If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, I highly recommend having some meal prep recipes in your repertoire.
You don't necessarily need to meal prep for the entire week; that's an overwhelming amount of work and requires a lot of extra space in the refrigerator you may not have. But, to have a few meals and snacks on hand can make a huge difference! It can not only help you keep on track with a healthy diet while pregnant or postpartum but it can also alleviate some stress because you can just grab the meal or snack while the kitchen stays clean (or doesn't get any more messy) and you don't have to run to the grocery store.
Especially in the postpartum period, I can tell you from experience, there will be days when you just don't have a moment to yourself. There will be days where the last thing you want to do is to cook a meal. There will be days where a personal Chef would come in handy.
These meal prep Salad Jars are a perfectly balanced meal with lots of protein, healthy fats, fiber, healthy carbs and lots of Vitamins and Minerals. If you are breastfeeding, fresh Ginger is also a great way to add beneficial phytonutrients to your breast milk and it may even help with milk supply (see my Review of Ginger as a possible Galactagogue here).
Lots of good stuff to say about these salad jars, but let's just get to the chase (aka recipe):
Meal Prep Salad Jars with Peanut Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
1 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 English Cucumber
2 Carrots
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
2 Mandarin Oranges
1 cup Arugula or Spinach
1 head Romaine Lettuce
3 oz Pearl Couscous
1 Chicken Breast, farm raised preferred
Salt, Pepper and Paprika for seasoning
1 tbsp Avocado Oil for frying
for the Dressing:
3 heaping tbsps Peanut Butter (1 tbsp per jar)
3 tbsps Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce (1 tbsp per jar)
3 tbsps Avocado or Sesame Oil (1 tbsp per jar)
3 tsps Maple Syrup (1 tsp per jar)
3 tsps Rice Vinegar (1 tsp per jar)
Juice from 1/2 Lime (divide equally between jars)
1 Garlic clove, minced (divide equally between jars)
Fresh ginger, minced (to taste)
optional: Red Pepper Flakes for spice
Other:
3 large Mason Jars
Directions:
Boil the couscous according to package directions.
Prepare 3 large mason jars by splitting the ingredients for the dressing equally among each. Add 1 to 2 tbsps water and stir well until combined.
Chop up the veggies and lettuce into small, bite sized pieces. Peel the mandarin oranges and separate.
Cut chicken breast in to small pieces. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat, add avocado oil and saute the chicken until cooked through.
Divide everything equally between the jars by first adding the vegetables, then the mandarin oranges, then the cooked chicken, then the couscous and lastly, the arugula and romaine lettuce. Close the lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.