MEAL PREP for SUMMER | light & fresh recipes + PDF guide

- Hello guys and welcome back to my channel. If you're new, I'm Lisa and I'm making a

summer

meal

today as these videos continue to be in high demand. Now, since it's

summer

and very hot outside, especially here in Southern California, I tried my best to limit the amount of cooking in this

meal

prep

. There are only two ingredients that require cooking and the rest of the items are

light

,

fresh

and really simple. So, that means less time in the kitchen cooking and more time outside enjoying the summer. So in today's video, I'm going to show you how to make meals with 10 ingredients and give you some ideas for meals and

recipes

that you can

prep

are quickly during the week.

I also introduced you to a little bonus dessert recipe today because when it's hot and summer, I think we could all use a sweet ice cream treat. Now, just like I did in the last meal prep video, I created a downloadable PDF

guide

to this summer meal prep, so you don't have to worry about taking notes throughout the video. I'll tell you how to download the PDF at the end of this video, but first, let me show you what I put together this week. As usual, we'll start with the item that takes the most time and for this meal prep, it's zucchini bread.

So, we'll grease a loaf pan with coconut oil and set the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Zucchini bread is the perfect summer bread since zucchini is plentiful and is a great way to incorporate more vegetables into an otherwise very beige food. Zucchini bread is also very moist and, as you will see later, it can be used both sweet and savory. Grate a cup and a half of zucchini, which is usually about one large zucchini. Then use a nut milk bag or kitchen towel to squeeze any excess water from the zucchini. As a tip, I always use my nut milk bag inside out, so the seams are facing out.

This helps prevent food particles from getting stuck in those seams. So, you will just squeeze out all the water and then set this zucchini aside. To start our dry ingredients for this paleo and gluten-free zucchini bread, we'll add one and a half cups of almond flour, half a cup of tapioca flour, and a quarter cup of coconut flour to a bowl. To that, we'll add a teaspoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon of salt and then mix all the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, we'll mix together our wet ingredients, which include three eggs, half a cup of applesauce, two tablespoons of maple syrup, and half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

Then we will add our grated zucchini and stir until everything is combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix everything until you get a dough. Then pour it into your greased loaf pan and cook for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. (upbeat music) Hard-boiled eggs are the perfect one-ingredient snack, but for this meal prep, I have a few new

recipes

up my sleeve. If you watched my video on how to make the perfect hard-boiled and soft-boiled eggs, I'm sure you're already an expert at making them.

But, for those who haven't seen that video yet, we'll start by boiling a pot of water. Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat for just a second and use a slotted spoon to gently place the eggs into the hot water. Turn the heat back up to high and set a timer for 12 minutes. While the eggs are cooking, we can move on to the next step, which is to peel and cut several bananas. Line a plate or tray with parchment paper and grab some popsicle sticks because we will freeze the bananas and create a treat in just a moment.

Once you've peeled the bananas, cut several of them in half, and it's probably not wise to cut them by hand like I'm doing. Once you have three or four bananas cut in half, insert the popsicle sticks halfway into the bananas and place them in the freezer for at least two hours. For the remaining bananas, cut them into quarters and place them in a storage container or Stasher bag since we will be using them for smoothies. I really love the Stasher bags for sliced ​​bananas as the bananas sit in a flat layer and don't stick to the bag as it is silicone which makes removing them much easier.

If you want to learn more about Stasher bags, be sure to watch my video on meal prep containers. Alright, your hard-boiled eggs should be almost ready at this point, so prepare an ice water bath and then set it aside. Once the 12 minutes are up, remove the eggs from the pot and let them cool completely in the ice water. Like zucchini, cucumber is a re

fresh

ing, refreshing and hydrating vegetable during the summer. In my first meal prep video, I showed you how to pre-chop carrots and celery and store them in water. Well, good news, you can do the same with cucumber and eat it as a snack throughout the week.

So, cut up one or two cucumbers and then add them to a glass jar. Fill your jar with cold filtered water, close the lid, and then place it in the refrigerator. If you have any leftover cucumber that won't fit in the jar, simply cover the end tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator, too. Another ingredient that simply heralds summer is fresh strawberries. And since my local market had organic strawberries on sale two for one this week, I, of course, bought two. Unfortunately, strawberries are at the top of the Dirty Dozen list, which measures the amount of pesticide residue on produce, so washing them is key.

And studies have shown that conventional strawberries often have residues of more than 10 different pesticides. Now, I must also clarify that organic strawberries are not free of pesticides. In fact, organic produce still contains pesticides, just not the synthetic pesticides found in conventional strawberries. So, think of organic as simply containing fewer pesticides and being non-GMO. To wash strawberries to remove dirt, debris, and bacteria, add them to a bowl of water and let them soak for five minutes. Then drain them and store them in an open container lined with paper towels for up to five days. And if you want to know why I no longer add vinegar to my water, I'll have more information in the full blog post.

