Minestrone soup!

It’s getting warmer, veggies are starting to pop up everywhere! In my opinion it’s never too warm for soup! It’s packed full of fiber and lots of nutrition! Plus it’s super easy to make. 

Minestrone soup 

2tsp olive oil 

2 onions chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped 

2 carrots diced

2 stalks of celery diced 

1 can 28oz chopped tomatos (with juice)

4 cups water 

4 cups plain tomato juice 

1C small shell pasta (uncooked still) 

1 cup fresh green beans, cut in half 

2 zucchini chopped 

1 bag spinach torn 

1 can light red kidney beans drained

1 can dark red kidney beans drained 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Parmesan cheese for garnish (optinal) 

1) cut everything up before you even start trust me it will make your life a hell of a lot easier!!!! 

2) in a large pot sauté onion, garlic, carrot and celery until soft. 

3) add water and tomato juice, season lightly and allow to simmer for 45 minutes.
4) add green beans, zucchini, and kidney beans. Simmer for 20 minutes. 

5) Add pasta and torn spinach and cook for 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. 

6) season to taste and serve, or cool, portion and freeze! 

Seriously, this is like the ultimate good for you soup! Better then chicken noodle in my humble opinion, and it’s beautiful! Eat as much as you want and you don’t have to even feel guilty about it! 

I would have taken a picture of the result….but I kind of ate it all already…. sorrry guys 💔

Happy slurping 

TMPP 

The best apple pie ever. Seriously

So I skipped prep and decided to just get the basics and make an apple pie, which I haven’t actually done in a pretty long time. Now this recipe utilizes the amazing and magical properties of CAST IRON! Cast iron is a beautiful way to cook and clean up is always a breeze, because all you do is rinse with hot water, dry, and wipe down with oil. It’s naturally non-stick, and adds a dash of iron into your food when you cook with it (ladies naturally need more iron in their diets), and it’s heavy enough to be used as a weapon during a breaking and entering. You can fry chicken, sear a steak, and make the best damn apple pie you will ever taste. Trust me. 

The best cast iron apple pie ever

3 large Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced 

3 large Braeburn apples peeled and sliced 

3/4C. White sugar

Pinch of salt 

1 tbsp. apple pie seasoning (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) 

3 tbsp flour 

1 stick unsalted butter

1C. Brown sugar

1 pkg of 2 refrigerated pie crusts 

1 egg white

2tsp water 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

2. Toss apples in white sugar and a pinch of salt, place in a colander over a bowl and allow to drain for 1 hour, save the liquid. 

2. After apples are drained place liquid in a small saucepan and reduce by half 5-10 minutes, allow to cool. 

3. Toss drained apples in flour and apple pie spice, drizzle cooled reduced apple pie liquid over apples and toss again.

4. Heat butter in cast iron skillet over medium heat, add brown sugar and cook for about 2 minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and cool slightly. 

5. Lay first layer of pie crust over top the brown sugar mixture, then arrange the apples slightly overlapping around the bottom of the crust. Make sure to pour any liquid left in the bowl over top. Add second pie crust over top, cutting 4 slits in the top to allow steam to escape. 

6. Whip egg white and water with a fork until foamy, brush over the entire crust to create a light glaze, then sprinkle with about 2 tsp. white sugar.  

7. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking periodically for browning (you can cover with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning as needed) I turn my pie at 35 minutes to ensure even browning.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes (seriously, no touching! This is important! If you cut it hot, all that juice will run everywhere, if you let it cool that juice has a time to set and hold everything in nice slices) 

As the old saying goes, “to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe” -Carl Sagan

The real MPP 

Tired princess

No meal prep this week due to the Easter holiday, and the princess needs a break! After a lovely lunch with my absolutely amazing family (seriously love them!) I did manage a trip to the store for some staples to make it through the week prep free. I always pick up fresh fruit like apples and bananas, berries if they are fresh and good looking. Baby carrots for out of hand eating, whole grain bread and lunch meats for sandwhiches, packages of tuna, eggs, milk, cereal, yougert, and soup for the hubby (he’s sick 🙁) it is still possible to eat well even without prepping (though there might be a few more trips to the grocery store mid week). 

