Woodbridge is oftentimes referred to as a “bedroom community” because most of us live here yet work elsewhere. It is no secret that Virginia drivers have one of the worst commutes in the country and it is only getting worse. Woodbridge’s average commute time to and from work is approximately 45 minutes!!! Honestly, I’m like, where? My average commute time is approximately 60 minutes plus.
With such a long commute the last thing that we want to do when we finally make it home is to cook dinner or go out to eat. What seems to work extremely well for my husband and I is meal prepping/cooking for the week. Meal prepping looks good on both our waistlines and our wallets!
Religiously, every Sunday, I meal prep/cook breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the darling husband and I. I put in about 2 hours for a full work week of grab and go convenience. And let me tell you that it’s great! You should give it a try.
Tune in on the last Friday of each month for our featured meal prep post.
Hope you Enjoy it Woodbridge!
#WoodbridgeMealPrepSundays
This Month’s Meal Prep Feature: Lunch – Roasted Vegetable Salad!
Ingredients:
3 cups of broccoli florets
2 to 2.5 cups small baby potatoes
2 cups baby carrots
2 cups butternut squash
1 large summer squash
1 large zucchini
1 large sweet potato (for this recipe I used 1 large Korean sweet potato)
1 can of sliced beets, (used as a topping)
10 tablespoons of hummus, (used as a topping)
Salt, pepper, hot pepper flakes, and garlic powder to taste
Dried herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme) to taste
Dash of cinnamon (separated)
Drizzle of EVOO to coat veggies (separated)
Directions:
Gather all ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 450.
Wash all of the veggies.
Dice the squash and zucchini into desired size and shape.
Peel and dice the sweet potato into desired size and shape.
All other veggies should be ready to go.
Before placing the veggies onto your cooking sheets, grab a large mixing bowl and season each item separately (ex: add the broccoli to the mixing bowl, drizzle with enough olive oil to coat as desired and season to your taste).
For reference, I use the cinnamon on the sweet potato, butternut squash, and carrots.
Give it a toss/stir and place on your lined cooking sheet. I use foil for easy clean up!
Please note that the veggies have different cook times, so you will need to separate them on your cooking sheet as such: broccoli and squashes together and the sweet potato, butternut squash, baby potatoes, carrots together.
Once your oven is preheated, place your cooking sheet with the sweet potato, butternut squash, baby potatoes, and carrots in first for 25 min.
After 25 minutes, add your cooking sheet with the broccoli and squashes in and cook together with the first sheet for 20 to 25 minutes. All the veggies will finish together.
Once the veggies cool, prepare your lunch bowls by layering in each item. Top each bowl with the sliced beets and a tablespoon of hummus.
The above is for approximately 8 to 10 servings. You’d have to adjust the ingredients and quantities to suit your needs.
I feel like I say this a lot, but the possibilities are endless with this savory lunch meal. You can literally add in any veggies and toppings that you’d like into this dish. Honestly, if I had mushrooms, they would have been into the mix as well. Roasted brussels sprouts would have set this up nicely too.
Have fun with it! Bon Appetit!
