Menu Staples - Make Ahead Foods for the Week
 

Let's start a list for foods that we make ahead or prep for the week in order to simplify our cooking and prep for the rest of the week.

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My Basics:

1. One whole package of bacon, cooked in the oven, drained then stored in a big ziploc baggie.
2. 6 - 8 hardboiled eggs. Eat them as is, make eggs salad, slice one over a salad, add to tuna salad, devil them, pickle some, etc...
3. Cheesecake. Freeze some slices for anytime, the rest becomes breakfast or dessert.
4. Salmon - I buy a filet, slice it into portions, freeze them on a cookie sheet, then store them in a baggie in the freezer. Put a frozen filet on a sheet of foil, add some olive oil, butter, dill and lemon - make a pouch out of the foil and pop into the oven for 20 mins at 375. DINNER!
5. Smoked Tuna Dip - A BIG can of tuna, softened cream cheese (about half the amount of the tuna) and drops of liquid smoke to taste. Serve with pork rinds for dipping, top with jalepeno slices. YUM! (And I hate pork rinds, but this is just too good...)
6. Sausage Links - cook up a package of these and you can grab a link when you need a little something, have them for breakfast, cut up and add them to scrambled eggs...

A little prep one day a week goes a long way towards making the rest of my week that much easier.

Hope this helps...add yours!

C'mon! You mean I'm the only one who preps food for the whole week? Let's go people...yer slackin'....:D

I cook up 6 chicken breast and make my sauces that I put on top of them. My fave is my Alfredo Pesto sauce. It is just a can of Alfredo sauce and a package of Pesto. YUM!

I buy hamburgers that are already shaped and all I have to do is throw them on the frying pan and they are done in 10 mins

I make a huge amount of ranch dressing now.

I share a fridge with 4 other girls...they hate it when I cook!

Each Sunday I:

Make big bowl of tuna salad (tuna, mayo, celery, onion, salt, pepper)
Make big bowl of chicken salad (same as above, just use chicken)
Boil up 12 eggs
Grill about 6 hamburger patties
Make SF jello
Fry up a package of bacon

This way I can put together lunches and/or dinners without even thinking about it. Saves time and money!

Every few weeks I'll bake one or two quiches.

I cooked a whole turkey breast yesterday. Had for dinner and took all meat off the bone and will have with salad, in gravy tonight, and turkey salad tomorrow.

I also will cook up 1 lb bacon, keep in fridge and take a few slices here and there.

I also made quacamole for a few days - gets watery after 3 days.

I will make egg salad (12 eggs, 3 tbls mayo, celery, salt & pepper) to have with my greens.

I will make a roast on Weds/Thurs - - that will last for 3 days.

I made a box of Atkins Muffins on Saturday - froze them in zip-loc - use as needed.


I do a lot of ahead preparing since I work 9 hrs a day and need to have food on hand to take to work and for lunches.

I'm so bad about this.... but here's what little I do sometimes:

grill a bunch of chicken breasts on the george forman grill and freeze in individual freezer bags for lunches

boil up a bunch of eggs

buy bags of salad

Every little thing we do helps!

I don't always prep, I know I'm bad :D But when I do, it's 2lbs of bacon, a dozen hard boiled eggs, breakfast "cupcakes". Breakfast is the hardest for me. Always fix more at dinner tho for leftovers for lunch.

Bye the way beachgirl, great new pic!!! You look awesome!

I make a big batch of spicy sausage balls (makes about 60 balls)... freeze half and bake the other half when needed... 4 are a serving (about 2g carbs), and a nice, filling snack, and heat up in 30 seconds in the microwave.

We buy a head of lettuce, wash it up and shred it (do it by hand so the edges don't brown)... that way we only need to grab a handful for a quick salad. We pre-shred carrots, cheese and radishes too.

We keep cut up cauliflower and celery in the fridge for quick snacks, as well.

I started buying the pre-formed ground sirloin patties and salmon fillets at Sam's... we can have hamburgers on the GForeman grill in 10 minutes or so... ditto with the salmon.

Tuna salad!

It's my staple for every snack! Tuna, onion, celery, mayo and a little dill. Pepper and sometimes a chopped pickle. I scoop it up on celery sticks.

Grilled chicken "bites" -- basically chicken pieces grilled on skewers and removed for bite-size snacks during the week.

I also shop ahead... like I know I want tuna on my green salad at lunch, but I don't want to open a smelly can. So I buy my salad greens, divvy them up into 5 ziploc baggies and then buy 5 vacuum-pack thingies of tuna for the week. That's five lunches, if you add some ranch and some bacon bits.

I buy a green and a red pepper and cut into pieces each sunday. I snack on that instead of nuts.

Avocados... I go to the Mexican market in my neighborhood for the very small Haas avocados... I buy two ripe ones, two semi-ripes, and two greens. That way I can have one a day or one every other day. I start ripe and work my way down.

Great topic! Thanks for the ideas everyone!

