In The Fit Foodie Meal Prep Plan, she came up with a three-step guide to preparing healthy meals that you can throw in the freezer and pull out for those nights you would normally hit the takeaway shops.
Step 1 is prepping the protein, step 2 is batch and stash and Step 3 is putting it all together. Here’s her version of chicken three ways and her delicious smoky chocolate cereal bars.
One-tray chicken: three ways
When you’re rotating lean meats such as chicken for a lot of meals, dinner can get pretty tedious. This simple hack lets you cook chicken three different ways in one tray. I’m so keen on multitasking! Use foil to pinch up dividing walls in your pan so you can season each portion differently. Use your fave seasonings or try mine.
Portions 6
Prep time 10 minutes
3 large skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 Tbsp each of seasoning (see below)
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180degC.
2. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, trim any white sinew from the meat, then cut it into 2cm pieces.
3. Lay an extra-large piece of foil on a baking tray, spread out the chicken and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide the chicken evenly into three portions, and pinch two walls in the foil to create separate sections.
5. Season each section with a different seasoning mixture (see below), rub into the chicken, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
Save: Keep the cooked chicken in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Photos: Sally O'Neill
Combo 1 — Lemon and rosemary chicken with green salad, coconut tzatziki and pickled celery
Lemon and rosemary seasoning
Lemon zest, lemon juice, finely chopped
fresh rosemary
Green salad
olive oil
walnuts
apple
salad greens
herbs
Coconut tzatziki
1 cup coconut yoghurt
¼ cup finely chopped cucumber
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped dill
½ tsp sea salt
Pickled celery
chopped celery, to suit
pickle liquid (for a 1 litre jar: 500ml white vinegar
½ tsp each of mustard seeds, ½ cumin seeds and ½sea salt
Method
Combine salad ingredients.
Coconut tzatziki
Place tzatziki ingredients in a bowl and stir to make sauce.
To make the pickled celery
Combine the vinegar, mustard seeds and cumin seeds in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat.
Pack the chopped celery into clean glass jars, leaving a little space at the top for vinegar to completely immerse them.
Pour the hot liquid over the celery until the jar is full. Cool the jars to room temperature, then secure the lids and refrigerate.
Combo 2 — Spicy barbecue chicken with avocado and black bean salad
Spicy barbecue seasoning
smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder.
Avocado and black bean salad
avocado
mango
tomatoes
black beans
chilli
lime juice
Method
Combine the avocados, mangos, tomatoes, black beans and chilli and mix together.
Squeeze over the lime juice before serving.
Combo 3 — Maple sesame chicken with brown rice and pea and almond pesto
Maple sesame seasoning
1 Tbsp maple syrup, 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground ginger.
1 cup brown rice
1 litre (4 cups) of water or stock
Optional
a pinch of salt
chopped tomatoes
basil
Pea and almond pesto
1 cup fresh or defrosted frozen peas
1 cup almonds
2 garlic cloves
½ bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
125ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put 1 cup of your choice of dry grains (brown rice, buckwheat, teff, freekeh, quinoa or kamut) in a saucepan and cover with water or stock. Add salt if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, stirring occasionally until the liquid is almost all absorbed and the grain is tender.
Use a fine sieve for draining so that small grains don’t fall through the holes. Set aside to cool before transferring the cooked grains to an airtight container.
If you want to add some extra flavours and texture, try adding chopped tomatoes and basil to your rice mix.
Pea and almond pesto
Blend or stir all the ingredients together. This will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. I use clean recycled glass jars, so I can shake them easily.
Photo: Supplied
Smoky chocolate cereal bars
I love a muesli bar as much as the next person, but the ones on supermarket shelves often have a number of suspicious ingredients. Try making a batch of these cereal bars instead. Use plain almonds and salt if you prefer them without the smoky flavour.
Portions 14
Hands-on prep 15 minutes
2 Tbsp coconut oil
200g (1 cup) pitted prunes, finely
chopped
180g (⅔ cup) natural peanut or
almond butter
1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
160g (1 cup) smoked almonds,
coarsely chopped
30g (1 cup) puffed brown rice
30g (¼ cup) cacao nibs
40g (¼ cup) pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
150g dark chocolate (85% cacao), melted
1 tsp smoked sea salt
Method
Put the coconut oil and prunes in a large wide-based saucepan over low to medium heat and mash with a fork.
Stir in the nut butter and honey until well combined and gooey.
Remove from the heat and stir through almonds, puffed rice, cacao nibs and pepitas. Mix well.
Press the mixture in a layer about 1.5cm thick into the base of a silicone baking tin or a baking tin lined with baking paper.
Pour the melted chocolate over and sprinkle with sea salt.
Refrigerate until set (about an hour), then slice into bars.
This will refrigerate for up to 1 week and freeze for 3 weeks.
