- We just jumped into fall this week, so that means it's time
for a fall meal prep video. For those of you who've
been around a while, you know that this is the last video in my seasonal meal prep series, and I've already done videos for spring, summer, and winter. I've also done a meal prep ideas video that's great for all seasons, and a video on my favorite meal prep storage containers. So, if you're new, make sure to go back and check out all of
those different videos. As most of you know, my approach to meal prep is to prep individual ingredients for easy mix-and-match
meals throughout the week. And as we transition into fall, I start to crave heartier ingredients, like sweet potato and kale, but I also want those
delicious fall flavors, like apple, cinnamon, and pumpkin. In today's video, I'll show you how to meal prep 10 ingredients and give you a few ideas for delicious fall recipes you can easily make in just a few minutes. Fall food is often very beige in color, so you'll also notice that I'm purposefully
injecting a lot more color into these simple, healthy recipes. Now, just as I've done on my previous meal prep videos, I've created a downloadable PDF guide of this fall meal prep so you don't have to worry about taking any notes
throughout the video. I'll tell you how to download the guide at the end of the video, but, right now, let me show you what I've meal prepped this week. As always, I'm starting
with the ingredient that takes the longest first, and, today, that's
apple cinnamon pancakes, which are quite fall appropriate. They're also gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo-friendly. To get started, add a
1/2 cup of almond flour, a 1/3 cup of tapioca flour, and 1/3 cup of coconut
flour to a large bowl. You'll also add 1/2
teaspoon of baking soda, one tablespoon of ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Then, grab a whisk and blend all of those dry ingredients together. I prefer to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, as it makes for the fluffiest pancakes when the batter only comes
together at the very end. So, in a separate bowl,
add four large eggs, 1/2 cup of almond milk,
or any dairy-free milk, 1/2 cup of applesauce, and I use unsweetened applesauce. One tablespoon of maple syrup or honey, one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and give it another stir until everything is combined and you have a creamy batter. (upbeat music) Now, at this stage, I like to use my pancake pen, as it's much easier to get perfectly round pancakes
using this little tool, and I'm kind of obsessed with it. But if you prefer to dollop
batter with a large spoon, that's totally fine, as well. Heat a pan on the stove or turn on an electric griddle and coat it with a little butter, ghee, or coconut oil, then make your pancakes. You'll see there's a little
texture to these pancakes versus my regular paleo pancakes, and that's because of the applesauce. But you'll love the added flavor and moisture it provides. I do recommend keeping the pancakes about three to four inches in diameter, as they'll be easier to
flip and store, as well. After they've cooked
for a couple of minutes and are golden on the bottom, give them a flip. I have several variations of this recipe on my website, including a pumpkin pancake recipe, which you could make, as well. Once the pancakes are fully cooked, remove them to a plate and let them cool down
for a couple of minutes. While they're cooling, grab a plate or sheet pan that will fit in your freezer and cover it with parchment paper. Place the pancakes on the sheet pans and then pop them in the freezer. What we wanna do is
pre-freeze the pancakes in a single layer so that
they don't stick together when we place them in a
storage container at the end. For the next ingredient, which is roasted sweet potato, preheat your oven to
425 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweet potato is hearty and filling, and you've seen me meal
prep it numerous ways. But, today, we'll roast it
with a little seasoning. Peel two pounds of sweet potatoes, and if you don't have a Y peeler, you need to grab one, as it's the easiest way to peel potatoes. I'll link mine in the
description box below. I also recommend cutting a little bit off the side of the potato before slicing it so that it doesn't roll around on you. Slice the potato into 1/2 inch pieces, then stack a few slices
on top of each other and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. The goal here is to keep
everything about the same size so that it cooks evenly in the oven. Add the sweet potato to a baking sheet and drizzle it with a little bit of avocado oil or olive oil. For the seasoning, add
1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, along with some salt and pepper. Then, use your hands to
mix everything together. This is a light seasoning, which I prefer, as it makes the roasted sweet
potato a bit more versatile. But if you prefer a stronger flavor, you can easily double the seasoning. Spread the sweet potato
out on the sheet pan, and if it looks like your pan is really crowded, grab
a second sheet pan. If the sweet potato is too close together, as it was here, it will steam rather than roast, because the air can't
circulate around each piece. Pop the sweet potato into the oven and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes. It will need to be
flipped halfway through, so we'll come back to it in a bit. But while it's cooking, we can get started on
our third ingredient, which is cassava flour tortillas. You can buy cassava flour
tortillas in the store now, but when I first made
this recipe years ago, store-bought options didn't exist. And to be honest, I still love the texture of my homemade version. To make them, add one
