Meal Prep Week 2: Protein Pasta Salad and Maple Cinnamon Energy Balls

For this week’s meal prep, I did my usual fruit washing, dividing some berries into containers for Cameron and I to grab for work, and cutting up some bell peppers for snacking with hummus. I also roasted some butternut squash and broccoli (a butternut squash soup recipe will be coming your way later this week), whipped up some maple cinnamon energy balls for snacking, and crafted a protein packed pasta salad for lunch this week. All of this took me less than 1.5 hours and saves me so much hassle.

Now, onto a few of the recipes I wanted to share with you!

Maple Cinnamon Energy Bites:

Normally I do peanut butter chocolate chip energy bites.. but I wanted to try something new and they turned out great! These are perfect for snacking or to satisfy that sweet tooth with healthier foods. Also, these take under 10 minutes to make.

Ingredients: 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup almond butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup milled flaxseed, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined well. Roll into balls (makes ~14), and store in air tight container in the fridge.

Yes, these are THAT easy! And, each has only ~70 calories.

Protein Packed Pasta Salad:

I have heard of EatBanza’s chickpea pasta before, and decided to finally give it a try yesterday. I am all for regular pastas, but the fact that this one has 25 grams of protein per serving (compared to ~14 g for regular pasta) and 13 grams of fiber (about 4x the fiber in regular pasta) really caught my attention. Also if you haven’t noticed I love chickpeas, so a pasta made from them seemed quite appealing.

I decided on making the pasta into a pasta salad packed with veggies to bring with me for lunches at work this week. I must say this is definitely going to be a go-to of mine now because it was THAT good. Also, it was so satisfying.

Ingredients: (makes 4 servings)

1 box EatBanza pasta (I did Rotini)

1 cucumber, diced

5 oz (~half a carton) roma tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

3 oz feta cheese

Crushed red peppers and ground black pepper to taste

Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp ground mustard seed

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pinches dried oregano

1 tsp (each) ground black pepper & sea salt

Directions: Combine pasta and vegetables (&feta if using) in a large bowl. Combine dressing in a separate smaller bowl and mix until combined. Add dressing to pasta salad and stir. Season with red pepper flakes and fresh ground black pepper if desired. Store in fridge and serve cool.