Our Weekly Food Prep Recipes

Our Weekly Food Prep Recipes

We’re back to food prepping on the weekends. Although we make different dishes each week, our prep list includes a few recurring staples. Food prepping has been a game changer for our family. It helps us make healthy dishes quickly when needed, we eat better, and it saves us tons of money. It may seem like hard work, but we just spend a few hours here and there over the weekend baking and cooking together between having fun with the kids. 

Mexican Beans 

Mexican Beans are a protein-packed addition to burrito bowls, tacos, nachos, and more. We always have a large batch in the fridge for a quick meal.

Ingredients

2 (15oz/425g) cans beans of your choice ( I use what I have on hands like black, pinto or kidney beans) drained and rinsed

1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small red or yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground chili pepper

A few teaspoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or tamari

1 (14oz/400g) can diced tomatoes

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil. Saute the onion until it has softened and is golden but not browned. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and chili pepper, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the diced tomatoes and beans.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes break down and most of the liquid has evaporated, roughly 8 to 10 minutes. Season with liquid aminos. 

Sweet Soy Sauce

Sweet, salty, and rich, we love to use this delicately flavored condiment for homemade sushi, dumplings, or a base for dressings.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 tablespoons tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

1 teaspoon grated ginger 

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool completely before transferring to a glass jar. It will keep for a least a week. 

Tomato Sauce

I make a batch of this sauce every week. We eat it as is with pasta, beans, and broccoli and use it as a base for soups and stews.

Ingredients

4 (28oz) cans whole diced tomatoes 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons tomato puree

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ cup minced fresh parsley or ¼ cup basil leaves 

Saute garlic, onion, and carrots in olive oil in a large pot on medium heat for five minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add tomato puree, salt, pepper, and herbs, and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. 

Oatmeal Bread

This oatmeal bread is super easy to make because you don’t have to make rolls or shape it into a loaf. All I did was press the dough into a regular large baking dish. I sometimes make the bread red by adding some grated beets; my kids call it dragon blood bread. 🙂 It’s easy to make this gluten-free by substituting gluten-free oats and gluten-free all-purpose flour.  

Ingredients

2 ½ cups milk

50g butter

2 ½ cups oats plus some for decoration

6 cups white spelt or all-purpose flour (maybe more)

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast

¼ cup maple syrup

1. Combine milk, oats, and butter in a saucepan and bring to boil while stirring. When it’s kind of gluey, it’s done. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Pour oatmeal mix into a large bowl or kitchen aid. Add flour, maple syrup, salt and yeast.
3. Work the dough until it’s elastic and lets go of the bowl.
4. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave to rise in a draft-free place for 1 hour.
5. Line a large baking dish with parchment paper. Press the dough into it and make it even.
6. Cover with towel and rise again for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
8. Brush the dough with some warm milk and sprinkle oats on top.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and firm in the center. Once cool, cut the bread into squares.

James’s Granola

James makes this granola every week. The kids call it Dad’s Famous Granola.

Happy prepping!

Here you can read more about my meal planning and here and here you can see more meal prep recipes