90-Minute Low-Carb, Keto Meal Prep

October 24, 2019

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Spend 90-minutes in the kitchen on a Sunday and you’ll be thanking yourself all week long. This low-carb, keto-friendly meal prep stocks your refrigerator with five ready-to-eat meals.

Combining home-cooked ingredients (like pot roast) with convenient store-bought ingredients (like rotisserie chicken) keeps the prep work manageable. Herbs, spices, sauces, and keto-friendly condiments keep the flavors fresh and new each night.

Menu (each meal serves 4):

Meal 1: Pot Roast with Roasted Asparagus and Honey Mustard Slaw

Meal 2: Chicken Coconut Curry over Cauliflower Rice

Meal 3: Beef Carnitas with Spicy Jalapeno Slaw and Guacamole

Meal 4: Asparagus and Mushroom Scramble with Arugula Salad

Meal 5: Chicken Noodle Soup

What You’ll Need…

Shopping List:

4 pounds/1.8 kilograms beef chuck roast
1 rotisserie chicken
Eggs (half dozen)
1 package/7 ounces/200 grams shirataki angel hair noodles
2 onions
1 head garlic
2 pounds/1 kilogram asparagus
4 medium zucchini
8 ounces/226 grams sliced mushrooms
1 12- to 16-ounce/453-gram bag frozen cauliflower rice
1 package shredded red or green cabbage (coleslaw)
1 6-ounce/170-gram bag arugula
2 limes
2 avocados
1 jalapeno
Cilantro
Basil
Thyme
3 cups (24 fluid ounces) beef stock
8 cups (64 fluid ounces) chicken stock
1 can coconut milk (13.5 fluid ounces/400 ml)
1 bay leaf
Curry powder (1 tablespoon/15 milliliters)
Cumin (1 teaspoon/5 milliliters)
Chili powder (1 teaspoon/5 milliliters)
Salt and pepper
Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil and/or extra virgin olive oil
Coconut oil
Soy sauce or tamari or coconut aminos (2 tablespoons/30 milliliters)
Red wine vinegar (1 tablespoon/15 milliliters)
Slivered almonds (1 cup/300 grams)
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1 cup/90 grams grated)
Primal Kitchen Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (or your favorite homemade vinaigrette)

Tools:

Instant Pot
3 half-size rimmed sheet pans (13”x18”)
Parchment paper or foil (for easier cleanup)

Here’s the Plan…

Prep and Cook the Meat:

First, get the pot roast going because it takes the longest amount of time to cook. Season the beef by rubbing 1 heaping teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper into the roast.

Roughly chop two onions. Use one chopped onion for the pot roast and set the other aside for later.

Peel 6 cloves garlic and smash them with your palm.

Turn the Instant Pot sauté setting to high. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of avocado oil into the pot. Put the roast in the Instant Pot and sprinkle one chopped onion around it.

Sear the meat, turning as needed, until all sides are nicely browned (about 2 minutes per side). Mix the onions occasionally, so they become soft and nicely browned.

Add the garlic cloves, 3 cups beef stock, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, a few sprigs of thyme and one bay leaf.

Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set the pressure release valve to “sealing.” Use the manual setting to cook on high pressure for 50 minutes. When 50 minutes is up, let the pressure release naturally.

When the pot roast is done, remove it from the Instant Pot and let the meat cool on a cutting board. Shred the meat and store in two separate food storage containers for two separate meals.

While the pot roast is cooking, get to work on the other ingredients.

Prep and Cook the Sheet Pan Veggies:

Heat oven to 425ºF/218ºC.

Cover three sheet pans with parchment paper (optional, for easier cleanup).

Sheet Pan #1: Trim the bottom off the asparagus stalks. Lay the asparagus out on a sheet pan. Lightly coat the asparagus with oil and salt.

Sheet Pan #2: Slice the zucchini into ½-inch rounds. Combine on a sheet pan with the chopped onion that was set aside earlier. Lightly coat zucchini and onion with oil and salt.

Sheet Pan #3: Spread the sliced mushrooms out on a sheet pan. Lightly coat mushrooms with oil and salt.

Put all three of the sheet pans in the oven. Roast for 20 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned.

While the veggies are roasting, make the coconut curry sauce.

Make the Curry Sauce:

To make the coconut curry sauce, heat a few tablespoons coconut oil in a pot over medium heat. Add 3 finely chopped garlic cloves. Add 1 tablespoon curry powder and sauté 30 seconds. Add 1 can coconut milk and 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos). Bring to a boil then turn the heat down slightly and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

While the curry sauce is simmering, slice the white meat from the rotisserie chicken and chop into small pieces. Add to the coconut curry sauce.

Organize the Ingredients For the Week:

Pull all of the dark meat from the rotisserie chicken. Put the dark meat in a zip-top freezer bag.

When the veggies are done, let them cool. Store the asparagus and mushrooms in separate food storages container and refrigerate.

Add half of the zucchini and onion to the coconut curry sauce. Store the coconut curry sauce (with chicken, zucchini and onion) in a food storage container (or just keep it in the pot!) and put it in the refrigerator.

Add the other half of the zucchini and onion to the freezer bag with the dark chicken meat. Make sure to push out all the air when sealing the plastic bag. Put the bag in the freezer.

Serve Your Meals:

Meal #1: Pot Roast with Roasted Asparagus and Honey Mustard Slaw

Serve half of the pot roast with half of the roasted asparagus. Toss half of the shredded cabbage with a few handfuls of arugula. Dress the slaw with Primal Kitchen Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, or your favorite homemade salad dressing. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the asparagus and slaw.

Meal #2: Chicken Coconut Curry over Cauliflower Rice

Reheat the chicken coconut curry over medium heat. Heat the frozen cauliflower rice either in the microwave or in a sauté pan. Serve the curry over the cauliflower rice and garnish with fresh basil.

Meal #3: Beef Carnitas with Spicy Jalapeño Slaw and Guacamole

Reheat the remaining pot roast by adding the shredded meat to a hot skillet with a thin layer of oil. Cook until the meat is hot and a little bit crispy. As the meat cooks, season it with 1 teaspoon of cumin and chili powder. Mash 2 avocados with lime juice and salt to make guacamole. Add a sliced jalapeño to the remaining sliced cabbage, tossed with lime juice and fresh cilantro.

Meal #4: Asparagus and Mushroom Scramble with Arugula Salad

Chop the leftover asparagus into ½-inch pieces. Sauté asparagus and mushrooms in a skillet with a little bit of oil to reheat. Whisk 6 eggs and add to the pan, stirring to combine with the veggies. Serve the scramble with a side salad made from the remaining arugula and your favorite salad dressing. Grate Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the scramble and salad.

Meal #5: Chicken Noodle Soup

Put the frozen dark chicken meat and zucchini in the refrigerator in the morning to defrost. At dinnertime, heat 8 cups chicken broth. Add the chicken and zucchini with rinsed shirataki noodles and simmer until warm.

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