Not So Lazy Sunday

I often talk about "pre-planning" and "prepping" my fruits and veggies, but I haven't showed you how. Prepping your fruits and veggies ahead of time makes cooking in the kitchen so much quicker and easier. It also helps you make the right choices for snacking. The main reason people tend to go for a bag of chips or cookies for a snack is because of convenience. It's much easier to open up a bag than wash, peel, and cut your fruits and veggies. Doing all this ahead of time gives you easy options to snack on. Usually on Sunday's, I head to my local grocer and do produce shopping for the week. I always try to get just the basics and things I know I'll use everyday - but sometimes I get carried away.

My basic shopping list consists of:

• fresh berries - whatever looks fresh and in season
• 1 bunch of bananas
• 5 grapefruits - one for every day of my work week
• 5 bell peppers - a mix of green, red and orange
• 5 cucumbers
• 1 bunch of vine tomatoes
• 3 bunches romaine lettuce
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bag grapes
• 2 heads of broccoli 
• 3 avocados
• 2 large bunches of kale
• 1 large bin of baby spinach
• 1 squash
• 1 pineapple and any other fruits that look good

I did pretty good today sticking to my list, just got a few additional things. Since its summer, we have a much larger selection of super sweet fruits that are in season - so I usually take advantage.  Anything I don't get to finish during the week, I just freeze in zip lock bags!

The first thing I do after I unpack my fruits and veggies, is clean and prep them. For example: I chop, and clean my romaine lettuce in a salad spinner, rinse my grapes, kale and berries - so they are ready to eat. Chop up some broccoli, bell peppers and cucumbers so they are ready to eat with dips. Peel and cut any large fruit such as pineapples and watermelon, then store the pieces into a large tupperware containers.

I also continue packing my fruits and veggies to take with me for lunch. Here I have pineapple, watermelon, and a large green salad with romaine lettuce, broccoli, bell peppers, avocados, and tomatoes. This was super easy to put together since I already prepped my fruits and veggies. You can continue to use the your prepared produce throughout your busy week for quick lunches and healthy dinners.