March Week 3 Meal Prep

When I started writing about Keto, I promised meal prep blogs each week.

Whoops.

But this weekend I remembered this promise (and remembered to take pictures while cooking). The last few weeks of meal prep have been fairly simple. Most weekly lunch plans have involved some kind of crockpot meal like roast beef or beef stew. This week I decided to do something different. I was a little tired of beef in various forms so I opted for turkey and veggies this week.

Nate and I shop for our weekly groceries on Sundays. We always go to Trader Joe’s first. They have the cheapest food and some of the best produce. I planned for a ground turkey meal with zucchini for lunch.

At Trader Joe’s, I picked up the following:

-Two Cartons of Eggs

- A Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream

- Two Packs of Zucchini

- Grated Parmesan Cheese

- A Pack of Frozen Turkey Burgers

- Cheese Bites

- Bottle of Water

- Black Pepper Grinder

- Trader Joe’s Espresso Pillows

Admittedly, the Cheese Bites, Espresso Pillows, and Water were extras, but it was still an easy trip.

I also had to stop at our local grocery store for the ground turkey. They have much better prices on meat than any other place around us. I picked up 3 pounds of ground turkey and I box of Earl Grey Tea here.

It is a misconception that eating keto has to be expensive. My grocery bill has actually gone down since starting this diet (it would go down even more if I could control my Halo Top addiction but...I can’t…)

My total bill came to $39.28. Trader Joe’s was $29.30 and Dave’s (local grocery store) was $9.98. So...pretty damn good for a week of meals.

So for the actual meal prep: I sauteed the ground turkey with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and Himalayan pink salt.

While that cooked, I chopped the zucchini and weighed out 1000 grams. Yes, I weighed it with an actual food scale. For Keto and macro counting, it’s important to weigh all your food. That’s the only way to get an accurate count on your macros.

After the turkey was done, I put it in a bowl and put two tablespoons of Kerrygold butter in the pan to melt. I threw the zucchini in the pan after the butter had melted and seasoned it with garlic salt, a ton of Ms. Dash, and more salt. (Salt is super important to a Keto diet. You have to make sure you get enough of it or you feel like crap).

After the zucchini was soft, but not mushy, I took it off the heat and divided it and the turkey into meal prep containers. I sprinkled two teaspoons of Parmesan onto the zucchini, closed up the boxes and popped them in the fridge. Viola! Lunches for the week.

Oh...and my macros for this meal were Protein=48.02 Carbs=4.22 Fat=46.34.

Like I mentioned before, I eat four eggs for breakfast and also have coffee with two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream as I drive to work. Then I have my remaining macros for dinner. Usually a Turkey or Chicken burger with avocado or broccoli.

Some people balk at meal prep, but this only took me like 45 minutes and now I don’t have to think about lunch. Even if you aren’t Keto, I highly recommend meal prep for lunch. It can make such a huge difference.