Trade one hour in the kitchen this weekend for money and time saved all week, by prepping these five simple ingredients for three healthy and satisfying weekday meals.
5 MEAL PREP INGREDIENTS
- Sweet Potatoes, 3 large potatoes (5 if small)
- 2-3 chicken breasts, boneless skinless cut into ½ inch pieces (about 1lb)
- Quinoa, 2-3 servings
- Avocado, 2-3 ripe and ready for the week
- Kale: Curly or Tuscan, 1-2 bunches
Additional pantry items for meals:
- Black Beans, 1 can
- Tortillas (small, your choice of corn, whole wheat, white flour)
- Shredded Cheese
- Salsa
DIRECTIONS
Total time: about 1 hour, active time: 30 minutes
Wash and dry sweet potatoes and kale. Select the biggest sweet potato for baking; set the other two sweet potatoes aside along with the kale.
Step 1: Perfectly Baked Sweet Potato
- Note: This recipe allows the sweet potato to preheat, bake and cool down with the oven for a perfectly baked sweet potato.
- Piece your sweet potato several times with a fork, then rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Open non-preheated oven and place the sweet potato directly on the top rack, place an aluminum sheet or baking sheet in the rack beneath them to catch drippings.
- Close the over and set to preheat at 425º F.
Step 2: Prep Cubed Sweet Potato
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
- Optional: peel two remaining sweet potatoes.
- Slice potatoes in half, then in half again, and finally chop into cubes
- Toss in a bowl with olive oil and sea salt.
- Place in HALF of the baking sheet, saving room in the other half of the sheet for the chicken.
STEP 3: Prep Chicken & Roast Together with Sweet Potatoes
- Toss chicken in olive oil, sea salt and pepper
- Arrange on second half of baking sheet
- When oven has preheated, place baking sheet with chicken and roasted potatoes on top rack
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165º F
- Remove sheet, place chicken in heat-safe bowl and return sheet to oven for another 10-15 minutes until the sweet potato cubes are cooked through.
Cook Quinoa
- Cook and prepare 2-3 servings of Quinoa according to package directions (for extra flavor, substitute water for broth or stock of your choice)
Prep Kale:
- Remove stems and chops or tear into 3 inch pieces
- Massage a bit of salt, olive oil (and optional) lemon juice until the kale is about half or less of its original volume
Cool & Store
When roasted potatoes are finished (about 30-35 minutes total cooking time), remove baking sheet from the oven and turn the oven off. For a perfectly baked sweet potato, leave the separate baked sweet potato in the oven for at least 30 minutes (up to 2 hours) to cool inside the oven.
Once all items have cooled, transfer to containers and store in the refrigerator for the following meal ideas.
WEEK-DAY MEALS
#1 Power Bowl: (layer quinoa, sautéed kale, chicken and roasted sweet potatoes in a bowl, top with salsa and enjoy!
#2 Tacos: Place sweet potatoes, black beans and chicken in 2 small wraps, top with avocado, option to serve with a side of quinoa topped with salsa.
#3: Stuffed Sweet Potato. Reheat sweet potato then stuff with kale, black beans, and chicken. Microwave for 10-15 more seconds (option to top with avocado and shredded cheese).