To be honest, I’m excited to be going back to school. It’ll be good to get out of the house and see some other humans. I’m even a little excited to make lunches again! Although I know I’ll probably be sick and tired of it after the first week. That’s why there’s this awesome thing called MEAL PREP. You just make a bunch of delicious food, throw it in containers, and store it in the fridge for when you need it next. A while ago I published a Black Bean Stew that’s great for meal preppin’, and I also have a TON of freezer meals that you can make and then just reheat in the morning. Today I made some Mexican Inspired Meal Prep Bowls, which are AMAZING and full of flavour and good stuff that’ll fill you up. Because not being full is reason number 353378 that school lunches can sometimes suck. Keyword sometimes. Your lunches won’t suck after this.
In these bowls I put a lot of veggies, some quinoa, delicious refried beans, and a KILLER homemade salsa that will knock your socks off. This can all come together in about 30 minutes, and that 30 minutes will save you from a lot of pain later on in the week. You know when you’re like, oh, I’ll just throw a random granola bar in my bag because that’s all I need, and then you seriously regret it at lunch? Problem solved. Now you can throw this in your bag instead. Just maybe don’t actually throw it because then the lid might come off and your backpack will smell like salsa.
I know I said this last year and probably every year before that too, but this year I’m really going to be more organized will meal prepping. Join me in this quest to end LLS (Lazy Lunch Syndrome). I’ll definitely be posting more meal prep recipes, and some tips and tricks for making awesome lunches. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram to stay up to date!!
Mexican Inspired Meal Prep Bowls
Serves: 2 (feel free to double or triple the recipe to prepare for the entire week)
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted
- 1 small carrot, grated
- 1 can of **ORGANIC** black beans; reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid, then drain and rinse the rest. Please use organic black beans, because when using the liquid you want to make sure it’s just water and salt, and there’s no preservatives.
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 a lemon
- 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro
- A big handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1/4 of a white onion, diced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the black beans and use a fork or wooden spoon to mash them a bit. After cooking for about 2 minutes, add in the liquid from the can, then stir and continue mashing. Season with salt and pepper, and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Cook until the beans have thickened and most of the liquid is evaporated, about another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Place the diced tomato, diced onion, garlic, cilantro and the rest of the juice from the lemon in the blender, and season with some salt and pepper. Give in a few pulses until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Evenly divide the quinoa, corn, grated carrot, refried beans, cherry tomatoes, and salsa into two tupperware containers. Store in the fridge until needed!!
I hope you guys try these out! Have a great rest of your Monday, and an awesome first day at school, however that will look like for you!!
Yours Truly,
Olivia:))