this week's healthy food prep: 12/8

my perfect week of healthy eats doesn't exi-

i grew up with 4 fully italian grandparents. my nonnie on my mom’s side used to make me and all of my cousins pastina every single time we visited her in brooklyn. i remember her adding ice cubes to mine because i couldn’t handle how piping hot it was upon serving. since pastina are tiny little star shaped pasta, she would tell me that finishing my bowl would make my eyes sparkle like stars. oh to be six years old again!

pastina has always been a nostalgic dish for me, but until now i’ve never actually made it myself. in honor of my nonnie, i felt called to try my hand at it this week. since i’m always looking for ways to bulk up my recipes with protein and fiber, i gave mine a veggie heavy, both broth infused twist. this veggie-packed bone broth pastina is absolutely magical. i swear just looking at the photos of it can heal you if you’re under the weather 😂 it’s loaded with veggies and all simmered in bone broth until it becomes thick and rich. i had to have a bowl in the middle of filming this prep because it was way too tempting… and of course i added an ice cube, for old time’s sake.

since i’m a sweet breakfast enthusiast, i love making snacking cakes for busy mornings. if i have an early morning workout, i can grab a piece of this apple spice olive oil snacking cake and run out the door. if it’s a slower morning, i love crumbling a thick piece into a loaded yogurt bowl. this cake is fluffy and packed with flavor, without contributing to a sugar rush first thing in the morning.

i’m bound to have a warm grain bowl at least once a day, every single day, all fall and winter long. sticking with an apple theme this week, i went with an apple cider warm grain bowl that is loaded with crunch and texture. adding apple chicken sausage and cooked quinoa for protein really rounds this out as a complete meal. but if you catch me sneaking bites of it out of the fridge throughout the day, just let me be.

for this week’s batch protein source, i really went off the rails and experimented. instead of shaping the ground meat mixture into balls or burgers, i went super low-lift: spreading it evenly onto a sheet pan, then cutting into squares. while unconventional in procedure, these sheet pan burger bites turned out insanely good. i like adding these to meals throughout the week, whether that be on the side of one of the meals in this prep or even simply paired with some roasted potatoes and a salad made night-of. having a protein ready to go in the fridge like this has been game-changing for me!

enough yapping from me… let’s get into the details!

the menu:

• apple spice olive oil snacking cake

• veggie-packed bone broth pastina

• apple cider warm grain bowl

• sheet pan burger bites

the grocery list:

note that a handful of these items are pantry staples, so you may already have them on hand and won’t need to purchase :) or if you do need to buy them, i have plenty of other recipes that call for these ingredients, so you’ll have plenty of use for your purchase!

produce:

• 3 large apples of choice (my favorite are pink lady and snapdragon)

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 2 large celery stalks

• 3 medium carrots

• 1 large zucchini

• 1 large bunch of bag of kale

• 1 large sweet potato

• 1 large red onion

• 3-4 garlic cloves

• 1 handful of fresh parsley

meat:

• chicken sausage

• 2 lbs ground beef

eggs/dairy:

• 1/2 dozen eggs

• grated parm

• goat cheese

misc:

• maple syrup

• vanilla flavored milk of choice (can use unflavored milk, just add a splash of vanilla extract

• olive oil

• almond flour

• oat flour

• baking powder

• sea salt

• tomato paste

• beef bone broth

• 1 can (15oz) cooked white beans

• 1 pound pastina pasta

• 1 can (15oz) cooked chickpeas

• raw pecans

• microwavable quinoa pack

• ground cumin

• smoked paprika

• dijon mustard

• apple cider vinegar

and now for the fun part— recipes below :)