If you're gluten-free or looking for a low-carb alternative to sandwich bread and buns, there really is nothing better than fresh lettuce leaves. Today I'm using green leaf lettuce, but you can also use red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, or several other varieties. We'll wash the lettuce similarly to strawberries, so fill a large bowl with water and remove each lettuce leaf from the stem. Dip it into the water, shake it clean, and let it sit for several minutes. If you have a salad spinner, use it to dry the leaves or pat them dry with a kitchen or paper towel.

I'm usually not a fan of single-use products like a salad spinner, but if you eat a lot of salads, like me, it's definitely a very useful tool. Once the lettuce is dry, add the leaves to a paper towel-lined storage container and place in the refrigerator. At this point, our eggs should also be completely cold. You can keep them in their peel for up to a week in the refrigerator or you can peel them ahead of time and they will last up to three days in the refrigerator in a storage container. It's totally up to you based on your personal preferences and what you plan to prepare during the week.

Next on our list is bell pepper and I often add diced bell pepper to salads and scrambled eggs during the summer. So, cut the pepper in half and use your three middle fingers to easily remove the seeds. Then chop the bell pepper, add it to a storage container and place it in the refrigerator. I haven't found any benefit from adding paper towels or water to the container with bell pepper, so I just add it directly to one of my Glasslock storage containers. (upbeat music) Preparing onions to eat is one of my favorite things to do because it means I only have to cry once, instead of several times throughout the week.

And boy, do I have sensitive eyes. I like to cut the red onion into thin half-moon slices because that gives me the option of keeping them that way or quickly cutting them into smaller pieces throughout the week. And that little quick socket is so fast it never gets my hydraulics flowing. Once the red onion is cut, add it to a storage container and place it in the refrigerator. Now, we hope you haven't forgotten about our zucchini bread because after you've sliced ​​and diced all those vegetables, it should be fully cooked. Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool. (upbeat music) Last on our meal prep list are two very tasty dressings, and the first is a champagne vinaigrette.

It comes together very easily and starts by finely chopping a small shallot. Add it to a bowl, along with two teaspoons Dijon mustard, the juice of one lemon, one teaspoon honey, a quarter teaspoon salt, and a quarter teaspoon black pepper. To that, we'll add a third cup of champagne vinegar and whisk it together. Then add half a cup of olive oil and whisk continuously while slowly pouring. You would like to emulsify the dressing a little, but it will most likely separate when you store it and that's okay. All you have to do is shake it well before using and I recommend placing it in a leak-proof container, such as a Weck jar or a Le Parfait jar with a silicone gasket.

The name of this dressing is a great clue to one of the recipes we will be making. We'll start by chopping two cloves of garlic and adding a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, the juice of one lemon, half a teaspoon of oregano, which is really the key spice in Greek salad dressing, a quarter teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black salt. pepper and a third cup of red wine vinegar. Then mix everything as we did before and slowly pour in half a cup of olive oil while whisking continuously. Pour it into a storage container and place it in the refrigerator.

Our bananas should be pretty frozen now after about two hours, so place them in a storage container lined with parchment paper and if you stack them, just make sure to put parchment paper between the layers. (upbeat music) Alright, now that you have these 10 ingredients prepared, let me give you some ideas of what you can make in just a few minutes by combining them with ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry. For breakfast, you can prepare a very easy and fresh strawberry and banana smoothie. There are only four ingredients in this smoothie and it can be made dairy or dairy-free.

To start, remove the stems from the strawberries, cut them in half and measure out about two cups. Add them to your blender, along with a frozen banana, which is four of our pieces, half a cup of milk, and half a cup of yogurt. Then blend everything until creamy and, if you want to give it a sophisticated touch, you can add a little fresh strawberry garnish on top. (upbeat music) For another breakfast or snack, we will use our zucchini bread as a base. Of course, you can put the zucchini bread in the toaster and add a little butter, but I thought we'd get a little creative today with both a sweet and savory breakfast option. (upbeat music) For a sweet option, spread some yogurt on zucchini bread and top with some sliced ​​strawberries.

As usual, I have my homemade almond butter in the refrigerator, so I drizzled it on top, but honey would also be a great option. For a little crunch, I add cocoa nibs, but chopped walnuts or chia seeds would also be delicious. For a savory option, add several slices of avocado and one of our hard-boiled eggs. Top that with chives or other herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. As you can see, the toppings are truly endless and whether you opt for sweet or savory, the good news is that you're already getting a boost of veggies in the bread.

As a snack during the day, you can chew cucumber slices or use them to make homemade hummus. But I also have another delicious idea for you and they are smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber bites. Take a couple of cucumber slices out of your jar, place them on a plate, and make sure you have some wild Alaskan smoked salmon. Smoked salmon is a great way to add a boost of protein without cooking and has that wonderful smoky summer flavor. But first we must mash half an avocado. You can scoop this into a bowl and mash it with a splash of lime juice, but I have a habit of mashing it directly into the avocado skin if I'm making it alone.

Add a tablespoon of avocado to each cucumber and place a piece of smoked salmon on top. Chop more fresh chives and sprinkle them, along with some ground black pepper. These bites are beyond tasty and will definitely relieveany feeling of hunger during the day. (upbeat music) For lunch or dinner, it's easy to make thick Greek vegetable salad. If you still have cucumber slices left over from the week, you can use them, but if you want to save them to eat as a snack, it's also very easy to slice another cucumber. The full recipe for this Greek salad with proper measurements is on my website, but today I'm just looking at one serving for myself.

So, I'll dice half a cucumber, add it to a bowl, and slice up a handful of grape tomatoes. I'll also chop up a small handful of pitted Kalamata olives and add them, along with a portion of our previously chopped bell pepper and red onion. Our last ingredient is feta cheese, which I love, and if you've seen my zucchini fries recipe, you'll know that I always buy blocks of fresh cheese, rather than pre-sorted or shredded cheese, as I'm not a fan of those anti-caking additives. Then, all that's left to do is drizzle this salad with our homemade Greek dressing, toss, and enjoy. (upbeat music) For another lunch or dinner idea, we're going to upgrade a traditional egg salad recipe and turn it into an avocado egg salad.

To do that, we'll take three of our hard-boiled eggs, dice them, and add them to a bowl. Then we will peel and pit an avocado, cut it finely and add it to the bowl as well. The avocado will be quite mashed when we stir everything together, so it is not necessary to mash it before adding it to the bowl. Next, we'll take some of our red onion and you can leave it in half moons if you like big pieces or you can quickly cut it into smaller pieces as well. You can use a variety of herbs in this recipe, so feel free to use whatever you have in your garden, but I add chopped chives and fresh parsley from my yard.

To that we'll add two tablespoons of mayonnaise, and I'm using my homemade mayonnaise, a teaspoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Stir quickly and try not to stir it too much. To serve the avocado egg salad, pile it on top of our pre-washed lettuce leaves and garnish with microgreens. (upbeat music) As you can see, I really like salad recipes in the summer, so for a more delicious salad, let's make a smoked salmon, avocado and arugula salad. Again, the full recipe is on my website, but for a single serving, I'll add a handful of arugula to a bowl, along with a small handful of microgreens.

Then I'll break my smoked salmon into smaller pieces and add that, along with half an avocado. To balance the saltiness of the salmon and the creaminess of the avocado, we'll add a little natural sweetness with a sliced ​​pear. Lastly, add a small handful of red onion and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. We'll top this salad with our Champagne Vinaigrette and if it has separated, just give it a good shake before adding a few teaspoons. I think you'll really love the flavors of this salad and it's certainly been one of my favorites over the past few weeks. (upbeat music) Alright, I promised I would have something sweet for you in this summer meal prep, so to finish off today, we're going to make chocolate covered bananas.

If you want any toppings for your bananas, such as nuts, shredded coconut, or dried fruit, be sure to have them ready in advance. To start, add about eight ounces of chocolate chips to a heatproof glass and melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in 20-second increments in the microwave. Then take your frozen bananas and dip them in the chocolate. You can cover them completely, although I found it a little less complicated to cover them about 80% of the way. Let the excess chocolate drip off and you'll notice that the chocolate will start to harden quite quickly on the frozen bananas, so be prepared to sprinkle it over your toppings.

I found that holding the banana while sprinkling the toppings allows the chocolate to harden around the banana. If you immediately place the banana on parchment paper and sprinkle it without holding it, you will see the chocolate spread out flat. Today's toppings for these bananas include shredded coconut, freeze-dried raspberries, chopped pistachios, cocoa nibs, chopped hazelnuts, and almond butter. Chocolate covered bananas are the best summer treat and you can make them all week long, too. Simply place them back in the freezer in the storage container once they are covered with your toppings. (upbeat music) I hope you enjoyed all of those delicious recipes and as I mentioned at the beginning, I created a downloadable PDF

guide

to this summer meal prep for you.

Hopefully it should make your life a little easier in the kitchen as it contains all the food storage guidelines and links to all the full recipes on my website, downshiftology.com. You can download this PDF guide in the video description box below, but if you're already on my list, because you downloaded the spring meal prep guide, you don't have to do anything, you'll automatically receive this summer meal. get ready in an email from me today. One of the benefits of subscribing to my website is that you will always be the first to know when new recipes and videos are posted.

If you liked this video and would like to see more videos in this meal prep series, be sure to like it, hit the subscribe button, and let me know in the comments below. And if you haven't seen my first meal prep video or my spring meal prep video yet, I'll link to them on the last screen. Alright, that's it for me this week. I'll see you again in the next video. (happy music)