MINI MEAL PREP 5/14
and how abundant nourishment helped me heal
Good morning friends! SPRING IS IN FULL SWING (even though its still so cold here) and dang it’s good to have ready to eat goodness in the fridge. There is nothing worse than being absolutely famished after working so hard all day and coming home to a big fat NOTHING BURGER. While carving out this prep time gets more and more challenging as the farm season gets busier, it is more important than ever to MAKE THAT TIME.
I (Alex) have struggled with binge eating pretty much my whole life. While my understanding of what it takes to grow food deepened when I started farming, my relationship with that food and hunger queues took a lot longer to heal. Up until a few years ago, i’d come home for lunch after a morning of “fasting for my health” (while also doing farm labor MIND YOU) so incredibly ravenous. My mentality was stuck in scarcity mode and I could feel myself turn into a wild animal and start to rummage through my kitchen eating everything in site.
These mid day binges would be a total black out. If you asked me what I had for lunch I couldn’t even list it all for you because I couldn’t remember. I was munching on E V E R Y T H I N G. This is something that I was able to address through retiring from fasting, eating a hearty breakfast, and bringing awareness into my day by way of food journaling, plating, and tracking.
You couldn’t pay me to skip breakfast at this point, but sometimes I do end up taking a lunch break way too late and slipping into old habits of mindless eating. This happens to me when I don’t have something semi-prepped in the fridge to go to and when I skip plating my meal. I find myself unable to recall what I ate or how much I ate and I find that to be regressive in my relationship with food and my body.
That being said, having an abundance of nourishing, prepared options to build a mid-day meal around has been incredibly helpful not just for saving time (as meal prepping is typically touted for) but for helping with my awareness and intention at meal time.
This week’s mini meal prep menu is:
✿ RHUBARB GINGER SYRUP
✿ GARLIC CHIPOTLE FLANK STEAK WITH MANGO CHIMICHURRI
✿ HOT MUSTARD SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN
✿ TURMERIC PEA PULAO
✿ CARROT CAKE PRUNE COOKIES
Let’s get into it shall we!
✿ RHUBARB GINGER SYRUP
Born from the desire to make delicious seasonal bevs as flavorful as possible! Rhubarb has an incredible vegetal and tart flavor, which pairs perfectly with ginger. I’ve been giving internal side eye to all the food influencers sharing rhubarb and strawberry recipes SO EARLY before northern strawberries have even finished flowering. This recipe doesn’t hinge on out of season berries and includes no water - this syrup method really lets the rhubarb shine. Use it in matcha, drizzled over yogurt, as a cake soak, in sparkling water for sodas, and more!
INGREDIENTS:
fresh rhubarb
fresh ginger
cane sugar
METHOD:
Chop your rhubarb and ginger into rough slices
Grab a clean jar and add a light layer of cane sugar to the bottom
Layer the ginger and rhubarb with sugar in the jar - being sure to cover all gaps
Layer a nice amount of sugar on top to cover it all up and close the jar
Allow the sugar to draw the liquid from the ingredients for 2-3 days or until liquidy
Strain the syrup into a bottle, label, and keep in the fridge for a few weeks
Use the sugary rhubarb in cakes or muffins
Enjoy!
To make a matcha, simply froth 1tbsp of syrup with milk of choice and pour your matcha over top!