Meal Prep 10/26/15

Hey Guys!

Per usual I shared portions of my meal prep this week on instagram and twitter, but the details are all here. All of the prep this week is still pescatarian, but you could surely use any protein of your choice in place of the fish or seafood. Spoiler alert:: whole fish (including the head/eyes) are pictured below.

Banana & Jamaican Sweet Potato

Breakfast--Baked Salmon Burger with Brown Stew Gravy, Wilted Spinach, and Boiled Banana & Jamaican Sweet Potato

I've included these salmon burgers often enough on these meal prep posts so I didn't even bother taking a picture of them, but they are from Costco. Since boiled banana is even more delicious with some kind of gravy, I poured some of the brown stew gravy from the dinner dish over everything...muy delicioso.

Lunch--Spinach Fettuccine with Sauteed Shrimp, Chopped Spinach, and Arugula Pesto 

Did I ever mention how much I HATE cleaning shrimp? Especially when they claim they've already been deveined...blasphemy.

I still had a taste for pasta, but I used all of the whole grain and brown rice pasta I had on hand. While in TJMAXX one day recently I saw this Spinach Fettuccine, two things I love so I decided to give it a try. If you don't know, TJMAXX, Marshalls, Ross, and Burlington are great places to find uncommon and gourmet food items at a lower price. This pasta is handmade and only takes 3-4 minutes to cook, which is great.

Once the pasta once cooked, I drained it and set it aside. Then in a hot sauce pan I added chopped garlic, peppers, and onions. Once that cooked a bit I added some frozen chopped spinach, followed by the shrimp.

I also ran out of that delicious pesto from Trader Joe's, but luckily I found this Tuscan Arugula Pesto at TJMAXX for the low low. Once I added the pasta back to the pan, I added some pesto, then tossed everything so it would be distributed evenly.

I finished it with some diced tomato, chopped cilantro, and some smoked sea salt...it came out really good!

Dinner--Brown Stew Porgy Fish with Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli & Roasted White Sea Bass, & Roasted Grouper

To my knowledge I've never had Porgy fish, but it was on sale at my grocery, so I decided to give it a go. I also had the butcher chop it up into "steaks" which I normally don't do but this was a week for different. I also wanted to try a different way of preparing it (which ended up being perfect for the steak cut) by doing a "brown stew fish." So I cleaned and seasoned it then added to a hot pan with a little olive oil to seal off, then drained on some paper towels. 

In that same pan I sauteed some peppers and onions to build a base for the 'brown stew' sauce. Once that was done I added the fish back into the pan to fish cooking and soak up all that brown stewey goodness. And yes, it was everything.

 I also got some White Sea Bass (because, cheap). I had tried Chilean Sea Bass this summer and it was soooo good, figured this should be good too. I had  the butcher just filet them keeping the head on. We wrapped these in foil and roasted them on the grill. I am going to do some research on this particular fish, but in short I'll say the natural texture of it is very buttery (almost like Chilean Sea Bass but not quite), it sort of melts in your mouth.

What did you meal prep this week? Comment down below. Tag us in  your pics using the hashtag #sundayprepdayfff (doesn't matter which day you prep)!

Mean Prep 10/4/15

Hey Folks!!

Late but better late than never right? But if you follow me on instagram (which you should) you've already seen what I prepped for the week.

I've been working to transition back in to a mostly pescatarian lifestyle over the past couple months, not only because I just LOVE seafood, but because it seems to be what my body operates best with. Don't get me wrong, I still love red meat. And I don't feel bad (physically) when I eat it, I just have had the best success with where I have been trying to push my body. Again, I have nothing against red meat. Or chicken (it just gets boring). Nor am I saying you can't achieve physical success with your body eating any of these things. I'm just repeating what I found success with.

That said, here's what I made for the week:

Breakfast: 

Snapper. I LOVE red snapper. It's my favorite fish ever. I went to my local international grocery where they sell and butcher all kinds of fresh and mostly wild caught (more on this in another post) meats, and purchased two fish butterflied open with the head on. I know a lot of people (typically Americans) get freaked out by the having the head on, it doesn't bother me and I usually don't eat the head unless I am eating a whole fish in one sitting. So why did I keep it? Simply, I don't like wasting food. Someone in my house will eat it or it can be used for soup. Who doesn't love homemade soup?

                                    

                                    

Cooked Snapper.

After cleaning and descaling (more), I took some fresh baby spinach and added a little olive oil, jerk seasoning, fish seasoning, and other spices, mixed it all up and stuff it inside the fish. On the outside I sprinkled a little smoked sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. That's it. Really simple and easy. Cover with some foil and throw it in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour and it's done.

