Plant-Based Eating Reloaded – Meal Prep Process

This week I decided to switch things up this week based on the comments I received on last week’s post. Instead of focusing solely on smoothie preparation I decided to include my weekly smoothie and meal prep process for the week using this week’s must-have resource: Nutri Ninja® Nutri Bowl™ DUO™ with Auto-iQ Boost.

I am going to go over my entire meal prep process and share some tips to help you guys started on the right track.

Recipe Selection

When I started my health and wellness journey, six years ago, Pinterest was only accepting beta users.  So I would search the internet and print paper copies of the recipes I liked and kept them in a large binder, old school.  When Pinterest launched finding great recipes was much easier.  Each week, usually Thursdays, I select recipes that I’ve already pinned from my “What Vegetarians Eat” board.  I create my shopping list on Fridays, cross check my pantry and I shop for my food on Saturday and Sunday.

Does that seem like a lot of work? Honestly, it can be at times depending on how detailed the recipes are. I don’t always feel like going through this process.  Especially when I have a lot going on.  On those weeks I make a one pot meal for dinner i.e. spaghetti, soup or chili.  When I am lazy I always default to salad in the jar for my lunch.  No recipes needed.

Grocery Shopping

I’ve been meal prepping my food for the past three years.  Initially,  I was going crazy and buying everything from Whole Foods spending over a $100 every week.  Buying organic meats, seafood and vegetables were killing my shopping budget.  I was enjoying cooking my meals weekly but spending all that money was giving me the blues.

To cut back on my spending I did some research and I found a local farmer’s market in my area. Instead of making a beeline for Whole Foods I started getting my produce from my farmers market reducing my grocery bill by a ?.  To further increase my savings I split the rest of my grocery shopping between Publix and lastly WholeFoods.

Meal Prep Tip: Most grocery stores carry organic and non-GMO options.  Don’t feel obligated to shop at designer supermarkets. I shop at Publix, Whole Foods, and Aldi to get the best deals.

Meal Preparation

I usually cook my food on Sunday’s.  I spend the day in my apartment listening to podcasts and cooking. Depending on the complexity of my meals I might start prepping on Saturday so I won’t be consumed all day on Sunday.  I whipped up these weeks meals pretty quickly using my Nutri Ninja® Nutri Bowl™ DUO™ with Auto-iQ Boost.

After everything is cooled to room temperature I place everything in my containers for the week.

Smoothie Prep

Prior to going to bed I prep my smoothie for the next morning.  I load up my Nutri Ninja Duo 24oz blending cup and seal it with the blade assembly. Prepping my smoothie the night before is a lifesaver. After the gym, I blend my smoothie, seal it with a lid, grab a straw and I  am out the door. The Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ technology blended my smoothies perfectly. With my old Ninja blender, I had to occasionally shake up the blending cup.  The Auto-iQ pauses and pulses for a perfectly smooth blend.

Smoothie Prep Tip:  I use these amazing glass bottles when I prepare multiple smoothies. They are great for keeping your preserving your smoothies and fresh juices.

This Week’s Menu:

• Breakfast – Green Smoothie (Banana, Frozen Mango, Baby Spinach, Ground Flax, Spirulina, Aloe Juice, and Coconut water)
• Snack – Almond Joy Energy Balls
• Lunch – Vegan Cauliflower Tacos
• Snack – KIND Caramel Almond Sea Salt Bar
• Dinner – Black Bean Burger Bowl

I used my new Nutri Ninja® Nutri Bowl™ DUO™ with Auto-iQ Boost to make everything except for the granola bars.  Having a dual purpose appliance is space saver and time saver.  I recently purchased a 12-cup food processor and I hate it!  I attempted to make the almond joy energy bites two weeks ago and it was too large and cumbersome.  The 4-cup food processing bowl on the Nutri Ninja is perfect!

Side note: I had no idea I needed to remove the pits from the dates, for the energy balls, before I blended them.  Guess what, Nutri Ninja had no problem blending those rock hard pits.

The Nutri Ninja® Nutri Bowl™ DUO™ with Auto-iQ Boost includes:

• (1) 1200-Watt Motor Base with Auto-iQ Boost™
• 4-cup Nutri Bowl™
• Precision Prep Blade Assembly
• Dough Blade Assembly
• (2) 24 oz. Tritan™ Nutri Ninja® Cups
• (2) Spout Lids
• (1) Pro Extractor Blades® Assembly
• 75-Recipe Book

I love this blender!  It’s an amazing upgrade from my older Ninja professional blender.  Guess what, I am gifting a The Nutri Ninja® Nutri Bowl™ DUO™ with Auto-iQ Boost and a copy of JJ Smith’s 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse to one lucky reader.  Details below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Shark Ninja provided the Nutri Ninja® Nutri Bowl™ DUO™ with Auto-iQ Boost for view purposes all opinions are my own.  Shark Ninja is not affiliated with the giveaway.  Curves and Confidence is sponsoring the giveaway.