cup of cassava flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar, and two tablespoons of
avocado oil to a bowl. Then, dig in with your hands and mix everything together until it's somewhat crumbly. Add 2/3 cup warm water and continue mixing with your hands. You'll notice it's really wet and soupy at the beginning, but as soon as the flour starts absorbing the water, it will turn into a dough. I also have several tips on my website when it comes to making these tortillas, including the brand of flour I recommend, so make sure to check that out. Once you've got a dough the texture of soft Play-Doh, roll it into a log in the bowl and slice it into six pieces. Six pieces will give you
six six-inch tortillas. If you'd like bigger eight-inch tortillas, divide it into four pieces. Roll each piece in your
hands to create a ball, and they don't have to be perfect here, as they're gonna get flattened anyway. (upbeat music) It's now about 15 minutes since I've put the sweet
potato in the oven, so I'll give the pieces
a flip with a spatula. You could also rotate the
pans around or top to bottom. You just wanna make sure one side isn't cooking
faster than another. While that continues to cook, let's flatten our tortillas. You can do this with a tortilla press or a rolling pin, but I prefer a tortilla press. To make your life even easier, I recommend eight-inch
parchment paper rounds, which fit the press perfectly. Lay one piece of parchment
paper on the press and add a dough ball. I like to give it a little smush, just so it doesn't go anywhere. And I also place the ball slightly towards the back, as it tends to squish forward. Then, add the top piece of
parchment paper and press down. Continue this process and flatten all of the tortillas. And you can reuse the same pieces of parchment paper several times, as well. (upbeat music) To cook the tortillas, heat a large nonstick or
cast iron pan on medium heat. I rarely use nonstick, but this is one of the times where I think it's helpful. Carefully remove the parchment paper and flip the tortilla into the pan. Cook it for a minute or
so on the first side, give it a flip, cook for another minute, then remove the tortilla
to a plate to cool, and repeat this process
with the other tortillas. You may notice the dough bubble up a bit while it's cooking, and that's fine, as well. (upbeat music) When the tortillas are warm off the stove, they're absolutely delicious. They're soft and pliable, and you'll notice that they have that stretchy, very gluten-like texture of flour tortillas. Let these cool for a couple of minutes, and in the meantime, remove the roasted sweet
potato from the oven. Ideally, you also wanna let this cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer it to a storage container and place it in the fridge. The parchment paper rounds we used to make the tortillas also come in handy when storing so the tortillas don't stick together. Unfortunately, I don't have a Stasher bag big enough to fit these tortillas, so I place them in a
plastic bag in the fridge. Now that our sweet potato
is out of the oven, we can place another item in the oven, and that's a couple trays of bacon. You may have see my previous video on baking bacon in the oven, and it's my favorite method, as it's less messy and you get perfectly
crispy bacon every time. To get started, lower the
temperature on the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lay the bacon in a single layer on a parchment lined baking tray. Then, place it in the oven. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the bacon to cook, but I always set the timer for 15 minutes, just to check on it. While the bacon is cooking, we can work on another protein, and that's shredded chicken. I love meal prepping shredded chicken, as you can add it to so many
recipes throughout the week, from salads, to baked sweet
potatoes, to casseroles. To cook the chicken, add a couple tablespoons of avocado oil or olive oil to a pan and
add the chicken breasts. Season them with salt and pepper, and cook them on one side
for about five minutes. While the chicken is cooking, measure out 3/4 cup of chicken broth. Searing one side makes the
chicken super flavorful, but we'll poach the chicken the rest of the way with a little broth to keep it ultra moist. When you flip the chicken over, add the chicken broth, and then add a lid. Cook the chicken an additional
seven to 10 minutes, or until the internal
temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, there's a couple of
ways to shred chicken. You can use two forks and pull it apart, but I love to use my stand mixer. It's the fastest and easiest way, especially when you've got
several chicken breasts. Add the paddle attachment
to your stand mixer and place the chicken in the bowl. Lock the tilt head and turn it on low. In about 20 seconds, you'll have perfectly shredded chicken, which you can then transfer to a storage container
and place in the fridge. (upbeat music) At this point, the bacon should be done, so remove that from the oven and transfer the pieces to a paper towel. And you can use another paper towel to dab up any excess oil from the bacon. As you might imagine, a few pieces never manage to make it into the storage container, but that's why I plan ahead with two sheet pans worth. Let the bacon cool, then crumble it into a
small storage container and place it in the fridge. Beans are a great item to meal prep, as they're easy, economical,
and full of fiber. You can choose to make them from scratch or use canned beans;
it's entirely up to you. Today, I'm using canned beans to keep my meal prep simple, and this version is organic and doesn't have any salt
or unnecessary ingredients. In fact, it has kombu, which you've seen me add
