- Hey guys and welcome back to my channel. If you're new, I'm Lisa
and today I'm whipping up a summer meal prep, as
these videos continue to be highly requested. Now, because it's summer
and it's really hot outside, especially here in Southern California, I did my best to limit
the amount of cooking in this meal prep. There's only two ingredients
that require any cooking and the rest of the
items are light and fresh and really straight forward. So, that means less time
in your kitchen cooking and more time outside enjoying summer. So, in today's video, I'll
show you how to meal prep 10 ingredients and give you a few ideas for meals and recipes
that you can make quickly throughout the week. I've also thrown in a
little bonus dessert recipe for you today because when
it's hot and it's summertime, I think we could all use
a sweet frozen treat. Now, just as I did on
the last meal prep video, I created a downloadable PDF guide of this summer meal prep,
so you don't have to worry about taking any notes at
all throughout the video. I'll tell you how to download the PDF at the end of this video, but first, let me show you what I've
meal prepped this week. As usual, we'll start with the item that takes the longest
amount of time first and for this meal prep,
that's zucchini bread. So, we'll grease a loaf
pan with coconut oil and set our oven temperature
to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Zucchini bread is the
perfect summertime bread, as zucchini is in abundance
and it's a great way to sneak more veggies into
an otherwise very beige food item. Zucchini bread is also really moist and, as you'll see later,
it can be used in both sweet and savory ways. Grate one and a half cups of zucchini, which is usually about one large zucchini. Then use a nut milk bag or a kitchen towel to squeeze out any excess
water from the zucchini. As a tip, I always use my
nut milk bag inside out, so that the seams are on the outside. This helps prevent food
particles from getting stuck in those seams. So, you'll just squeeze out all the water and then set this zucchini aside. To get started with our dry ingredients for this gluten free, paleo
friendly zucchini bread, we'll add one and a half
cups of almond flour, a half a cup of tapioca
flour and a quarter cup of coconut flour to a bowl. To that, we'll add one
teaspoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of cinnamon and
a quarter teaspoon of salt and then stir all of our
dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, we'll
mix our wet ingredients, which includes three eggs,
a half a cup of applesauce, two tablespoons of maple
syrup and a half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Then we'll add our grated
zucchini and give it a stir until everything is combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir everything together
until you've got a batter. Then pour that into your greased loaf pan and cook for 50 to 60 minutes
or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. (cheerful music) Hard boiled eggs make for the perfect single ingredient snack,
but for this meal prep, I've got a few new recipes up my sleeve. If you watched my video on how to make the perfect hard boiled
and soft boiled eggs, I'm sure you're an expert
at making these by now. But, for those who haven't
yet watched that video, we'll start by bringing
a pot of water to a boil. Once the water is
boiling, turn the heat off just for a second and use a skimmer to gently place the eggs in the hot water. Turn the heat back up to high and set a timer for 12 minutes. While the eggs are cooking, we
can move onto our next item, which is to peel and
slice several bananas. Line a plate or tray with parchment paper and grab yourself some popsicle sticks because we're gonna freeze the bananas and create a sweet treat in just a bit. Once your bananas are peeled, slice several of them in half and it's probably not wise
to slice them in your hand as I'm doing. Once you have three or four
bananas sliced in half, insert the popsicle sticks
halfway into the bananas and place those in the freezer
for at least two hours. For our remaining bananas,
slice these into quarters and place them in a storage
container or Stasher bag, as we'll use these for smoothies. I really love Stasher
bags for sliced bananas, as the bananas lay in one flat layer and they don't stick to
the bag, as it's silicone, which makes getting them out far easier. If you'd like more
information on Stasher bags, make sure to watch my meal
prep containers video. Alright, your hard boiled
eggs should be almost done at this point, so
prepare an ice water bath and then set that to the side. Once the 12 minutes is up,
