What I Meal Prepped in a Random Week Part 2 - #DayInTheLife of a Second Year Med Student
Updated: Mar 20, 2023
Hey Friends!
Welcome back to another addition of what I meal prepped/things I ate in a random week as a med student. I love mixing up what I eat, I love really colorful food, and things that truly satisfy me. That's exactly what I did in this meal prep. Just a quick reminder that I'm not a nutrition professional, this is by no means nutrition advice or me telling you how you should eat, this is just what I meal prepped for a random week. We all have our own nutritional needs, so please keep that in mind when reading. Without further adieu, let's get into it!
Breakfast:
We are on the brink of fall, and I'm ready to dive right into spooky season. This is my favorite time of the year, but sadly in the midwest the weather is not reflecting the glorious, cool, fall season I want it to be. So I decided, maybe if I start cooking with pumpkin, I'll manifest "sweater vibes" weather?
I can't say I've changed mother nature's tune yet, but I did make a pretty delicious pumpkin baked oatmeal for breakfast! I mixed a little bit of dark chocolate in, sprinkled some nuts & hemp seeds on top, and have been eating it each morning in a bowl with hot foamed oat milk on top (which is my personal favorite way to enjoy baked oatmeal)!
Here's the recipe I used: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/pumpkin-baked-oatmeal/
For an additional breakfast item (because you all know how I LOVE to have a multi-part breakfast), I was inspired by @wishbonekitchen on instagram to try making blue chia seed pudding parfaits. I love following WishBoneKitchen, she's a private chef in the Hamptons & her food is AMAZING. Vibrant, stunning, nutritious, and honestly that's downplaying it. I saw this blue chia seed pudding in a reel she did when she catered for a big group of people and it looked totally divine.
Like many of you are probably wondering (and so was I) how do you make chia pudding blue? Well turns out, the secret is butterfly pea flower. It comes as a bright blue powder, and you mix it into a chia pudding recipe. Let those little seeds soak in all the goodness overnight, then mix them with yogurt, berries, granola, honey, and viola - you've got a blue chia pudding parfait! Plus as an added bonus, now that you've got the butterfly pea flower powder on hand, you can make a sleepy bedtime drink known as Blue Moon Milk (another gorgeous food item that helps your brain wind down for bed).
Blue Chia Pudding Parfait: https://cook.me/recipe/blueberry-butterfly-pea-flower-parfait/
Lunch:
My lunch meal prep this particular week was soooooooo easy & truly delicious. The only caveat is you have to like kale. Kale is a food that has been big in diet culture for a while, however; let's just remove it from all these negative associations and treat it like what it really is: a food, or an ingredient to make food. I think kale is delicious when done right. I genuinely eat kale because I'm craving the taste of it. Kale is a strong flavor, and for that reason I think it goes well with other strong flavors. For example, vinegar dressings with dijon mustard helps offset the bitter taste that makes people shy away from this leafy green.
I discovered this really simple & easy salad recipe the other weekend when my family & I did a barbecue, and I loved the way the flavors came together so much that I decided to meal prep it for the week. It is essentially shredded kale, baby tomatoes, sliced almonds, with a vibrant dijon lemon vinaigrette. The best way to meal prep this is leave off the almonds and dressing, but go ahead & combine the veggies together and add the toppings later.
Kale Salad: https://www.jessicagavin.com/lemon-kale-salad/
For me, eating just a salad for lunch isn't usually enough. I commonly prepare this with a smoothie I throw together that has some element of protein in it (peanut butter, greek yogurt, or silken tofu). Another thing I did this week was add a side of brie & white peach toast. Not as high in protein, but very, very high in good vibes. White peaches are a summertime treat & with the summer ending, I wanted to have a last little 'hurrah' with them. I essentially toasted some whole grain bread, spread it with brie, sprinkled a little thyme on the cheese, topped it with the sliced white peaches, and gave it a drizzle of honey. It's a really delightful way to improve your afternoon!
Dinner:
This doesn't really align with my "fall flavors" inspiration, but I was really in the mood for some good fajitas. Here's what happened: I watched a silly Try Guys YouTube Video where Ned had a cook off with his mother-in-law to make the best fajitas for his wife, and looking at the guacamole just sent me straight to day-dreamy tex-mex food land. Before you know it, I was at the store grabbing the veggies, chicken, taco seasoning, refried beans, salsa, avocados, chips and tortillas. My typical approach is warming up a tortilla, spreading it with the refried beans, adding the sautéed chicken & veggies, topping with a little cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Then of course having a side of Spanish rice & chips & guacamole!
One beautiful thing about meals like this is they store great in the fridge and are practically designed for meal prep. You can easily make all these components, store them all week, and quickly throw them on your tortilla when you're ready for dinner. Plus fajitas have all the components of protein, carbs, fiber, and fats to fill you up & satisfy you all evening - kind of a perfect meal!
Dessert:
After satisfying my tex-mex food craving, I revisited my fall flavor inspiration and decided to make myself a big, fluffy loaf of banana bread. I spiced it up a bit by throwing in some dark chocolate and raspberries. In hindsight, I also would have added some nuts - but that's a lesson learned for next time! Banana bread is one of those very unique foods that I think actually gets tastier a few days later. It's like the flavors meld together and the bread gets gradually more moist. It's definitely a nostalgic treat, and a delightful way to end your evening alongside a cup of tea or Blue Moon Milk!
Dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/dark-chocolate-chip-raspberry-banana-bread/
That pretty much wraps up my meal prep for the week!
There was definitely a lot of baking involved, which I'm not mad about because a good baking session in the kitchen with Netflix going in the background is kind of therapeutic for me. With Fall on the horizon, I'm so excited to decorate for Halloween, cook warm cozy food, eat lots of soup and drink lots of spiced coffee & tea, and be overall embrace the beautiful colors that are about to surround us! As always, may your pumpkin spiced lattes be extra-flavorful, may your jackets be warm and cozy, may your autumn decorate your world in gold, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Sincerely,
Natasha LaGrega
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