Tomorrow is all fun though! My dearest friend and fellow culinary badass are going hunting for morel mushrooms tomorrow!!! These babies are prized! They can not be grown on mushroom farms, and have a very limited window in spring when they appear. They are so so so delicious, woodsy, earthy, rich, and just so full of deep flavor. Simply fried in butter is like visiting heaven. Hopefully we can find some tomorrow, but if not we will keep searching until we hit the mother load! So I need to get some extra sleep for tomorrow I am going to be lacing up my hiking shoes and putting some extra miles on them! 

Happy (late) Easter! 

The meal prep princess 

(Pic unrelated, just being a goober) 

Baked oatmeal cups

I finally had a day off today!!!! So instead of doing nothing all day I wanted to make a new recipe. Breakfast is the hardest meal for me, most days its just a cup of coffee and I’m out the door on to the next activity. I need something filling, tasty, and something I can eat one handed. I decided to browse some recipes and baked oatmeal seems to be pretty popular amongst the diet community lately. It’s a pretty straight forward concept, make oatmeal and bake…well sort of… after a lot of experimenting today I think I have created a recipe that I can make time and time again. One part breakfast, one part cookie, one part muffin, all parts delicious! 

I actually made 3 different kinds from my base recipe, raspberry chocolate, peanut butter chocolate chip, and cinnamon apple strudel. I will post the base recipe, then the steps on how to flavor it 🙂 good luck! 

Baked Oatmeal Cups

1 egg

1/2C unsweetened applesauce 

1/4C raw honey 

1/8C chia seeds (it’s like 2 bucks a bag, just buy it. It’s so good for you and you won’t even know it’s there) 

1 banana 

1 1/4C. Milk (I use 2%) 

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

Pinch salt 

2 teasooons vanilla extract 

2 1/2C old fashioned oats

For peanut butter chocolate chip

3-4 tablespoons peanut butter powder 

4 tablespoons Cacao nibs (6 bucks a bag, superfood, will last you for awhile, little goes a long way) 

3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips 

For apple cinnamon 

1 green apple, peeled and diced 

1 tablespoon cinnamon 

For raspberry chocolate 

1/2 cup chopped raspberries

3 tablespoons cacao nibs 

4tbsp mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease the cups of a muffin tin and set aside.

Smash banana as fine as possible, whisk in egg, milk, applesauce, honey, vanilla, and chia seeds. 

Add oats and baking powder

Add your choice of mix ins and sit for 5 minutes before scooping into greased tins and baking for 30-35 minutes or until browned and centers are set. 

Remove from pan and allow to cool before turning out. 

These freeze beautifully and can be eaten warmed in the microwave, room temperature, or cold. Perfect with your morning coffee 😉

Seriously, these are so good. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and experiment with mix ins. Nuts and seeds, dried fruit, anything you can really think of. 

Have a happy breakfast 

The meal prep princess 

What the hell is BMR?

Honestly, I hate the word “diet” when 9/10 times it is a full lifestyle change. Americans are so caught up in the “quick fix” diet culture that most people can’t see the root of the problem. 

Sorry guys but shitty diets are almost always the problem (apart from lack of exercise). Look at not only what we eat but how much of it we are eating. When was the last time you can honestly say you counted out a single serving of potato chips (about 12 chips)? Before I began my lifestyle change I would sit and eat half a bag of potato chips while watching Netflix and not even bat an eyelash. But then I really looked at how many calories I was actually consuming on something that I would consider a snack. 500 or more whopping calories in one go….. it is pretty widely known that 2,000-2,500 calories is recommended per day….. that is wrong over half the time. A woman who is a 5ft tall and sits at a desk job, doesn’t need as many calories as someone who is say is a 6ft waitress . That’s where BMR comes into play.

BMR stands for base metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories you need just to keep you alive if you were bedridden. This number changes based on age and height. Then you add on an activity factor (not active, mildly active, very active) here is mine as an example:

(For women) 655 + (4.35 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years) 

(For men) 66 + (6.23 x weight in lbs) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) 

So….

655 + (4.35 x 130) + (4.7 x 65) – (4.7 x 26) = 1404 calories (rounded up) 

But… 

if you go to bmi-calculator.net and choose BMR you can just punch in the numbers without all the extra work!  

Then you would consider your activity factor, which is how active you are (now be honest with yourself or this will get you nowhere) 

Sedentary: BMR x 1.2 

Lightly active: BMR x 1.375

Moderately active: BMR x 1.55 

Very active: BMR x 1.725 

With my active job and lifestyle my activity factor is considered moderately active which means to maintain my weight I need to consume about 2100 calories per day (not as many as you would think right?) 

