Spring Meal Prep {Vibrant, Wholesome Bowls}
Happy weekend friends! Here in Atlanta it is a wee bit chillier than it normally is this time of year, but I’m not complaining as all too soon the sweltering summer will be upon us with little relief from the heat and humidity. This past week was a really busy one for me with a full work week of training clients and classes, but as always I still had plenty of good food on tap to keep us fueled up with all of our local spring produce. Nothing fancy in the P2P kitchen, but it is always fun to share what I’m putting together to help give everyone ideas how to use up their own weekly produce hauls!
Since everything was pretty simple, I didn’t write up full recipes. However, I’ll try to give at least a little bit of guidance how I put together each meal in case you would like to use one as inspiration in your own kitchens. I know plenty of you are still staying at home, so no time like the present to get in there and get to cooking some delicious and healthy food. Even if you are back at work full time, it means meal prepping is all the more important to make sure your refrigerator is stocked up with grab and go meals for the week ahead. Happy prepping!
First up on the menu is a classic kale salad. I always load up on greens from my farmers because they are not only so healthy, but they taste so much better than any greens I can buy in the store. I can often find a number of different types of kale from the market when it is in season–Lacinato, Red Russian, Curly, etc. Each has a slightly different texture and yes, flavor. If you think all leafy greens taste alike then I encourage you to either try growing some yourself or buying from local farmers to really get to know the subtle differences. You may not love them all, but I would be willing to bet you could find a few you enjoy!
I used curly kale for this salad. After rinsing off the greens, I pulled out the thick part of the stem and roughly chopped. A key in making kale more palatable is to massage it with your hands for a few minutes after chopping. It helps start breaking down the tougher fibers and makes the raw leaves more tender. The rest of the salad was super simple. Just chickpeas, shredded carrots and kohlrabi, raw chopped red onion for a little bite, and a tahini dressing. I love using tahini for a creamy dressing, especially mixed with one of my flavored balsamic vinegars. For this one I used a tangerine dark balsamic. So good! The tops of the carrots were chopped up and added almost like an herb garnish. Great as a starter salad or serve up a big portion for a healthy lunch. Even with the dressing added in, this will hold up for a few days if you want to prep ahead of time for the week, but you can also dress as you eat for extra shelf life.
We have had some of these cooler days in the mix, but even if it was 80+ degrees every day I still enjoy some good soup or stew! Last week in my veggie order from one of my farmers they included collard greens. They are a staple down here in Southern cuisine, but I have to say I tend to avoid them for some reason. Perhaps it is my yankee roots (I was born in New Jersey) rebelling against this unfamiliar leafy green. Of course I’m not one to waste any of this local goodness, so I started looking for ways to cook the hearty bunch of greens.
My market haul also included fresh fennel and white turnips, so I found a stew recipe that looked perfect to adjust slightly and include the ingredients I had on hand with a few pantry staples. You can see the original recipe here. I didn’t have any blackeyed peas on hand, so I subbed white beans. The final product was delicious! Using the pressure cooker of course made the whole process super easy, but it also made the greens cook down to a perfect tenderness. I’m happy to say I won’t shy away from those collards anymore! Which is good because there was another bunch in my pickup this morning…
My next bowl was inspired by my pal @riverflows. We were going back and forth messaging each other with some of our recent meals, and she got me drooling with her tempeh and zucchini dish with kimchi on the side. I also had some of the first zucchini of the season on hand, as well as a block of tempeh that I always keep on hand for a quick and satisfying meal. I went more in the Tex-Mex genre by cooking mine with onions, more kale, chili powder, cumin and smoked paprika with a drizzle of jalapeno lime balsamic on top to finish off the dish. There’s also some farro cooked with chili powder and more of my delicious fresh mixed greens underneath. Pretty much anything can be turned into a salad if you need to use up some greens or want to add more nutrients to your bowl. 😉
That’s really one of the joys of sharing what I’ve got cooking–I try to inspire others to make great meals in their own kitchens, but just as often I get inspiration to make my own versions of what my pals share back with me!
Finally, I’ll finish off my prepping roundup with this beautiful spring bowl that I used as my cover image for this post. Though it was really simple, it turned out too pretty not to share! Another of my farmers has the first snow peas of the year popping up, and I thought they would be perfect in a quick stir fry. I also used some of the spring onion and radishes from the market, and bok choy along with a bit of kale leftover for my green power.
The veggies I cooked just to slightly soften, but not lose the fresh crisp texture. Especially of those delicious snow peas. I mixed together some rice wine vinegar, miso and fresh ginger to dress the veggies before topping over black bean noodles. This was one of those meals that totally epitomized spring to me!
Are you hungry yet? I sure hope all these veggie-packed meals whet your appetite. Pretty much all of these took less than 30 minutes of active prepping time. As much as I do love cooking, I still have a limit to how much time I have to put into meal prep–especially in the springtime when all I want to do is get outside and enjoy the weather. Healthy doesn’t have to be hard. And as always, it doesn’t have to be boring.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms here in the US as we celebrate the day tomorrow! We won’t get to see our moms in person, but sending love to both of them and all my other mama friends who deserve a special day. 💚
