Hey guys! Hokay SO. It’s the first few days of September, meaning that it’s back-to-school / get your life together season, right? At least that’s the way I think of it, haha! Fall for me means (sadly) saying goodbye to summer, starting up my graduate school classes again, fun fall projects for you guys, new health coaching clients, and club swim coaching. Needless to say, life gets busy pretty fast, but as always, healthy, quick, and delicious meals are a big priority for me…so let’s talk about meal prep + planning!
CLICK on any of the pictures throughout this post to get the recipes!
Whether you’re doing a #SeptemberWhole30 or just trying to get into a good, healthy routine with the change of seasons, I’ve got you covered: super easy, super fast, and super healthy + delicious back-to-school meal ideas that will keep your taste buds and tummies happy whether you’re a kid or adult! This week on Instagram I’ve been working with Whole Foods Montgomery County to bring you recipes just like that, featuring their #365everydayvalue brand, to keep your wallet healthy too! For the freaking win, am I right?
Sidenote: in case you were wondering (you nosy weirdos. just kidding, love you!)…nope, I don’t have kids. NOR are they coming any time soon. However, I do work with kids (and parents) all the time on my various swim teams and give them nutrition advice on how to fuel their growing healthy bodies as little athletes, so I’m always looking for new kid-friendly ideas for healthy, delicious food that kiddos will eat too!
So, on tap today: two main dishes, a make-ahead frittata for quick and easy breakfasts, and two easy after school / afternoon snacks that will satisfy both sweet and salty, kid and adult tastebuds.
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken & Vegetables
Summer Vegetable Frittata
Open-Faced Apple Sandwiches
Mediterranean Zucchini Pasta w/Chicken Sausage & Truffle Salt
Chips, Guac and Salsa Spread
First up – Mediterranean Grilled Chicken & Vegetables. I like to make a big batch of this either on Sunday or Monday so I have tons of delicious leftovers on hand for easy lunches throughout the week. We’ll also be using these grilled veggie leftovers in the Frittata recipe, so make extra! Note: if you don’t have a grill (or are lazy and don’t always feel like heating it up, like me!) you can totally roast those veggies in the oven and do the chicken on the stovetop or in the oven instead. Substitute any veggies you want that are in season! Just note that the cooking times may vary slightly.
The snacks (Open-Faced Apple Sandwiches and Chips, Guac and Salsa Spread) are super fast to throw together right in the afternoon, so you don’t need to do any prep work for those except have the ingredients on hand. The Mediterranean Zucchini Pasta w/Chicken Sausage & Truffle Salt is also super fast, but if you like, you can spiralize the zucchini noodles about a day or two in advance. Keep them in the refrigerator in a container (or large ziplock bag) where they have enough space to move around a little, with a paper towel on the bottom.
PREP TIP: prepare the vegetables first, THEN any meat, so you can use the same cutting board and not worry about cross-contamination or having to wash the cutting board during prep!
Here’s my meal prep game plan:
- Chop vegetables
- Prepare chicken
- Grill vegetables and chicken
- Bake frittata**
- Pack up foods & do dishes
**If you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can totally bake up some whole sweet potatoes, roast some other veggies, or hard boil some eggs while the frittata is baking as well. You can even do the dishes while all this is going! See, look how efficient you are! #winning.
Once all your food is cooled, put it in separate containers to eat later in the week. You’re done! Well, after those pesky dishes.
Now here’s that delicious, quick and easy Zucchini Pasta recipe!
- 2 large zucchini
- 1 lb #365everydayvalue mild italian chicken sausage
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup 365 kalamata olives
- ¼ cup 365 sun-dried tomatoes, drained
- 365 Greek extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Truffle salt, for garnish
- Turn the zucchini into noodles using a spiralizer. Wash and slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Set aside.
- Brown the sausage in a large sauté pan over medium heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
- When the sausage is cooked almost all the way through, add the zucchini noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly wilted.
- Stir in the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Allow the flavors to warm together for about 2 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and transfer to 4 serving dishes. Garnish with a pinch of truffle salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
This post is part of a sponsored collaboration with Whole Foods Montgomery County. All thoughts and snarky opinions are my own, duh! 🙂