To loose 1lb a week you would have to reduce your calories by 500 per day which is a healthy for weight loss. To lose 1lb you need to burn through 3,500 calories per week by reducing your calorie intake or burning the extra off at the gym or doing another activity. 

With that said, never eat under your BMR!!! I don’t care how tempting fast weight loss seems, your body will go into “starvation mode” which means it will hold onto every single calorie it can because your body doesn’t know when it is going to get fuel again. Plus, it is unhealthy and can lead to a potentially life threatening eating disorder. Love yourself first and foremost always! If you don’t need to lose weight then you should eat the same amount of calories in healthier options (you end up getting to eat more in quantity and quality) 

I know this is a lot of math, but a simple google search can lead you in the right direction. I love the myfitnesspal app for my iPhone, it does all of this math for you and it helps you not only keep track of things like calories (you can even add your own recipes to calculate calories per serving which I LOVE) it also tracks your steps, progress, and you can add friends and be a part of a very supportive fitness and healthy lifestyle community. Support for a lifestyle change is so very important! 

Eating healthy isn’t a punishment, being healthy shouldn’t be torture. Lifestyle changes like these should be a journey of self discovery, self love, as well as giving you the opportunity to experiment with new foods and expand your culinary horizon. You never know if you don’t like something if you don’t try it! Just because you didn’t like broccoli when you were 10 doesn’t mean you won’t like it as an adult, your tastebuds mature right along with you. Give new food a chance and give yourself a chance to be the healthiest version of yourself not only physically but mentally as well.  

Eat well, be well, and cook fearlessly! 

The meal prep princess 

Peanut butter cookies

So, we have been discussing healthy and diet for a few posts so let’s have a fun one shall we? Peanut butter cookies, you can smell them from a mile away and everybody LOVES them. I have a recipe that bakes a little flat with crisp edges and a soft middle. The perfect peanut butter cookie to satisfy any craving! 

Peanut butter cookies

2 sticks of softened butter 

1 cup of creamy or crunch peanut butter 

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar (plus more for rolling)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together butter, brown and white sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined, scraping down the bowl with each addition. 

In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. 

Combine wet and dry just until dough forms. Scoop into 1oz balls, roll in sugar, and press criss cross with a fork. 

Bake for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before attempting to consume. 

For thick chewy cookies, chill dough for 1 hour before rolling. 

*fun add ins before baking: mini chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, Reese’s peices, chocolate sprinkles, dried cranberries, m&ms, and more. 

*for chocolate peanut butter cookies, add a few spoonfuls of Nutella or sundae fudge before chilling. 

Remember, it’s all about balance, have a cookie or two, just not the whole tray (but I won’t tell if you do eat the whole tray 😉)

Happy baking! 

The meal prep princess 

Snacks

Hello all, today’s installment talks about one of my favorite things ever. Snacks. I LOVE snacks of all shapes, sizes, and textures! Snacks can also be sneaky and tricky, without realizing it we can sit and eat a whole family sized bag of potato chips and not even realize it until we have hit the bottom of the bag. But I do have some solutions for successful snacking! 

The snacks I love the most would have to be pretzel sticks, dried fruit such as pineapple and mango, freeze dried strawberries, fresh fruit of all kinds, baby carrots and celery, gluten free crackers with tuna, babybell cheese with grapes, yougrt and granola, cottage cheese, dark chocolate, rice crisps, pickles, olives, I really could go on forever and ever about snacks. But apart from snacking right is watching the portion! 

Always pre portion snacks, this has saved me time and time again and it’s handy for keeping in your lunch bag for mid afternoon hunger pains. I bag things like pretzels and dried fruit in zip lock bags. Dose them out in serving sizes, 1/3C of dried pineapple has about 130 calories. Dried pineapple is more calorie dense then fresh pineapple so watch out, however it is good to raise blood sugar and it’s better then eating a bag of candy. Fresh fruit and veggies I pack into small deep to-go’s and stash them in the fridge for breakfast as well as snacking. 

Follow your hunger cues, when you are reaching for a snack, think to yourself “am I hungry enough to eat an apple” if yes, then you are hungry and should eat, if no then your mind is bored, you aren’t actually hungry. Try not to snack in front of the TV if at all possible, because I have a tendency to eat snack after snack if I’m watching tv, so I try to keep my hands busy instead by sketching, playing with a stress ball, crochet (which was an epic fail I should add). 

Always try to have a snack after a workout, something lite, with healthy fat and protein, turkey, a handful of nuts, an avacado and egg on toast, fresh fruits with Greek yougert are all excellent picks! 

Also eating small meals throughout the day keeps your blood sugars level and can help you fight fatigue and help curb the cravings for the junk food. Eating several small meals a day also helps promote weight loss, and better overall health. 

Happy snacking! 

The meal prep princess 

Meal prep basics part 1

Okay, for anyone who has ever been on Pinterest I’m sure you have seen pages upon pages of beautifully boxed and portioned prep meals all lined up on the counter in neat nutritious perfection. It’s a little intimidating I know, actually it’s a lot intimidating especially for a first timer. But relax, I have all the tips to success (after many weeks of trial and error). 

The most important part of prep is your list! There will be 3 lists. 

List 1: decide ahead of time what you are going to make. Since I prep for 2 people for the week I make 3 different dishes of 6 boxes of each item. Once you have decided what to make, find your recipes if need be. It can be as easy as a chicken ceaser salad, or as complicated as tamales. But I try to prep things that are fast, keep well over a period of time, and reheat well if need be. 

Things that prep well are: salads (dressings always on the side, or else things get soggy) pastas with sauce, shredded pork, chicken or beef, chicken breast, roasts, chili, stew, wraps (condiments on the side for the same reason as above) egg cups (recipe will come later) fresh fruits and vegetables too, yogurt parfaits (granola on the side) cutie orange fruit, peel on bananas, pomegranates, almost anything can be prepped beforehand with some assembly required. 

Things that don’t prep very well: runny yolk eggs, avocado, most fish (salmon actually preps pretty well), fried or crispy anything (trust me it will get soggy) sandwiches on soft bread (if you are going to do a sandwich, make your “filling” and keep the bread and condiments separate and assemble when you are ready to eat) pre cut apples tend to get brown no matter what you do with it so better to eat out of hand. 

List 2: now that you know what you are making write down all of your ingredients (and quantities) then, go into your pantry and find what you have and don’t have (I cross things out as I go) there is nothing worse then getting home after a big grocery hall and realizing you forgot or ran out of something and have to run back to the store. 

List 3: re-write your final grocery list. Write it out with the layout of your local grocery store in mind trust me this will save you boat loads of time and steer you away from temptation. So mine is written out as produce, deli meat, raw meat, canned/box items (by aisle, I have my local store layout memorized by now), frozen, dairy, and finally non-food items (toilet paper, “to-go’s”, etc) 

A note on “to-go’s” this is what all of my finished meals come packaged in. They are disposable cheap Tupperware containers that I can wash and use again (or throw out if they get gross or I forget them in my car for 2 weeks). I use the square ones for my meals, small deep ones for fruits and vegetables, and bowl types for stews, soups, and chilis. 

Now comes the legwork, when you get to the store stick to your list! I cannot stress this enough. I pre-plan all of my snacks before hand and write down what I’m getting. I used to go to the store and grab a box of cookies, or candy, or things I just didn’t need that were unhealthy or a waste of money. Stay strong, it all pays off, you might want those cookies now but in a few months you won’t even give them a second glance. Be prepared to spend around 30-60 minutes at the store depending on your haul. Try to go as early as time will allow, my local store doesn’t re-stock throughout the day so in order to get the best produce and meat I have to beat the Sunday crowd. Plus if your store doesn’t carry something, this gives you time to adjust your recipe or find a substitute (I have googled substitutes from my phone numerous times right there in the store) once you are finished, treat yourself to a cup of coffee (we have a Starbucks in my local store) this perks me up and prepares me for my prep day ahead. 

Now throw it all in your car and hurry home. Put away the frozen and perishables like meat and produce. Now grab your first list with recipes and read them over again before you begin to make sure nothing has to marinade for an hour, has to sit, bakes for 4+ hours etc. 

The next step is actually prepping, this will be a separate post so you don’t get overwhelmed by reading a novel of tips and tricks, trust me prep is easy once you get all of the above done. Stay tuned. 

Love

The meal prep princess