​Five FAST! Whole Foods Family Dinners

Heard of #mealprepmonday?
 
It is the answer to preventing Thursday night drive-thru suppers or forty dollar delivery pizza. You experience what it is like to have a sous chef in your own kitchen. And you JUST FEEL BETTER, because you save money, time, and are eating nutritiously.
 
As a mother of three boys (with one under three months!), my week is altogether more harmonious when I reserve just a little time for meal prep on Sunday or Monday. It’s my Sous Chef Day, where I prep enough ingredients in advance so that I breeze through my weeknight dinner menu. Sure, scheduling and preparing for meal prep day is somewhat of a pain, but I am certain that one hour of prep one day per week saves me hours of time later.
 
Remember our last post on the new Whole Foods store in Eugene and how they are here to serve families?
 
Whole Foods in Eugene is partnering with GoMomGo once again to offer a $50 gift card giveaway to one of our readers and to inspire five weeknight dinners that are quick, healthful, and affordable.
 
 Here’s how the Eugene store can help with #mealprepmonday –

​The Meat Department.
​
The happy butchers are there to work for you!

Our menu this week includes chopped bacon…so I asked them to chop it to reduce my prep time in the kitchen.

They assured me that they can and will prepare anything in the meat counter in any way that you ask.

Try them!

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​Discount Days. Coupons. Sales.

Try to shop on a Monday and you will score $3 off your rotisserie chicken.

​Additionally, download the Whole Foods app and peruse the coupons and current sales. They currently have a $5 off $20 of produce coupon available.

And don’t forget to check the Whole Deal paper coupon booklet, available in the store.

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​Freebies. If you are bringing the kiddos, stop by the Customer Service Desk for a free snack.

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365 Brand Items. Look for their private Whole Foods or 365 label on all sorts of products – Whole Foods has these high quality products manufactured by reputable companies so they can offer them at a lower price. 

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A Whole Foods-Inspired
​#mealprepmonday Menu:

Click on recipes for instructions. 

Day 1 Spring Chicken + Veggie Pot Pie
The tarragon and asparagus couple together to bring you the first tastes of spring! 
 
Day 2 Sausage + Sweet Potato Hash
Not really a recipe, but more of a method for an easy, healthful, and TASTY meal.
 
Day 3 Black Bean + Rotisserie Chicken Tostadas
Super simple and very satisfying.
 
Day 4 Stuffed Bell Peppers w/ Bacon
Don’t let the idea of stuffing peppers deter you – it’s pretty straightforward, especially with all your veggies and meat prepped in advance.
 
Day 5 Coconut Peanut Chickpea Stir Fry
A yummy, prepared sauce brings this dinner together in minutes.

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The Shopping List

Assuming you have some of the staples such as spices, oil, and butter –
here is a list you can take to Whole Foods to get everything you need for
FIVE easy and nutritious dinners. For about 60 bucks TOTAL.

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And now, the method of #mealprepmonday to help make the most of your time and ingredients...

After meal prep day, bid farewell to your cutting board and knife for the rest of the week (aside from the mild job of dicing avocado).

Your fridge will be stocked with  fresh, healthy ingredients prepped and ready to go!

​And don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to enter the Whole Foods Gift Card Giveaway!

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Meal Prep Day!

To Do: Pull out your reusable containers, a Sharpie, and some food storage bags of varying sizes. You’ll also need a colander, cheese grater, a large cutting board, and your favorite kitchen knife*.

Most of the ingredients will be stored in containers/bags in the fridge for the week, but you’ll set aside what you’re using to assemble tonight’s Spring Chicken Pot Pie.

*When chopping Pot Pie and Hash ingredients, try to keep the vegetables a similar size so they cook evenly.

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• Shred rotisserie chicken. Set aside 2 cups for Pot Pie. Store the rest in fridge for Tostadas.
• Peel/dice onion. Reserve a half cup for Pot Pie, and bag/refrigerate the rest for Stuffed Peppers.
• Wash/chop asparagus. Set aside 1 cup for Pot Pie, and bag/refrigerate the rest for the Hash.
  
• Chop 2 cups veggie combo of choice for Pot Pie and set aside (carrots, mushrooms, fennel, celery, etc.). I used carrots and mushrooms.
• Chop 2 cups veggie combo of choice for Hash (carrots, onions, asparagus, etc.) and store in fridge. Because I was prepping carrot, onion, and asparagus for Pot Pie already, I made sure to purchase just a little extra to use for Hash - easy!
• Wash/chop tarragon for Pot Pie, set aside.
• Dice sweet potato and yam. No need to peel! Bag/refrigerate for Hash. 
• Halve/stem/seed 4 bell peppers. Bag/refrigerate for Stuffed Peppers.
• Wash/Chop 1-2 romaine hearts for salad to serve with tonight’s Pot Pie.
• Wash/Shred 1 romaine heart and bag/refrigerate for Tostadas.
• Shred cheese and divide into two bags before refrigerating - 1 cup for Stuffed Peppers and the rest to top Tostadas.
• Chop gold potato. Set aside for Pot Pie.
• Cook/assemble Pot Pie.

Whole Foods Eugene is giving away a
​$50 gift card to a GoMomGo Reader! ​

To enter:
Comment on this post with your favorite spring vegetable or recipe.
You can also enter on our Facebook page & share for more entries.
Giveaway winner will be announced on
Sunday, April 2, 2017 at noon.
​
Happy #mealprepmonday!

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Upcoming Fun at Whole Foods Eugene:

3/31: Oyster Happy Hour in the Last Leg Bar from 5-7pm
4/5: 5% day benefiting Cornerstone Community Housing
4/12: Easter Egg Cookie Decorating (Cost: $3/cookie) from 10-11am
4/14: Fish Taco Happy Hour in the Last Leg Bar from 5-7pm
4/15: In-store Easter Egg Hunt – Kids hunt for paper eggs in the store and take them to Customer Service to redeem for a prize!
4/16:  Easter Brunch from 11am-2pm 
*check out the Whole Foods Eugene event page