to my lentils in the past, and that not only adds flavor, but makes them more digestible,
which is a good thing. So, I'll add the beans to a strainer and rinse them over the sink until the water running through is clear. Then, I just have to add them to a storage container, and they're done super fast. I've done several hummus recipes in previous meal prep videos, so it should come as no surprise that I've got another. Hummus not only makes for a tasty snack, but it's great to dollop or spread on a variety of recipes. And to keep things interesting, I'm jazzing it up this week with herbs and spinach for a lovely green goddess version. To make the hummus, drain two cans of chickpeas and add them to a blender
or food processor. Add 1/3 cup of the reserved
liquid to the blender, along with 1/2 cup of tahini and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Then, add one cup of
moderately packed spinach and 1/2 cup of herbs. I'm using parsley and cilantro, but you could also use tarragon, basil, mint, and a variety of others. To that, add one green onion that's roughly chopped, the juice from two lemons, one garlic clove, one teaspoon of cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the lid to the blender, remove the lid cap, and insert the tamper. Turn the blender on high, and, in one minute, you'll see that the hummus changes color from your standard beige
to a beautiful green. (upbeat music) Transfer the green hummus
to a storage container. And if this is more than you
think you'll enjoy in a week, you can separate it into two containers and freeze half of it. I'm a spinach lover, but I'm always trying to switch up my greens
for nutrient variety, so this week, I'm meal prepping kale. I've already washed the kale, and this couldn't be easier to meal prep, because all you have to
do is tear off the leaves and place them in a container. Once you're done, add a paper towel to the top of the kale
to absorb any moisture. Add the lid, and then
place it in the fridge. I've previously shown you how to prep veggie sticks, like celery and carrots, but, this week, we're prepping
sweet red bell peppers. Of course, you can choose
any color of bell pepper, but red seemed fitting for fall. Just slice each side off
around the center seed core and then slice each large
piece into smaller strips. To store these, just add a paper towel to a glass storage container
and pile them on top. These will stay crisp for several days in the fridge, but, as a reminder,
those storage guidelines are all listed on the downloadable PDF. It's so easy to make
vinaigrette dressings at home, and they always have so much more flavor than anything you can buy in the store. This week, I'm prepping my apple cider vinaigrette, which is just a combination of 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, one tablespoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, one minced garlic clove,
and salt and pepper. Once all of those
ingredients are in the bowl, just whisk them together until the dressing is emulsified, and pour it into a small glass jar, then place it in the fridge. For our last ingredient today, we've got a dessert, and you guys know how much
I love my chia pudding. So, for a delicious fall version, I'm making a pumpkin
pie chia pudding mousse. And it's a mousse because we're gonna blend the seeds up. Add one cup of any type
of milk to your blender, along with 1/4 cup of chia seeds, 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, two tablespoons of maple syrup, two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Once all of the ingredients
are in the blender, just blend on high for a minute, or until the chia mousse
is smooth and creamy. Transfer this to a storage container, making sure to scrape out every last bit, and then place it in the fridge. But let's not forget the very first ingredient we started with, which was the apple cinnamon pancakes. After a couple of hours in the freezer, they should be nice and frozen, so we can transfer them
from the baking sheets to a glass lock storage container and place them back in the freezer. All right, so now that you have these 11 ingredients prepped, let me give you a few ideas of what you can make quickly and easily throughout the week by combining them with items from your fridge or pantry. For breakfast, it doesn't get much easier than popping a couple of
frozen pancakes in your toaster and adding a dollop of
butter and maple syrup. But if you'd like an extra
special topping for the holidays or any day of the week, it's easy with fresh, in-season apples. Just peel a couple of
apples with a Y peeler, remove the core, and cube them up. Add two tablespoons of butter to a pot, along with 1/4 cup of maple syrup, the diced apples, and
a teaspoon of cinnamon. Then, simmer this for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the apples are nice and soft. Once your pancakes are warmed through, add them to plate, along with a couple generous spoonfuls of the maple apple cinnamon topping. And you've got yourself a breakfast that will certainly please. (upbeat music) For a savory skillet breakfast, you can easily whip up
an individual version of my sweet potato breakfast hash. The full version of this
recipe is on my website, but as most of the ingredients
are already prepped, it'll come together fast. Just add a little oil to a pan, along with diced onion
and red bell pepper. Once they've softened, add a handful of kale, and let that wilt down, then sprinkle some bacon, and warm it through. Because our sweet potato
is already cooked, we just need to warm that
up for a minute or two, give everything a stir, then create a well in the middle. Crack an egg into the well, add a lid if you'd like it to cook faster, and a minute or two
