Keto Meal Prep
When you first start out on keto, you’ll probably want to go shopping for keto ingredients that will inspire you to stay motivated. Instead of purchasing a bunch of separate ingredients at once, I recommend purchasing a limited amount of keto ingredients in bulk so that you can make several meals that are prepped and ready to eat. When you have your meals already prepared, you are less likely to cheat with higher carb foods. This is why meal prep is such a great strategy for sticking to the keto diet!
With meal prep, you can cook a large batch of food and then divide it into several meal prep containers for your week. The containers make it easy to transport your food to work and they are microwave safe. Most importantly, the containers help with portion control. Psychologically, when we know that our meal is limited to a certain amount of food, we’re less likely to eat more since there aren’t multiple portions available.
For this recipe, I made one of my favorite keto meals; turkey meatloaf with roasted veggies. I chose to use ground turkey for this recipe, but there’s an alternate beef and pork version of the meatloaf available in our book, the Official Stupid Simple Keto Handbook. For the vegetables, I used a bag of Costco’s Kirkland Normandy blend, consisting of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. If you don’t like carrots, you can also pick them out for a lower carb meal.
After grilling the veggies and cooking the meatloaf, how you assemble your meals is up to you. I prefer to weigh the meat with a food scale but you can also “eyeball” the serving. Once you assemble the meals, you’re ready to store the food containers in the fridge. The end result is a tasty meal that should last you throughout your busy week.
Ingredients:
Roasted Vegetables:
1 large bag frozen Normandy mix (Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower)
3-4 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Turkey Meatloaf:
32 oz ground turkey
1 egg
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 T Worchestershire sauce
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T diced fresh oregano or rosemary
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup no sugar added ketchup
Directions:
Roasted Vegetables:
Step 1 - Turn on your oven broiler and set it to about 525°.
Step 2 - On a baking sheet with a pronounced edge, spread out the frozen veggies so that the veggies are about the same level in height. *Because broccoli browns faster, I recommend placing the carrots and cauliflower in the middle of the pan, since these take longer to brown.
Step 3 - Generously drizzle olive oil over the veggies. Transfer the veggies to the heated oven.
Step 4 - Monitor the veggies every 5 minutes. When some of the veggies darken, use your tongs to flip them over to cook the other side. You can also shift the charred veggies to the edge of the pan so that they won’t be exposed to the extreme heat.
Step 5 - Continue to broil the veggies until they reach your desired level of darkness, about 15 to 30 minutes.
Step 6 - Remove the tray from the oven. Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool. Once roasted, the veggies should keep well for about a week.
Meatloaf:
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 350°.
Step 2 - Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Gently work the meat mixture with your hands until combined.
Step 3 - In a greased baking pan, assemble the meatloaf into a log shape. Round out the edges. *Water works well for smoothing out the surface.
Step 4 - Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes.
Step 5 - Remove the meatloaf from the oven and spread the ketchup over the top of the surface.
Step 6 - Bake for additional 20 minutes until done.
Macros Breakdown:
