Sunday Meal Prep | Week of September 15
Sunday Meal Prep | Week of September 15
Solo parenting, pulled pork two ways, and chicken piccata with end-of-summer cherry tomatoes
I was solo parenting last week, which made dinnertime a little more complicated than usual. There was no way I was going to do my usual meals. My almost-five year old certainly has no appreciation for a pretty heirloom tomato salad and the baby wants to be held constantly, which makes cooking a little challenging. So, I kept things simple: I slow cooked a bunch of chicken and has roasted salmon (on the menu this week) with pasta and asparagus two nights in a row. Freya is a beast with the chicken and will nosh on a very soft, overcooked asparagus spear, and Ozzie will most-likely (operative phrase) eat these things if they’re divided on the plate. Please don’t paint a picture in your head of my two children sweetly sitting and eating their dinners—that was not how it went down, but I did manage to get a few solid bites in both of them and have enough salmon for my lunch the next day. It’s not always pretty, but it satisfied.
I’m writing this on Saturday, while Freya naps and Ozzie watches a show. We’re making it work! I might not have a “boss” anymore, but I am literally the most demanding boss I’ve ever had. I want a hot meal on the table for my family every night, but I also want to send you all two emails a week with new recipes, thought-provoking ideas, and no typos. In an ideal world, this email would have been written on Tuesday, edited by Thursday, and finalized on Friday before the school bell rang for the weekend. Well, I guess the upside of that never being the case is that I wouldn’t be writing these exact words to you and you might actually think that I have it together 100% of the time (a lie!).
Why share this? Because life is busy and sometimes you have to improvise! Planning ahead and being realistic about what you can do is key. Try not to set your expectations beyond your bandwidth—you will disappoint yourself and maybe even give up. Don’t do that. But also, don’t settle for I can’t or this doesn’t work for me. You can almost certainly do something. Nutrition is about consistency, not perfection. Sometimes we just have to keep it simple!
A few meal prep-adjacent things I’m loving right now:
Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)
For the past few years I have slapped on a CGM about every six months. It’s a great way to check-in with your eating habits and see how they’re affecting your blood sugar. I wore it for most of the third trimester of my last pregnancy as well and really think it helped me with me energy levels, mood, sleep, and more. Levels (the software company I use to help me track and interpret the data) just came out with a few more tracking options for habits and macros. If you want to give it a try, use this link and you’ll get two free months with the annual option—they now have a monthly option as well!
Yellow sneakers
My stylist friend Lizzy (follow her—she’s the best!) influenced me to buy these yellow Adidas x Wales Bonner sneakers. I didn’t jump on them at first, then they sold out, which of course made me want them more (whyyyy?). I finally found them (available in many sizes), and haven’t really taken them off. They’re a nice change from sambas. There’s a baby blue too (which were harder to find).
Giveaway: Yesterday I posted a super fun giveaway with Thrive Market! Check out the post for details and to win a free year membership plus a $100 gift card.
Alright friends, let’s cook!!
I have been making a lot of pulled pork recently. Freya loves it, which honestly surprised me. At 10-months, she takes down adult-sized portions of slow cooked meat. It’s impressive. I also love how I can make a big batch of pulled pork (putting it in the slow cooker takes less than than placing an order on Postmates) and use it over and over during the week. This week, we’re starting with lettuce wraps, but will also be utilizing the pork for a 10-minute (okay, 15 tops) fried rice. It’s sooooo good. Also on the menu this week, a rainbow chopped salad with an addictive carrot ginger dressing, chicken piccata with cherry tomatoes (A MUST MAKE), and a DIY frittata.