remove the eggs from the pot and let them fully cool in the ice water. Like zucchini, cucumber
is a cooling, refreshing and hydrating veggie during the summer. In my first meal prep video, I showed you how to precut carrots and
celery and store those in water. Well, good news, you can do
the same thing with cucumber and snack on it throughout the week. So, slice up one or two cucumbers and then add those slices to a glass jar. Fill your jar with cold,
filtered water, close the lid and then place it in the fridge. If you have any leftover cucumber that doesn't fit in the jar,
just cover the end tightly with plastic wrap and store
this in the fridge, as well. Another ingredient that
just screams summertime is fresh strawberries. And since my local market
had organic strawberries on sale two for one this week,
I, of course, grabbed two. Strawberries are,
unfortunately, at the very top of the dirty dozen list,
which measures the amount of pesticide residue in
produce, so washing is key. And studies have shown that
conventional strawberries often times have residue of more than 10 different pesticides. Now, I should also clarify
that organic strawberries are not pesticide free. In fact, organic produce
still contain pesticides, just not the synthetic pesticides found on conventional strawberries. So, think of organic as simply
containing less pesticides and being non-GMO. To wash the strawberries
and remove dirt, debris and bacteria, add them to a bowl of water and let them soak for five minutes. Then drain them and store on
a paper towel lined container with no lid for up to five days. And if you'd like to know
why I no longer add vinegar to my water, I'll have more
info on the full blog post. If you're gluten free or looking for a lower carb alternative
for sandwich bread and buns, it really doesn't get much
better than fresh lettuce leaves. I'm using green leaf lettuce today, but you could also use red
leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce or several other varieties. We'll wash the lettuce
similar to the strawberries, so fill a big bowl with water
and remove each lettuce leaf from the stalk. Submerge it in the water,
slosh it around to clean it and let it sit for several minutes. If you have a salad spinner,
use that to dry the leaves or blot the leaves dry with
a kitchen or paper towel. I'm usually not a fan
of single use products, like a salad spinner, but
if you eat a lot of salads, as I do, then it's definitely
a very useful tool. Once the lettuce is dry, add the leaves to a paper towel lined storage container and place it in the fridge. At this point, our eggs should
be fully cooled, as well. You can keep them in their shell for up to a week in the fridge or you can peel them ahead of time and they'll last for up to
three days in the fridge in a storage container. It's totally up to you based
on your personal preference and what you plan to
make throughout the week. Next on our list is bell pepper and I frequently add diced
bell pepper to salads and egg scrambles during the summer. So, slice the bell pepper in half and use your middle three fingers to easily remove the seeds. Then dice the bell pepper,
add it to a storage container and place it in the fridge. I haven't found any benefits
with adding paper towel or water to the container
with bell pepper, so I just add it straight to one of my Glasslock storage containers. (upbeat music) Meal prepping onions is one
of my favorite things to do because it means I only
have to cry one time, rather than several times
throughout the week. And, boy, do I have sensitive eyes. I like to slice the red onion
into thin half moon slices because that then gives me the option to keep them like this
or quickly dice them into smaller pieces throughout the week. And that quick little dice is so fast that it never gets my waterworks flowing. Once the red onion is sliced, add it to a storage container
and place it in the fridge. Now, hopefully you haven't forgotten about our zucchini bread because
after we've sliced and diced all those veggies, it
should be fully cooked. So, remove it from the
oven and let it cool. (cheerful music) Last on our meal prep list are two very flavorful dressings, and the first is a champagne vinegarette. It comes together really easily and starts with finely
dicing one small shallot. Add that to a a bowl,
along with two teaspoons of Dijon mustard, the
juice from one lemon, a teaspoon of honey, a
quarter teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. To that, we'll add one third
cup of champagne vinegar and whisk it together. Then add one half cup of olive oil and whisk continuously
while slowly pouring. You'd like to emulsify the dressing a bit, but odds are, it will
separate when you store it and that's fine. All you have to do is give it a good shake before using and I'd recommend placing it in a leak proof container, like a Weck jar or a Le Parfait jar
with a silicone gasket. The name of this dressing
is a big giveaway to one of the recipes we'll be making. We'll start by mincing two garlic cloves and adding one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, the juice from one lemon, a
half a teaspoon of oregano, which is really the key spice
in Greek salad dressing, a quarter teaspoon salt, a
quarter teaspoon black pepper and one third cup of red wine vinegar. Then whisk that together
as we did previously and slowly pour in a
half a cup of olive oil while continuously whisking. Pour that into a storage
container and place it in the fridge. Our bananas should be quite frozen now after about two hours, so place
them in a storage container that's lined with parchment
paper and if you stack them, just make sure place parchment
paper between the layers. (cheerful music) Alright, so now that you have
these 10 ingredients prepped, let me give you a few
ideas of what you can make in just a few minutes by combining them with ingredients in your fridge or pantry. For breakfast, you can whip up a very easy and fresh
strawberry banana smoothie. There's only four
ingredients in this smoothie and it can be made with
dairy or dairy free. To start, remove the stems
from the strawberries, cut them in half and measure
out about two cups worth. Add those to your blender,
along with one frozen banana, which is four of our
chunks, a half a cup of milk and a half a cup of yogurt. Then blend it all
together until it's creamy and if you want to get fancy, you can add a little
fresh strawberry garnish to the top. (upbeat music) For another breakfast or snack, we're gonna use our
zucchini bread as the base. Of course, you could
pop your zucchini bread in the toaster and add a pat of butter, but I thought we'd get
a little creative today with both a sweet and
savory breakfast option. (cheerful music) For a sweet option, spread a little yogurt on your zucchini bread and top that with some sliced strawberries. As usual, I have my homemade
almond butter in the fridge, so I'm drizzling that on
top, but honey would be a great option, as well. For a little crunch,
I'm adding cacao nibs, but chopped nuts or chia
seeds would also be tasty. For a savory option, add
several avocado slices and one of our hard boiled eggs. Top that with chives or other herbs and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. As you can see, the
toppings are really endless and whether you opt for sweet or savory, the good news is that you're
already getting a boost of veggies in the bread. For a snack throughout the day, you can munch on your cucumber slices or use them to scoop up homemade hummus. But, I also have another
delicious idea for you and that's smoked salmon,
avocado and cucumber bites. Remove a couple of cucumber
slices from your jar, lay them on a plate and make sure you've got some Wild
Alaskan Smoked Salmon. Smoked salmon is a great
way to add a protein boost without any cooking and it has that wonderful smokey
summertime flavor to it. But first, we need to mash
up half of an avocado. You could scoop this out
into a bowl and mash it up with a squirt of lime
juice, but I have a habit of mashing straight in the avocado skin if I'm just doing it for myself. Add a dollop of avocado to each cucumber and place a piece of smoked salmon on top. Chop up more fresh chives
and sprinkle those, along with a little bit
of cracked black pepper. These bites are beyond tasty
and will definitely tide over any hunger pangs throughout the day. (cheerful music) For lunch or dinner, it's
really easy to whip up the veggie heavy Greek salad. If you still have cucumber
slices left throughout the week, you can use those, but if
you'd like to save those for snacking, it's really easy to slice up another cucumber, as well. The full recipe for this Greek salad with proper measurements is on my website, but I'm just eyeballing a single portion for myself today. So, I'll dice up half a cucumber and add that to a bowl
and slice up a handful of grape tomatoes. I'll also slice up a small handful of pitted Kalamata olives and add those, along with a portion of
our pre-chopped bell pepper and red onion. Our last ingredient is feta cheese, which I love, and if you watched
my zucchini fries recipe, you know that I always buy
fresh blocks of cheese, rather than pre-graded
or pre-crumbled cheese, as I'm not a fan of those
anti-caking additives. Then, all that's left to
do is drizzle this salad with our homemade Greek salad dressing, give it a stir and enjoy. (cheerful music) for another lunch or dinner idea, we're gonna spruce up a
traditional egg salad recipe and turn it into an avocado egg salad. To do that, we'll take three
of our hard boiled eggs, dice them up and add them to a bowl. Then we'll peel and remove
the pit from one avocado, finely dice it and add
that to the bowl, as well. The avocado will become plenty mashed when we stir everything together, so there's no need to
mash it before adding it to the bowl. Next, we'll take some of our red onion and you could leave these in half moons if you like large pieces
or you can quickly dice it into smaller pieces, as well. You can use a variety
of herbs in this recipe, so feel free to use whatever
you may have in your garden, but I'm adding chopped
chives and fresh parsley from my patio. To that, we'll add two
tablespoons of mayonnaise, and I'm using my homemade mayo,
one teaspoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Give it a quick stir and
try not to over stir it. To serve the avocado egg salad, pile it on top of our
pre-washed lettuce leaves and garnish it with microgreens. (cheerful music) As you can see, I'm all
about the salad recipes in the summertime, so for
one more delicious salad, we're gonna make a smoked salmon,
avocado and arugula salad. Again, the full recipe
for this is on my website, but to eyeball a single portion, I'll add a handful of arugula to a bowl, along with a small handful of microgreens. Then I'll tear up my smoked
salmon into smaller pieces and add that, along
with half of an avocado. To balance out the saltiness of the salmon and the creaminess of the avocado, we'll add a little natural
sweetness with a sliced pear. Lastly, add a small handful of red onion and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. We'll top this salad with
our champagne vinegarette, and if it has separated,
just give it a good shake before adding a few teaspoonfuls. I think you're really gonna
love the flavors in this salad and it's certainly been
one of my favorites for that last several weeks. (cheerful music) Alright, I promised I'd
have something sweet for you on this summer meal prep, so
to finish things off today, we're gonna make
chocolate covered bananas. If you'd like any toppings on your bananas like nuts, shredded
coconut or dried fruit, make sure to get those
ready ahead of time. To get started, add about
eight ounces of chocolate chips to a heatproof glass
and melt the chocolate either on a double boiler
or in 20 second increments in the microwave. Then take your frozen bananas
and dip them in the chocolate. You can cover them all the way, though I found it's a little less messy to just cover them about 80% of the way. Let any excess chocolate drip off and you'll notice that the chocolate will start to harden quite
quickly on the frozen bananas, so be ready to sprinkle on your toppings. I've found that holding the banana while sprinkling the
toppings allows the chocolate to harden around the banana. If you place the banana
immediately on parchment paper and sprinkle without holding it, you'll find your chocolate
spreading out flat. Today's toppings on these bananas includes shredded coconut,
freeze dried raspberries, chopped pistachios, cacao
nibs, chopped hazelnuts and almond butter. Chocolate covered bananas
are the best summertime treat and you can pre-make them
for the entire week, as well. Just place them back in the freezer in the storage container
once they're coated with your toppings. (cheerful music) I hope you enjoyed all of
those delicious recipes and as I mentioned at the beginning, I created a downloadable PDF guide of this summer meal prep for you. It should hopefully make your life a little bit easier in the kitchen, as it contains all of the
food storage guidelines and links to all of the
full recipes on my website, downshiftology.com. You can download this PDF guide in the video description box below, but if you're already on my list, because you downloaded the
spring meal prep guide, you don't have to do anything, you're automatically gonna
receive this summer meal prep in an email from me today. One of the benefits of
subscribing to my website is that you're always the first to know when new recipes and videos go live. If you liked this video and
would like to see more videos in this meal prep series, make
sure to give it a thumbs up, hit that subscribe button and let me know in the comments below. And if you haven't yet watched
my first meal prep video or my spring meal prep
video, I will link those on the last screen. Alright, that's it for me this week. I will see you guys
again in the next video. (cheerful music)
