for at least 20 minutes, being careful not to let them burn.

Fourth rule of Breaking up with Bitter Brussels: READ through all the directions below. The technique is important here. This time you are not allowed to skim through my writing. Please and thank you.

Ok. So now that you want to try these delicious little sprouts, here’s the nitty gritty. (Full recipe at the bottom)

You’ll Need:

4-6 slices turkey bacon (you could certainly use the real deal bacon)

1 tbsp olive oil

A big bag of fresh brussels sprouts

1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup (or full sugar if you’re up for it!)

Salt & Pepper

Water

1. Fry up some turkey bacon in a pan. Remove, let cool, then chop into smaller chunks.

2. Leave any bacon fat in the pan- there’s not much in turkey bacon- we’ll keep it! Add 1 tsp olive oil and let it get nice & hot.

3. Slice the brussels thin & rinse. Be patient, this takes a little time, but the thin slices are worth it.

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

 

4. Sauté the brussels in the pan for a few minutes. When everything is warming up, add 1/4 cup water. Any time the brussels start to brown, add a splash of water to keep them from burning.

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

5. Turn the heat down to low and cook on low about 20 minutes, watching to be sure they aren’t burning and adding water as needed. You can add the bacon about halfway through cooking time.

6. When they’re all nice and brown, add some salt & pepper.

7. Top with syrup while still warm.

8. Thank me for helping you rediscover this vegetable. 😉

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Prep Time
15 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
15 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 4-6 slices turkey bacon
  2. 1 tbsp olive oil
  3. A big bag of fresh brussels sprouts
  4. 1/4 cup maple syrup
  5. Salt & pepper
  6. 1/4 cup water (and additional needed)
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Fry up some turkey bacon in a pan. Remove, let cool, then chop into smaller chunks.
  2. Leave any bacon fat in the pan.
  3. Add 1 tsp olive oil and let it get nice & hot.
  4. Slice the brussels thin and rinse well.
  5. Sauté the brussels in the pan for a few minutes. When everything is warming up, add 1/4 cup water. Any time the brussels start to brown, add a splash of water to keep them from burning.
  6. Turn the heat down to low and cook on low about 20 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent burning. Add water as needed to loosen up and prevent burning.
  7. Add the bacon about halfway through cooking time.
  8. Add salt and pepper and top with syrup while still warm.
  9. Serve hot!
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Adapted from Thanks to a fellow Mama for sharing this one with me years ago!
Adapted from Thanks to a fellow Mama for sharing this one with me years ago!
Glens Falls Mom https://glensfallsmom.com/

DIY Freezer Smoothie Packs

Each morning I find myself wondering what to do with that extra 20 minutes of quiet time before the baby wakes up. 

Oh wait. I don’t have extra time in the morning. I’m usually running out the door with my school bag, a diaper bag, my lunch (if I remember), my pump bag with all the parts and a cooler, a baby, and a rag to clean up the spit up all over my shirt. On a good day I’ll remember to grab a stale granola bar for breakfast.

So last week while looking longingly at the ice cream in the freezer aisle, those smoothie freezer packs caught my eye. They seemed so convenient- pop in the blender with some milk, and I’m out the door with a nutritional {yummy} breakfast in hand. The problem? They’re kind of expensive considering I could grab some frozen berries and yogurt for much less. Couldn’t I make this a DIY? I’d put together my freezer packs on Sunday and be set for the week.

 

Now I’m all for Sunday meal prep, but no one wants to spend all of Sunday in the kitchen. This took about 10 minutes in the morning to get the ice cube trays packed with yogurt and coffee, and about 10 minutes in the afternoon to chop and throw everything in baggies. Total prep time: 20 minutes. That’s my kind of food prep!

Tips for prepping

  • Freeze the yogurt in an ice cube tray! This is one less ingredient to measure out in the morning, and the little cubes of yogurt actually held together when putting in the freezer bag. No mom needs another mess to clean up in the kitchen, so put the yogurt in a bag and cut off the end to help squeeze the yogurt into the tray neatly.

