This past weekend I had a highly efficient batch prep session where I cranked out a variety of foods to set up my nutrition for the week.  I invested about 90 minutes of time and accomplished prepping the following:

Batch Prep

• Sheet Pan Veggies and Potatoes
• Rice
• Overnight Oats
• Breakfast Casserole
• Chicken Salad 
• Plain poached chicken breast 
• Ground beef taco meat and beans 
• Pesto
• Green smoothies 

Here’s how I did it.  

Pre-Prep

0-5 minutes.  First I take a couple of minutes to do some pre-prep.  To pre-prep, I always take out all of my pots, pans and sheets.  Then, I take out all the spices, oils and seasonings that I will be using.  Finally, I preheat the oven, as applicable.  For this week’s prep, I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees to get it ready for the sheet pan veggies and potatoes and the breakfast casserole.  

Prep Session Starts

Once I complete a couple of minutes of pre-prep, I dive in.  

5-10 minutes.  Head to the stovetop to do the following:

(1) Fill a pot with water and put chicken breasts in, turn heat up to boil for about 20 minutes

(2)  Fill a pot with water, measured out and put rolled oats in, turn up heat to boil then simmer for about 15 minutes

(3)  Fill a pot with water, measured out, and put rice in, turn up heat to boil then simmer for about 15 minutes, or according to package directions. 

10-20 minutes.  I move to baking/roasting.  Next, I will chop up the veggies, this week was broccoli, cauliflower (not pictured) and sweet potatoes.  I season with spices, toss in olive oil and put them on a sheet pan.  The oven has reached temperature so they are ready to throw in for about 20-30 minutes.  

20-45 minutes. I work on preparing the Breakfast Casserole (from Living The High Life In The Kitchen cookbook).   Since this requires many ingredients and following a recipe, I like to get the quick things done first, as described above, that can be cooking while I prep.  Once this is done, I can take the roasted veggies and potatoes out of the oven and put in the breakfast casserole. 

45-55 minutes. Then, I prepare the taco meat by returning to the stovetop.  I put the chopped meat (this week was ground beef, but I often use ground turkey or chicken as well) and a can of drained black beans (you can use any kind) into a pan on medium. heat  Add seasonings and stir for about 10 minutes or so.

55-70 minutes. Next up, I start cleaning, chopping and putting together all of the ingredients for green smoothies.  I put everything in the blender and blend.   

70-75 minutes. Finally, I prepare the pesto by throwing all of the ingredients into the food processor. Turn it on for about 30 seconds and the pesto is complete.

75-90 minutes.  I finish up the prep session by putting all the food away in storage containers (I prefer glass); then wash pots, pans and any other dishes used.  DONE!

I do some version of this on a weekly basis and this type of preparation will yield healthy, balanced meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner for several days that I can assemble with little thinking.  If you’d like some help putting together an efficient batch food prep plan that fits your lifestyle, reach out to me anytime!