We’re kicking off Week 3 of our Cook Once, Eat All Week easy meal prep series with this week’s base recipes! We’re making use of pulled pork, plantains, and red bell peppers. Get your components prepped so that you can quickly whip up the recipes coming later this week!
Cook Once, Eat All Week Meal Prep Series
If you’re new here, THIS POST is a great introduction to our Cook Once, Eat All Week healthy meal prep series! This is an entirely FREE, Paleo-friendly meal prep series. Each Monday, I’m sharing 3 basic meal components that involve very minimal prep (bake the squash in bulk, cook/shred the chicken, roast the veggies). Then, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I’ll be sharing a different recipe that makes good use of these already prepped components. Each week will result in a grand total of 10 to 15 servings, to give you a rough idea of how much food to expect if you follow our plan to the letter.
Here this week’s schedule:
- Monday: Pulled Pork, Plantains, and Red Bell Pepper Recipes
- Tuesday: Cuban Pork Casserole Recipe
- Wednesday: BBQ Pork Plantain Pizza Recipe
- Thursday: Carnitas Stuffed Peppers Recipe
- Friday: next week’s “Cook Once, Eat All Week” eBook is sent out in advance to my newsletter subscribers!
Note: If you want to get your hands on the complete eBook for this week (which includes shopping lists, a timed meal prep guide, and bonus recipe ideas) click HERE.
This week’s base recipes are simple and probably a nice shift from what you’ve been eating. First, we’re just going to make our shredded pork! Shredded pork is extremely easy to whip up and we’re giving you THREE different ways to do it here. Once it’s cooked, give it a quick shred via your favorite method.
For the peppers, we’re going to divide them up. We’re going to chop and roast some and the others, we’re going to set aside for our stuffed bell peppers later in the week.
We’re also dividing up our plantains! Some will get chopped and roasted while the others will remain whole (for the pizza crust).
Once everything is cooked, store it away for the recipes coming later this week!
Note: if you’ve enjoyed the Cook Once, Eat All Week series, we’ve created an entire book with 26 week’s worth of healthy meal prep recipes. You can click here to purchase your copy today!
Week 3 Basics: Shredded Pork, Plantains, and Red Bell Peppers
Ingredients
For the Shredded Pork:
- 1, 5-6 pound pork shoulder
- 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt
For the Plantains:
- 9 green plantains
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the Bell Peppers:
- 8 red bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Make the Shredded Pork:
Slow Cooker Method:
- Season pork shoulder with about 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt. Place in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, until pork easily shreds apart. Shred with two forks, removing excess fat. Store in an air-tight container.
Instant Pot Method:
- Cut pork shoulder into 4-5 pieces and season with 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt.
- Set Instant Pot to “sauté” mode and melt 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil. Sear the pork on each side for 2-3 minutes, working in batches.
- Once seared, add all pork back to pot, along with 1/2 cup of water. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, checking to make sure that the pressure valve is sealed, press the “manual” button, and then program it to cook for 90 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, you can manually release the pressure by slowly turning the pressure valve from sealed to “venting.” Remove pork from the pot and shred with two forks, removing excess fat.
- Prep the Bell Peppers
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut 4 bell peppers into 1/2 inch squares and set the other 4 aside for later use.
- Toss cut peppers with one tablespoon olive oil. Spread out onto a sheet pan and roast for 30-40 minutes, until skins are slightly blackened and wrinkled.
- Prep the Plantains
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut 6 of the plantains into 1/2 inch cubes, and set the other 3 aside for later use.
- Toss cubed plantains with one tablespoon olive oil and one teaspoon sea salt. Spread out onto a sheet pan and roast for 25-30 minutes, until cubes are slightly browned.
Nutrition
I feel obligated to thank you and your team for putting these Cook Once, Eat all Week Series together. This is my first round (plantains are my fave!) and I cannot wait to try your other three and keep them in rotation. This template made my life so much easier. The food has shocked me – every recipe is fabulously delicious!
Thank you so much!
I’m not sure if this is the proper forum, but I just wanted to let you know that i have really loved this “cook once, eat all week” series! I have never eaten paleo before but I’ve wanted to try it for a while, and I’ve been using your weekly plans for two weeks now and loving it! It is extremely helpful to have the shopping list, meal plan, and a week’s worth of recipes already planned out for me!! I have been shocked every day by how delicious the food has been, also. I keep telling my husband “wow, i never thought i’d have a baked potato without butter/sour cream on it!” and “wow, i can’t believe i’m eating a stuffed pepper without rice or cheese!” and yet everything tastes so great! Thank you SO much, honestly.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it Elizabeth!
I had the same problem Erica! I’ve never baked green plantains before, only fried the yellow ones, so I wasn’t sure if that was just the texture of the green ones or if I goofed and cooked them too long.
Are the plantains supposed to be hard and dried out? I think I did the plantains wrong.
Not hard, though they do have a slightly softer texture when they’re used in the casserole + stuffed peppers (coming Thursday).
Mine only got harder in the casserole, not softer! Bleh.