  • Brew a pot of coffee and freeze that into cubes. If you pop some coffee cubes in your smoothie, you’ll have that extra flavor and won’t have to worry about carrying a coffee in one hand and a smoothie in the other.

  • I didn’t add peanut butter to my freezer packs, but if you want to save some time, I’m sure this would work out just fine.

The basic formula

You don’t need to use these exact recipes. Basically you’ll need 1 1/2 cups of fruit, 1 cup of greens (optional), 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, and 1 cup of milk or almond milk. Add protein powder, chia seed, flaxseed, coffee, peanut butter- whatever you like. 

To save time, freeze yogurt into cubes ahead of time.

Throw all the greens and fruit together in the bags and freeze. Frozen fruit works, it’ll help make your smoothie nice and cold! I’d throw the peanut butter in there too.

Measure your dry ingredients into baggies for the pantry- usually 1 tbsp of chia and flaxseed and 1 scoop of protein powder.

 

In the morning, dump the fruit into the blender with the dry ingredients and milk. Almond milk is our favorite, but you could use any milk or skip the yogurt and add juice.

I LOVE my single serve blender (only $15) because I can take the cup with me to work. To be honest, one day I totally forgot to make the smoothie and only had 2 minutes to spare. I brought the enitre blender with milk in it and the smoothie packs with me to work- problem solved!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

2 yogurt cubes, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 banana, 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, 1 cup milk

Banana Mocha Smoothie

2 coffee cubes, 2 yogurt cubes, 1 banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 scoop protein (chocolate or mocha flavor is best!), 1 cup milk

Green Super Smoothie

1/2 cup spinach (snap stems off), 1 banana, 2 yogurt cubes, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 cup milk

What’s your favorite smoothie recipe?

Oatmeal M&M Cookie Mix Jar Gift {Perfect for nursing moms!}

Before you read any further…I know the title on the recipe card says lactation cookies, but I swear they’re not only good for new moms! They are a perfect treat for anyone, and I promise no one will even know how beneficial oatmeal and flaxseed are for milk production. Read on. 🙂

This works as a last-minute baby shower gift, a care package for a mom just arriving home from the hospital, or even as an after-school snack! (Leaving out the Brewer’s Yeast, of course.) It’s all set and ready to make, and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. The Brewer’s Yeast is a nice bonus, but with the oatmeal and flaxseed meal, you’ll be giving this Mom a boost to her supply and a yummy dessert she can feel good about eating, so feel free to skip that if you don’t have time for a trip to the store.

The great part about this is the recipient of the gift only has to add a stick of butter, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 1 egg. Mix it up, bake it 10 minutes, and she’s on her way to enjoying warm, sweet, chewy goodness! This is a must for new moms who won’t have much time to put baby down and channel her inner Martha Stewart, but it is going to make her feel all sorts of warm fuzzies to be able to accomplish baking cookies with a new little one in the house.

Anyway. Onto the baking. Remember, I’m the world’s laziest baker, so I made sure to share a recipe with very few steps. If you’re making the jar gift, you can print out a pretty tag by downloading this picture file to print or this one with 4 copies of the card already sized for you. Cardstock would work best, or I printed mine on plain paper and used a mini clothespin to attach it to twine around a mason jar.

Layer the dry ingredients in order, using a spoon to pack and spread each layer. If you’re not making the jar gift, just toss all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Yup. It’s that easy!)

Now if you’re actually making these, mix the wet ingredients separately and combine with the dry. If you’re making the gift, you’re done once you’ve layered the dry ingredients into the jar!

Place 2 tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

I skipped the Brewer’s Yeast in this batch, brought them to a party, and everyone loved them. They were gone by the end of the night…unfortunately for me. I would’ve totally finished these off.

If you’re giving this to a new mom, a perfect add on would be Mother’s Milk Tea. You could even put together a whole themed basket for breastfeeding moms. You know what else has Brewer’s Yeast? Beer! You could include a growler of local beer with your jar of cookie mix. What’s your favorite trick for increasing your supply as a new mom?

Oatmeal M&M Cookies
Yields 24
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
20 min
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
20 min
Dry Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup brown sugar
  2. 1/2 cup white sugar
  3. 1 cup flour
  4. 1/2 tsp salt
  5. 1/2 tsp baking soda
  6. 1/2 tsp baking powder
  7. 1 cup m&ms
  8. 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  9. 2 tbs flaxseed meal
  10. 2 tbs brewer's yeast
Wet Ingredients
  1. 1 egg
  2. 1 tsp vanilla extract
  3. 1/2 cup butter melted, cooled
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl
  3. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl
  4. Combine dry & wet ingredients
  5. Drop 2 tbsp dough onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes
  6. Let cool and enjoy!
Print
Glens Falls Mom https://glensfallsmom.com/

Make and Take: Easy Protein Packed Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

 

So. Since my blog is fairly new, it might not be clear yet how incredibly lazy I am when it comes to baking. Measuring things carefully and dirtying way too many mixing bowls, whisks, and spatulas is my worst nightmare. (I do love to cook though! A little of this, a little of that…cooking is much more my style.)

With that said, I can make some promises about these muffins. They’re QUICK. They’re EASY. They’re GOOD FOR YOU. And they’re YUMMY.

I may be slightly addicted to these because they’re so simple, and it’s easy to substitute with pretty much anything in your cupboard. They could be made as pumpkin or peanut butter muffins instead of chocolate chip banana. Or if your husband eats all the chocolate chips you were planning to use, {ahem.} you could use blueberries.

To be perfectly honest, I usually make these late Sunday night out of desperation because I know without them I’ll skip breakfast. Bakers, try not to cringe when I say this, but I usually eyeball the ingredients in an attempt to cut down on prep time. They aren’t bad the lazy way, but of course, they turned out a lot better this time when I measured carefully. Maybe in the future I’ll follow my own directions!

One more advertisement for the wonderfulness of these muffins: Pop 2 in a ziplock bag and take them along easily for a healthy snack or quick breakfast! Here’s a picture of my daily breakfast to-go style. Thanks to my BFF for this laughable lunch box from Thirty One!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a big bowl, measure or dump in the dry ingredients. This time I only had chocolate protein powder on hand, which I wasn’t sure about, but it tasted the same as when I use vanilla. You could skip the flax seed and chia seed or add in whatever other superfood you have lying around.

Get out a 2nd bowl. I promise this will be the last bowl you’ll dirty for this recipe. Measure out the wet ingredients.

At this point, you can dump the wet into the dry and stir it up. It doesn’t get much easier than that! This would be the perfect recipe for your little helpers to measure and stir. I can also attest to the fact that it can be done during a nap, even if you have a 2 month old who only naps for 45 minutes!

I’ve tried making these with baking cups and with cooking spray only. The cooking spray method seems to work better. If you have a pro-baking tip about how to use baking cups without ending up with pieces of wrapper in your muffin when you peel it off, please let me know! Leave these in the oven for 15-20 minutes. 18 minutes seems to be the perfect time.

And here’s the final product. Moist, delicious, chocolatey goodness.

Chocolate Chip Banana Protein Muffins
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
30 min
Dry Ingredients
  1. 3 scoops protein powder
  2. 3 cups rolled oats
  3. 2 tsp flaxseed meal or chia seed
  4. 1 tsp baking powder
  5. 1/2 tsp salt
  6. 1 tsp cinnamon
  7. 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup greek yogurt
  2. 1 mashed banana
  3. 1 cup milk or almond milk
  4. 1/2 cup applesauce
  5. 2 eggs
  6. 2 tbsp coconut oil
  7. 1 tsp vanilla
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl
  3. Mix wet ingredients in small bowl
  4. Combine dry & wet ingredients
  5. Pour into greased muffin tin or muffin tin with baking cups
  6. Bake 15-20 minutes
  7. Let cool & refridgerate to maintain moisture
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Glens Falls Mom https://glensfallsmom.com/