One of my favorite vegetables to eat is Bok Choy. Fortunately for me it was on sale for 0.69 cents per pound at Safeway--yay! The unfortunate part was I had to go to 3 different stores to get what I wanted. As a side note, bok choy is to die for with salmon. Not sure why but just take my word for it.

Finished Bok Choy

I sauteed some garlic, red onion, and peppers in some olive oil then added the chopped (and cleaned) bok choy to the pot. Bok choy cooks really quickly so you have to be careful not to overcook it.

Breakfast.

Lastly I boiled some banana and Jamaican sweet potatoes and that completes breakfast for the week. Stuffed snapper, sauteed bok choy, and boiled sweet potato and banana.

   Lunch:                                   

For lunch I made some shrimp & spinach pesto pasta using brown rice pasta. Can I just mention how much I despise cleaning shrimp? Particularly when they claim they've cleaned and deveined them but really haven't. Bruh.

About half way through cooking the shrimp I added a couple handfuls of baby spinach. This is a great way to get more greens into your diet without really noticing it.I think I got this pasta from Trader Joe's. I rarely eat regular white pasta anymore for a lot of reasons but I won't get into that in this post. Just know that it is clean eating friendly aka guilt-free. 

The pesto I used is also from Trader Joe's and it is so delicious. I just added about two tablespoons to the pasta and tossed it in. At the very end I added some chopped cilantro, because I think it makes everything taste better. This is a great quick meal to make, it takes about 12 minutes to make (not included the time to clean the shrimp).Dinner:

I don't have individual pictures of the dinner items however they are pictured above in the bottom right. I baked some Whiting fish (wild caught of course) and steamed some broccoli. Really simple and easy meal.



What did you guys prep for the week? Use the hashtag #sundayprepdayfff in your meal prep posts (regardless of the day) and we will share your pictures!!

Couponing pt 1- The Real Deal

So lately I have gotten back into the habit of couponing and trying to find the best deals on things that I use normally.  I want to share with you guys what I have learned about couponing.  I am in no where near as good as the Extreme Couponers on TV for many reasons.  The main reason is because I'm a brand snob.  I like what I like and I don't tend to deviate from the brands that I know are good for and to me.  When I say I'm a brand snob I mean for example, I will ONLY use Prego spaghetti sauce if I am going to use jar sauce.  Now will you ever get Prego for $.10 probably not but pairing a good sale and a decent coupon I can get it at a cheaper price than if I just went in the store and bought it on a whim.  So I refuse to bend on certain things.  However, I will buy brands that I normally wouldn't buy if they are free or less than $.50 as a closet filler.  Which is probably the first step to being a hoarder, but I like having extras when people come to my house.  If you ever forget any toiletries, I like to have those on deck for people even if it's not the brand I use or even them for that matter it's still better than having nothing.  Additionally, a brand that I might find as not great for me someone else might love so it works out both ways.

Here are some examples of the things that I have bought in the last few weeks:

For this transaction (receipt on the left), I actually forgot to use a $5 coupon that I had with me so the cashier ended up giving me $5 cash which i applied to my next order (receipt on the right).

 This one may not be that easy to read.  This is from harris teeter during their memorial day sale.  I saved $66 and only spent $21.

I often make better use of my coupons by pairing them with buy one get one free or buy one get one 50% off sales.

 Grocery stores like Harris Teeter, frequently have times where they have super double coupons.  This is when they will double a coupon up to $2 where normally they only double up to $1.

This series will be documented with the steps that I use as an outline:
1.Get the coupons
2. Finding the Best Deals
3. Organize your coupons
4. Plan out your trip
5. Know when to hold'em and when you use'em

In this blog series I will also divulge my resources that I used to coupon and how you can use them as well.

Meal Prep | Week of 6/15/15

Hey Guys!!

Back with another meal prep...a day late...yes I know, but I have a good reason, lol. I didn't go to work yesterday soooooo yeah. Since I had some things to take care of Sunday and Monday I didn't have a ton of time. In such cases, who do you call upon?? Trader Joe's!! Yaaaay.





Breakfast:

I didn't feel like making the egg white muffins so instead I broiled the spicy mango chicken sausage in the oven for about 20 minutes. Then I chopped it up into small pieces and added it to a hot pan with some olive oil and diced garlic. After a few minutes I added some of the fire roasted peppers and onions from Trader Joe's (such incredible flavor) and some tomato.

Next I added my greens. I used about 3/4 of a bag of spinach (from Trader Joe's, surprisingly it was only about .30-.40 more than the kind from your local grocer). I also used about half of a bag of kale (not from Trader Joe's, because it was already open). 

And then I added a little red onion--just because I likes it--and let it simmer together until the greens were lightly wilted. You don't want to cook it too much because you'll lose all the nutrients. I chose to let the flavor of the sausage, peppers, onions, and garlic be the seasoning...for the sake of being clean and all. 

Lunch:

For lunch I went with two bags of the shrimp stir fry from Trader Joe's.

I basically followed the cooking instructions and added a few things here and there. I sauteed garlic first, added the shrimp.

Then I added the vegetable from both bags.

I also added one bag of frozen broccoli florets (because broccoli stems are not of God) to stretch it further.

I also added half a bag of frozen artichoke hearts (from Trader Joe's). Not sure why...they just spoke to me when I was in the store lol.

Then I added some chopped red onion, that Asian ginger seasoning I can't get enough of, some gourmet marinade (that's legit what it is called, don't judge me), and a little smoked sea salt. Basically, throw whatever you want all in the pan and let them play together over heat until its cooked. Boom. Quickest meal ever.

After it was all done I decided to add half of a baked chicken breast because I wasn't sure if there was enough shrimp/protein for me.

Dinner:

I baked to packs of my trusty ole' Nature's Promise Chicken legs in the oven (Low key had planned to put them on the grill but we had a down pour of rain) and sauteed some broccoli (florets) with a ginger teriyaki sauce. Somehow I neglected to take pictures of either of these dishes individually but I supposed neither would be all that exciting to look at.

Snacks:

I made my staples, chickenless chicken strips and cilantro chicken wontons, both from Trader Joe's.

What did you meal prep this week? Comment down below. Tag us in  your pics using the hashtag #sundayprepdayfff (doesn't matter which day you prep)!

Meal Prep:: Week of 6/8/15

Hey Yall!!

I've been terrible with these meal prep posts (despite taking the pictures every week), but I am trying to do better, lol. I am going to be less detailed with them going forward, because seriously I basically eat the same damn thing every week. However if you have any questions about something I made or how I made it just leave me a comment down below and I will (likely) make another post to address it if needed.

This week I decided to go back to my trusty ole' chicken and fish...and my ole' faithful (pretty much the only vegetable I like), broccoli.



Like usual, I used chicken from Nature's Promise, two packs of drumsticks, because drugs are scary. This brand will trend more expensive than your average strung out chicken, but I find that it goes on sale frequently.

 After cleaning and seasoning, I put them in the fridge for a few hours until I was ready to cook them.

I baked everything in the oven this week, which is admittedly much less interesting than grilling flavor wise but I digress.

For dinner for the week I made salmon...surprise surprise. I only buy fish that is wild caught. No farmed raised over here bih. Seriously. However this salmon also came from China which my mother wasn't to happy about but you cant win em all. I also let the salmon marinate for a few hours before putting in the oven.

I need to do a "Trader Joe's Favorites" because I have discovered some "I must never run out of this ever" type of products from there in the last month. These fire roasted bell peppers and onions are one of them. You may be thinking "oh that's no big deal" but um....yes they are. The flavor difference (between just cutting your onion fresh peppers and onions) is super noticeable and i laaaahhhhve it. I used the last of my bag (must...buy...more) to make my broccoli. I used maybe a pound or a pound and a half of fresh broccoli and one bag of frozen steamables broccoli in a sautee pan with some coconut oil and garlic. This is a great dish to make if you're pressed for time. This is my side for the week for both lunch and dinner.

Finished Broccoli

I just realized these meals are all out of order. Charge it to my head. For breakfast I made my usual egg white muffins, with the newly discovered spicy mango chicken sausage (which just might be GOAT). I started adding some fresh chopped kale in these which I love, not because it makes them taste any better, but because its just another quick way to sneak some green leafy veggies in your diet (esp if you aren't big on eating them). I usually char the sausage on the grill before chopping and adding to my egg whites, but since I didn't use the grill this week I just threw the sausage in the oven for about 20 first. An FYI if you are going to try making these, the more ingredients you use, the more egg whites you'll need. Before I started adding meat and leafy veggies I used to use 8 whites which yielded about 6 muffins. Now I use at least 10 for the same ~6 muffins. I also tend to under pour them a bit to allow room for them to grow when there are more ingredients. The fats from meat (i suspect) will also cause them to stick to the pan a bit more so make sure you use a non stick spray prior to pouring and let them cool before removing.

I also made the chickenless chicken tenders (that I make every week) from Trader Joe's as well as the cilantro chicken wontons (also from Trader Joe's) as morning and afternoon snacks, I just forgot to take pics of them. But they really aren't that interesting lol. You can see them in the group pic though.



What did you meal prep this week? Comment down below. Tag us in  your pics using the hashtag #sundayprepdayfff (doesn't matter which day you prep)!