5 Prep Tips for a Successful Deliciously Ella Challenge

Apr 3, 2016Deliciously Ella Challenge0 comments

The Deliciously Ella 14 Day Challenge begins tomorrow and I am so ecstatic. It has been a while since I did a blog challenge, Minimalist Baker being my last one last summer. There is something so wonderful about starting a challenge in the spring, when the sun comes out (also a bonus for photography) and gives you a hint of summer to come. I always like to eat my best in the spring, I just feel great when I have a daily smoothie and some fresh veggies. For this challenge I planned to eat lots of these things.

For those of you who did not see my previous post, I have posted all the meals and recipes I plan to make here, in a beautiful PDF form. I hope you enjoy the new layout!

I have compiled five tips to help you stay ahead of the game while cooking the recipes this week. I like to prep all my ingredients when I buy them (usually on Saturday) and then have the recipes ready to go for Sunday. I like to cook a nice hearty big meal on Sunday night so I start the week off right and have plenty of leftovers for Monday. I get a serious Monday blues going on – anyone else with me?

  1. Prep the Veggies

I like to fill up my kitchen sink with water and fruit and vegetable wash and get out all the dirt and debris. For this week, you can rinse and even pre-chop the apples, tomatoes, cilantro, kale, peppers, mangos, pears and mushrooms. Peel and chop the beets and sweet potatoes.

Veggie Prep

  1. Make the juice

It is best if you make juice fresh, but sometimes it is hard to get the juicer out on a whim – and if you have prepped the fruit already (apples and pears for the detox smoothie), it can be easier to pre-juice.

Green Juice

  1. Pre-cook quinoa/ brown rice and black beans

For the Mexican bowl (p.49) and the quinoa fritters (p.50), you can pre-cook the grains (bonus points if you leave them overnight to soak)! I love making my beans from scratch – if you do too, you can also prep the black beans for the Mexican bowl. I don’t plan to make the cashew cream for that recipe as it takes the recipe over the top on calories, but if you chose to make it, I would prep it with the beans as well.

  1. Roast the Veggies

A couple of the recipes this week ask to roast vegetables, why not do them all at once? Ie. The sweet potatoes for the Warm Sweet Potato, Mushroom and Spinach Salad, the tomatoes and peppers for the Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup . If the weather is getting warm where you are, it will be nice to avoid using the oven too much!

Red Pepper Tomato Soup

  1. Make the Focaccia and Banana Bread – and slice a few pieces to freeze!

I love making breads in advance, because then I can keep them in the freezer and defrost throughout the week – that way they don’t go bad! I plan to have the chickpea focaccia along with my soup some days, so it’s nice to make that in advance. Another great idea is to keep the banana bread in the freezer and then take out a piece in the morning and pop it straight in the oven for a nice warm start to your day.

There you have it! I hope you enjoy these recipes, let me know how they end up going as you prep them and if you have any more suggestions.

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