August Community Meal Prep!

August also brought us beautiful produce here in Salt Lake City, so we capitalized on the following "star ingredients:"
Green beans, Swiss Chard, Farro, and black/kidney beans! It was a fiber-filled meal prep!

Everyone showed up with their ingredients ready to chop and mix! And everyone left with Tupperware full of healthy food for the week!

Here is how we mixed and matched ingredients for our week's meals:

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

Serves 6

1.25 lb. ground turkey 

6 halves sun dried tomatoes 

1/4 medium red onion 

1 Handful swiss chard or spinach, chopped

0.25 cup crumbled feta 

1 tsp dried oregano 

1/2 tsp minced garlic 

1/3 cup bread crumbs 

1 lg. egg 

6 hamburger buns 

to taste salt and pepper 

Roughly chop the swiss chard to prevent long stringy pieces. Also chop the sun dried tomatoes and the red onion.

In a bowl combine the ground turkey with the chard, sun dried tomatoes, red onion, feta, 1 tsp minced garlic, dried oregano, egg, bread crumbs, 1 tsp of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Stir everything until it is evenly combined. Shape the mixture into 12 patties. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes in the fridge.

Cook the burgers on a grill.

Babaganoush

Serves 4-6

1 medium eggplants

1 large clove garlic, grated or finely minced

1 lemon, juiced

2 Tbsp Tahini

1 tbsp olive oil (or more for taste/consistency)

1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

optional: ½ handful cilantro

olive oil (for roasting)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice your eggplant in half and sprinkle with salt. Allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes while water is pulled out. Blot with paper towel. Drizzle open side of eggplant with olive oil and place face down on baking sheet.

Roast for about 20 minutes until the eggplant skin is softened and starts to shrivel. Remove from oven, allow to cool. Then, scrape the “meat” out from the shell into a food processor.

Add lemon juice, garlic, tahini, olive oil a pinch of salt and mix until creamy. Add herbs last and pulse to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Ground Turkey Chili

Serves 6

1 lb ground turkey

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes or 1 1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1 large sweet potato, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup dry quinoa

1 onion, diced

5 garlic cloves,  or 5 tsp minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5  tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

himalayan salt to taste

4 cups water or broth, + more as needed

avocado, cilantro and/or diced onion, for garnish (optional)

In large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and cook until it starts to brown. Add onions, cook until soft and they start to turn brown (about 7 – 10 minutes). Add garlic and green pepper, cook for another minute or so. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and onion powder, cook for 2 more minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, liquids, beans and sweet potato, stir until combined. Add quinoa, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover slightly ajar and cook for 30 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chili is ready when sweet potatoes are tender. Add additional water if chili is too thick for your liking.

  

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium sweet potato , shredded

1/2 medium yellow onion peeled and finely chopped

1/2 large red bell pepper cored and chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 adobo peppers, chopped

½ jalapeno, diced

1/2 handful swiss chard, chopped

1 cans black beans drained and rinsed

6 whole wheat flour tortillas

1 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce 

1 cup pepper jack cheese grated

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Add the olive oil, chopped sweet potato and onion to a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes

Add the bell pepper, ground cumin, chili powder, and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally until vegetables have softened, about 10 to 12 minutes. Note: if vegetables begin drying out or sticking to the skillet at any point, reduce the heat to medium and add a few tablespoons of water to help steam and cook the vegetables.

Add the chard, abodo pepper, jalpeno, and black beans to the skillet. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until chard is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour about ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 8” x 8” square casserole dish and spread evenly to coat the bottom.

Add the vegetable filling to the center of each tortilla (option to add cheese inside roll, too) and roll them up. Place enchiladas in the casserole dish, snuggling them close together. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove cover, change oven to broil, and broil 3-5 minutes to allow enchiladas to crisp a bit.

Farro and bean salad

Serves 4-6

1 cup farro

2 cups Water

Salt

6 ounces green beans

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large shallots—1 thinly sliced, 1 minced

1/2 handful swiss chard, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/8 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons salted toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Freshly ground pepper

Rinse farro in mesh colander. In a medium saucepan, cover the farro with 4 cups of salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium simmer and cook the farro until al dente, about 20 minutes; drain well.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; drain. Rinse the beans under cold water and pat dry.

Heat olive oil in large pan. Add the 2 sliced shallots, and sautee about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and chard and cook over high heat, stirring, until browned. Transfer to a plate.

In a medium bowl, whisk the red wine and balsamic vinegars with the minced shallot, garlic and thyme. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the farro, green beans, almonds and sautéed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a platter or shallow bowl.

Cucumber Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 English cucumbers, sliced thin

2/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tsp granulated sugar

4 tsp toasted sesame oil

4 tbsp chopped cilantro

4 tbsp scallions

3 clove garlic, or 1.5 minced

1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 tbsp sesame seeds, to taste

crushed red pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

Directions: Place the sliced cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, cilantro, scallions, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle the mixture over the cucumbers.

Sprinkle salad with sesame seeds and crush red pepper and enjoy!

Cocoa Energy Balls

Makes 24 balls

Ingredients:

2 cups pitted dates

1 tablespoon maple syrup

⅓ cup organic peanut butter (may use seed butter)

½ cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Pinch of sea salt

Directions: In a food processor, combine all ingredients until a dough forms. The dough should be very sticky and be held together when pinched between two fingers.

Using your hand, roll the dough into 1 tablespoon balls and repeat until the entire mixture is rolled into balls. Place on a lined baking sheet or plate and chill in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours or overnight.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze.