Prep Cook This!

Healthy cooking and eating is all about prepping and planning if you’re a BUSY mom like me. The first requirement, of course, is a commitment to optimal nutrition. Afterall, if you don’t really care about that, why would you be motivated to prep cook and plan your week in eating on Sunday?
For those of you who really get it or WANT to get it, this post is for you, born from my kitchen and my life!

Menu: Grilled Shrimp, Grilled Sugar Snap Peas, Caprese Tomato Slices and Old Grain Pilaf.

Old Grain Pilaf

¾ cup Millet, rinsed
¾ cup Quinoa, rinsed
½ cup Buckwheat, rinsed
1/3 cup Pumpkin Seeds
1/3 cup Raw, hulled Sunflower Seeds
½ cup Currants or Golden Raisins
4 Cups Water or Broth
2 Whole, Peeled Cloves Garlic
1 Large sprig of fresh Rosemary, gently squeezed to release aroma.
1 tsp EVOO per serving (reserve for plating)
½ Tsp Sea Salt
¼ Tsp White Pepper

Place all ingredients except EVOO in a large pot. Cover and heat to boiling, then reduce to simmer. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes and turn off heat. You can being doing plenty of other things during this time…Keep covered until ready to serve or until cool and ready to transfer to storage container for later use. Make this pilaf at the beginning of the week and you have your grain ready to go for dinners-- even lunches at work. If you have 1 hour on Sunday or Monday (like while your grains are cooking), prep the peas and make enough marinade to also throw onto some peeled and rinsed, wild caught shrimp from clean waters.

Wanna take these Old Grains straight into the New Age? Make the roasted beet and walnut mixture from my Luscious Beet Salad and stir 'em into your pilaf. You can even add goat or feta cheese. Heck, that's a balanced meal in and of itself!

Garlic Ghee Sauce
2 TBSP organic (preferably grass-fed) Ghee
Juice and zest of 1 organic lemon
1 tsp of dried or fresh chopped Thyme
2 Cloves Garlic, minced

In a small saucepan, melt Ghee and add remaining ingredients. Lightly simmer for about 3-5 minutes and remove from heat. Store for later use or use right away.



Grilled Sugar Snap Peas
Wash peas and place in an oblong storage container. Lightly add Sea Salt and White Pepper. Toss with balsamic vinegar. Add Lemon/Garlic/Ghee sauce and evenly distribute. Store until ready for grilling (24-72 hours).

To Grill: Line grill rack with foil. Set gas grill on medium heat or heat charcoal grill to about 300 degrees. Place peas on foil and spread out. Close lid, but check and stir regularly, removing when peas are soft and skin begins to blacken and pucker.

Grilled Shrimp

Peel and rinse 1-2 pounds of shrimp, depending on how many you’re feeding (1 pound should feed 3 people). Lightly add Sea Salt and White Pepper. Toss with lukewarm Garlic Ghee Sauce and store refrigerated for up to 24-48 hours in an airtight container.

To Grill: About 5 minutes before removing peas, place shrimp on an area of the grill, which you’ve also lined with foil. Close lid for 1 minute and then open and stir, flipping each shrimp. Continue to move shrimp around, and when they begin to turn a bright pink and become slightly more solid, remove.

Caprese Tomatoes

Recruit some do this one for you or do it yourself. It’s super easy (and SO nourishing), so I recommend delegating this one if you’ve done all of the other prepping!

2 Fresh, Organic Tomatoes (preferably straight out the garden!), sliced to medium thickness.
Mozzarella rectangles cut to fit atop each tomato slice.
Basil Leaves- 1 leaf to top each cheese rectangle.

Stack Mozzaralla, then basil leaves on top of individual tomato slices. Drizzle with EVOO and serve.
Healthy Flavor Tip: Just Drizzle the entire meal with 1-2 tsp of EVOO and call it BLISS!!