Fruits and Veggies Monday--Meal Prepping!

Happy Monday!  That means it's time for another installment of #fruitsandveggiesmonday with our fantastic host @lenasveganliving!  Today is also my niece's 2nd birthday, which makes it an even better day. :)  What does your only vegan auntie get you for your birthday?  Fruits and veggies of course!  Her other auntie and I had fun quizzing her on colors and types, so we're helping her brain grow while priming her to enjoy excellent brain fuel.  Plus it is so sweet to hear that little kid voice say "cucumber".

In the blink of an eye I am sure she'll be coming over and hanging out with me in my kitchen.  I can only hope she enjoys cooking as much as my sisters and I do, and that I can help her appreciate nutrition and learn where her food comes from.  On to the real food!  It was quite dreary around Atlanta yesterday, so I had fun in the kitchen most of the day as I had no desire to leave the house.  The fruit basket is well-stocked for the week for easy snacks.

I of course also worked on my meal prep.  I can't let a week go by without giving you a few meal prepping ideas.  This week I got a massive head of cauliflower and a red cabbage.  The cauliflower was actually a really good deal since they sold it by item instead of by weight.  My tip for using up big items like that is to put them in a few different of your recipes for the week.

The cauliflower I "riced" in my food processor to go into my slow cooker oats for a new twist on one of my standard meal prep breakfasts as well as into a salad I'm going to finish making today.  By prepping all of it at once yesterday it will be even easier to work with today.  Plus I only had to wash the food processor once!

The cabbage I also multi-purposed.  I put a little bit of it in my potato and split pea soup in my other slow cooker and the rest of it went to make my warm cabbage recipe for part of our dinner last night.  It can definitely save money and make your prep easier if you think about using vegetables like this.  I love incorporating a multitude of fresh produce in my meals, but since this time of year there aren't a ton of options really in season I don't mind putting the staples to good use!

I had quite the assembly line going at one point when I was finishing up with my slow cooker soup and oats while also getting my delicious Super Bowl meal going--I'll post that a bit later!  I always try to look at what I'm making and lay it out in a way that will make it the easiest on me as far as chopping all at once, which burners are being used, or even having the dish that will take the longest going while I prepare the last-minute items that are done in a flash.  It is a bit daunting at first, but I always feel wonderfully exhausted when I'm done and I have all these healthy meals to show for it!

What's everyone else got cooking this week?  I can't wait to take a tour of the challenge to see!

Check out the #fruitsandveggiesmonday tag for more posts like this, as well as #makeithealthy tag and site @make-it-healthy for other tips on a healthy lifestyle!