Beachgirl... great idea about the smoked tuna. I don't like seafood of any kind, but I force myself to eat Tuna salad. I'll bet this is alot more palatable for me. Also ... I'm shocked that cheesecake was #3 on your list ... not #1 :D

For me ...

quiche (crustless, of course)
"fried" chicken - with pork rind/parmesean breading (eat it cold with mayo/dijon combo or hot with anything)
turkey salad (like tuna salad, but with turkey)
hard boiled eggs
steak - whatever is on sale. I let it "age" in the fridge for 2-3 days, then marinate it for 24 hours, then use the Foreman grill until rare. I slice it as needed, and eat it cold (on salads or as a snack). I can also pack it with an ice-pack for "on the road" meals.

[COLOR=purple]Bacon fried and put into ziplocks
boiled eggs
food process my lettuce and ziplock it
Chicken breasts grilled or strips sauteed and ziplocked
fresh veggies, cleaned and cut up and ziplocked
Atkin's muffins baked and frozen in ziplock bag
homemade low carb ice cream in 1/2 cup containers(put in freezer)
egg salad, chicken salad or tuna salad
broccoli and cauliflower salad
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Dizneegirl - you should definitely post the recipe for those sausage balls!

In the fall and winter, about once a month I make a huge batch of meatloaf - about 5 loaves, usually. I freeze them and I defrost and cook them as needed.

Boss Lady - Thanks for the compliment!:D

You guys are awesome - so inspiring! Great thread - thanks!!

Kathryn

Five lbs of chicken wings - shake on cajun spice mix and bake until really crispy; store in fridge in ziploc bag and have ready for snacks

Chocolate cream cheese (8 oz. nuked for 45 seconds; blend with 1 T. cocoa powder and vanilla davinci syrup to taste); chill & eat w/spoon any time.

Cook 5-6 pounds ground beef, crumbled in skillet and seasoned with salt & pepper. When cooled, put in ziploc bags in freezer. Zap in microwave to thaw and use in cheeseburger quiche or to make taco meat or in pasta sauces or casseroles. The messy part's done--just add to recipes as needed.

Dooalot's flax-bran muffins...sometimes make a double batch; freeze half; keep others on hand for snacks or quick meals (w/schmear of cream cheese). By substituting vanilla syrup for the water & splenda in the recipe, I can get these down to about 1.5 carbs per muffin.

Bake a whole bone-in ham; have for one meal and cut up the leftovers, package into meal-sized portions and freeze.

FILL THE GRILL!!! With meat & veggies--all kinds, whatever is on sale or what you like or whatever will fit on the rack! Leftover grilled mushrooms, peppers and squash tossed with strips of steak or chicken and a splash of Italian dressing is DELISH--hot or cold.

DOUBLE or triple anything you cook during the week or on weekends; freeze half, and you've got a second meal cooked with little extra effort. If you don't have a freezer, do it anyway and divvy it up into lunch-sized containers and refrigerate. You'll have lunches made for the week and can save yourself some $$$.

Make Atkins flan (custard) and divide into four servings to have ready for breakfasts, desserts or snacks.

Make a triple recipe of CJ's Breakfast Pudding; divide into cups & cover w/saran; put in fridge for breakfasts & snacks.

That's all I can think of for the moment. If more comes to me, I'll post again.

Great thread, Beachgirl!

That's a great idea about the ground beef. I never thought of that!

Lately, I've been making big batches of coleslaw and eating it all week. It gets better after a few days anyway.

You mentioned meat loaf, and something we do occasionally to save time is to shape the meat loaf mixture into patties instead of loaves. Bake as usual, but it takes WAY less cooking time that way.

Also, when freezing ground beef, make it into patties (3-4 per pound) and freeze them FLAT in gallon size ziplocs. When you're ready to defrost, it takes WAY less time to defrost patties than a huge block of meat. Or they can go directly onto the grill from the freezer! Sometimes I buy several pounds at once and spend the time doing this on the weekend. Then it's all in stacks in the freezer ready when I need it.

Buy a whole pork loin and cut it into meal-sized sections. Freeze individually. You can put them frozen into the oven; season and cover w/foil; bake at 300 for about 4-5 hours.

OK, I'll shut up now.

Here's the recipe... I should try to put it in the recipe room...

Spicy Sausage Cheese Balls

1 1/2 lbs. hot sausage (the bulk packages - I used Tennessee Pride)
1 1/2 cups Atkins baking mix
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1/3 cup jalepeno, finely chopped
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Form into 1" balls, and place on non-greased cookie sheet (I'd use one with sides, there's some grease that bakes out). Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

NOTE: At 1", I get about 60 balls. I also cooked them longer than 15 minutes.

I think the whole recipe is about 30 grams of carbs. We eat 4 of them for a serving, and count it as 2 grams. Makes a YUMMY snack. Spicy & filling... you feel like you've actually eaten something.

You can also freeze the uncooked balls... cook some now, some later. I would guess you could halve the recipe as well, if you didn't want to make so many at once.

SHinOK: What is CJ's Breakfast Pudding?

CJ's pudding is a long-time staple on this board, invented by one of the original (very successful) members here. The recipe is in the RR.

The way I make this is to double or triple the recipe and divide it into cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you're ready to eat it, nuke it for about one minute; stir, and it's ready!

CJ's Breakfast Pudding

1/3 cup full-fat Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon flax seed; grind in coffee grinder
vanilla sugar free syrup - to taste
cinnamon

Mix first three ingredients together in a saucepan - cook stirring over medium heat until thick. Add Flax and syrup. Sprinkle with cinnamon (I stir it into mine).

It's about 6 carbs for the whole thing. It's good eaten fresh or warmed up the next day.

Great thread Beachgirl!!!
 

We eat salad for dinner at least 4 nights a week - we always have leftover for lunches.

I eat eggs nearly every day for bkfst at work - so i'll make a huge pan of scrambled eggs with chorizo, sausage or bacon, and cheese - freeze in little containers that I just pop in the micro at work.

Crockpots are great too - i will make something for dinner, and have a few days worth of lunches in the freezer.

I LOVE soup; I buy mixed chicken parts (cheap) OR a small whole chicken. Add celery, green onion, peppercorns, but NO SALT ( I'm very sensitive to sodium) and simmer til the meat is cooked. Then I have salt-free, low carb chicken broth. I can freeze in small containers, then transfer to food saver bags. When I want soup, just cook lo carb veggies in the "broth ice cube" which melts quickly. I make a few quarts in a stock pot. Of course, you can do beef stock, pork stock, etc.

Boss Lady
 

What are breakfast cupcakes?

I boil a dozen of eggs and double my batches of meats during the week ...I have 5 carbers so I am the only low carber...those doubles come in handy when they are eating lasagna and I am not.

I make Atkins ribs - 4 slabs at a time - eat them for meals and snacks.

Clean all the romaine lettus on Sunday and put in Ziploc for the week.

Make a big roast in crockpot in middle of week to get me thru the rest of the week.

Lots of hard boiled eggs.

Clean all my celery - ready for a little cream cheese anytime.

I even put numbers on my bottled water (1-5) to keep track of my water consumption.

This thread was a great idea!

Ann, that is a great idea numbering the water bottles. Thanks.

I enjoy cooking daily (my hobby) but here's some suggestions for those who don't enjoy it or have the time:

Get a rubbermaid or Tupperware deviled egg container and make deviled eggs.

Make beachgirl's cheesecake in cupcake containers. The full recipe makes 24 cupcakes so that'll keep you in cheesecake for awhile. When I made them yesterday I made some plain and some with some chopped up RS caramel clusters in them.

Make quiche and bake in cupcake containers, then freeze and nuke as needed.

Shrimp c o c ktail is great and easy to make. I just make up bruceh's ketchup and add in some horseradish and it is wonderful.

Our store has frozen shishkebabs that are delicious and do not require thawing. Check into those at your store.

Whenever you bbq, add a few add'l pieces of meat/poultry while you're doing it. It doesn't take any more time or energy to make a few extra pieces of meat.

Make up a veggie tray in a covered plastic container and use it for munchies or order a veggie tray/meat tray from your local store with only the items you enjoy on it. Maybe there are some people at your office that might enjoy having a meat/cheese/veggie day and will share in the cost.

Cottage cheese is always good. Add in some of your favorite seasoning or davincis and you're good to go.

Marinate fresh brocolli in Italian salad dressing.

Make up a batch of zuchini and/or cheese sticks to the stage before frying and freeze them on a cookie sheet. Remove them when solid and store in freezer bags till you're ready to fry.

Make a log of your fave lc cookie dough and keep it in the fridge. Slice off a few cookies and bake when you're in the mood. Nothing like cookies hot out of the oven.

Make your own icecream while you're doing your other cooking for the week and get small containers at your restaurant supply store or reuse yogurt containers so you have portion control.

Find a lc friend in your area and have a cooking day! enjoy the company of a fellow lc'r and get your stuff done at the same time.

Bump!!

http://www.click-smilie.de/sammlung/.../aktion079.gifbump!

This thread has been so helpful to me! I have a pretty busy schedule between my internship, regular PT job, and FT college classes, and I know I need to prepare and plan my food better so I'm not tempted to go off plan.

Thank you all for your wonderful ideas! I'll need to print this.

And a BUMP for some more ideas! :)

Had to bump this! This is awesome. Lots of great ideas to help keep on track!

I am big on making quiches and putting whatever I'm in the mood for inthem. Some good combos are: leftover taco meat with olives and jalapenos. Shrimp, chicken, or imitation crab with asparagus or spinach and mushrooms (Swiss cheese is awesome with that!) Whatever you have left over makes a pretty good quiche.

Basic Quiche (I usually double this and put it in a 9x13 casserole dish)
4 eggs
1 1/2 c half and half or cream
2 cups cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Grease bottom of dish with butter. Sprinkle cheese on bottom of pan. Mix together eggs and cream. Pour over cheese.
B
Bake uncovered at 400 for 15 minutes, then lower temp to 350 and bake another 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

These are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And it even tastes good cold! But if a micro is handy, I use it!!!! My hubby and I can get 3 meals out of one double batch quiche.

http://www.click-smilie.de/sammlung/.../aktion079.gif bump! Can't let this awesome thread stay on that 2nd page too long! :)

Well, this is wonderful and the ideas are great ---- bump....