later, you're almost done. Before serving, sprinkle
on some green onions, salt and pepper, and you've got yourself a hearty sweet potato breakfast hash that's loaded with nutrients. (upbeat music) For another egg breakfast
that's Mexican inspired, you can make huevos rancheros. Just dice up a Roma tomato, fresh cilantro, and green onion, and set that to the side. In a small pan, heat up a couple
tablespoons of avocado oil and add one of the
cassava flour tortillas. Cook this for a minute on each side to make it nice and crispy, then transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. With the pan still warm, crack an egg into the pan and make a perfect fried egg. While the egg is cooking, heat up some of the black beans and add them to the tortilla. Scoop out your fried egg, add that on top of the black beans, and then sprinkle the tomatoes all around. Of course, to really
bring the Mexican flavors, we need a little cilantro, so sprinkle that on top, along with the green
onions and cotija cheese, which has a deliciously salty flavor. If you wanna spice it up even more, you can drizzle some hot sauce, sprinkle salt and pepper, and garnish with a few slices of avocado for an easy, flavor-packed
breakfast you'll love. For a healthy snack, all you have to do is dip some bell pepper
slices into your green hummus. But if you'd like to
make it a bit more fancy, just scoop the green
hummus into a small bowl and give it a swoosh. Drizzle a little olive
oil, add fresh parsley, some chopped walnuts, and
a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Then, add the hummus to a plate, along with more red bell pepper slices to impress any family members or guests. (upbeat music) For an easy main meal, you can eyeball a single portion of my kale salad with chicken and apples. Just add some kale to a bowl, along with a handful of shredded chicken, and dice up an apple. I'll add about 1/2 the apple to the salad, along with a small
handful of dried cherries, raisins, and walnuts. Then, I'll slice up some red onion and top that on the salad and give my apple cider
vinaigrette a shake before drizzling it on top. After a gentle toss, I'll add it to a bowl for a beautiful fall harvest salad that took just about
three minutes to make. (upbeat music) For the next meal, I'll make a chicken and black bean wrap. But the tortillas are pretty stiff when they're cold from the fridge, so I'll warm one up in the
microwave for 10 seconds. After that, it becomes super pliable and ready for fillings. I'll start by adding some of my green hummus and spreading it across the middle. Then, I'll add a handful of kale leaves, a handful of shredded chicken, a couple spoonfuls of black beans, and a sprinkle of crumbled bacon. Since I've got red onion this week, I'll add that to the top, but you could also add
green onion, as well. Then, I'll wrap it up tightly and try to keep as much
inside as possible. If you're making this for work or to take in a lunchbox, I recommend using some
string to tie around it. I like to tie two pieces of string because I can then cut it down the middle and keep both halves all wrapped up. (upbeat music) Now, this wouldn't be a meal prep video if I didn't make a macro
bowl with leftovers, so that's what I'm doing next. You can literally add any of the ingredients to a bowl and have a healthy meal, but, today, I'm adding some kale, along with a good helping
of shredded chicken and roasted sweet potato. I'll dice up some of the red bell pepper into bite sized pieces and add that to the macro bowl, along with a small
handful of crumbled bacon. Then, I'll dollop a large spoonful of green hummus in the middle. And since I had some
microgreens in the fridge, I'll add a small amount of those, along with chopped walnuts. If you'd like, you could also drizzle some of the vinaigrette
on top of this macro bowl. (upbeat music) For dessert, we really
don't have to do any work, except to scoop out
some of our pumpkin pie chia pudding mousse into a bowl and top it with whipped cream. I'm adding a spoonful of my coconut whipped cream, and to make it extra special, just sprinkling some cinnamon on top. (upbeat music) I hope you enjoyed all of
those fall inspired recipes. And as I mentioned at the beginning, I created a downloadable PDF guide of this fall meal prep video for you. The downloadable guide contains all of the storage guidelines
for each ingredient, as well as links to the full recipes on downshiftology.com. You can download the guide by checking in the video description box for a link to sign up on my email list, but if you're already on my email list, you don't have to do anything; you will automatically get this PDF guide in your email inbox today. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up, hit that subscribe button, and let me know in the comments below what type of meal prep videos you would like to see next. All right, that's it for me today. Make sure you tag me on Instagram when you make any of these recipes. And I will see you
again in the next video. For those of you who've
been around a while, you know (stammers). For those of you, nah,
see, (chuckles) blah. Few ideas for delicious fall (stammers). I've created a downloadable PDF guide of this fall (stammers). PDF guide of this fall
meal prep for you, ahh. If you enjoyed today's video,
this video, today's video. With the seasonal meal prep theme, and I'm assuming you guys
want to see more (stammers). Meal prep videos you'd like to see next, since we're now done with
this meal prep seasonal, seasonal meal prep, meal prep seasonal. Done with this meal prep theme, but I'm assuming you guys
would like, like, bleh, bleh. All right, that's it for me today, I, I. (upbeat music)
