Fit Men Cook: Healthy meal-prep recipes: Meatloaf muffins and loaded sweet potatoes
Your muffin tin is a great tool for portion control.
By Kevin Curry
Fitness influencer Kevin Curry is stopping by the TODAY kitchen to share a few of his favorite healthy meal-prep recipes from his cookbook “Fit Men Cook: 100+ Meal Prep Recipes for Men and Women ― Always #HealthyAF, Never Boring.” He shows us how to make enchilada meat loaf muffins, Tex-Mex loaded sweet potatoes and “good fat” berry smoothies.
No-Fuss Enchilada Meatloaf Muffins
What I love most about muffin tin recipes for meal prep is the automatic portion control. Muffin tins make it easy to divide a recipe evenly so you have a better idea of how much you’re eating.
Kevin Curry
Tex-Mex Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Tahini
While traveling in Israel, a few years ago, I had an amazing farm-to-table experience with a vegetarian chef. One of my favorite dishes was a stone oven-roasted sweet potato smothered in lentils and topped with tahini. When I returned to the US, I tried my own twist on the dish, incorporating familiar Latin flavors. I decided to use black lentils because I love the way they make the other colors in the dish pop; a natural reminder to eat a “rainbow” every meal.
‘Good Fat’ Berry Blast Smoothie
This smoothie has a lot of personality. It’s a burst of sunshine to start the day in a creamy, berry red smoothie. What’s the secret energizing ingredient? Avocado! It makes the smoothie thick while balancing the sweetness of the date, berries and OJ.
No-Fuss Enchilada Meatloaf Muffins
Kevin Curry
20 hours ago
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
SERVINGS: 6
What I love most about muffin tin recipes for meal prep is the automatic portion control. Muffin tins make it easy to divide a recipe evenly so you have a better idea of how much you’re eating.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 pound 96% lean ground beef or 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup canned corn, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1/3 cup chopped and tightly packed fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, if you like a lot of heat)
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2/3 cup red or green enchilada sauce
- 3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar, mozzarella or Colby Jack cheese
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Combine the quinoa, ground beef, egg white, corn, onion, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, oregano, black pepper and cayenne (if using) in a large bowl. Using your hands or a rubber spatula, thoroughly mixing.
- Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray, then divide the mixture evenly among the 12 muffin molds.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the meat has browned on top.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add a little less than 1 tablespoon of the enchilada sauce on top of each muffin, followed by about 1 tablespoon of the cheese.
- Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is slightly browned.
- Garnish with green onions and sliced jalapeño if desired. Allow the mini meat loaves to cool slightly before removing from the pan so that they do not break apart.
Tex-Mex Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Tahini
Kevin Curry
20 hours ago
Kevin Curry
COOK TIME: 45 minutes
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
SERVINGS: 5
While traveling in Israel, a few years ago, I had an amazing farm-to-table experience with a vegetarian chef. One of my favorite dishes was a stone oven-roasted sweet potato smothered in lentils and topped with tahini. When I returned to the US, I tried my own twist on the dish, incorporating familiar Latin flavors. I decided to use black lentils because I love the way they make the other colors in the dish pop; a natural reminder to eat a “rainbow” every meal.
Swap options: For a lower carb dish use only half of sweet potato. For a heartier meal, serve with brown rice, couscous, quinoa or cauliflower rice.
Ingredients
- SWEET POTATOES
- 5 small sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup black (beluga), red or green lentils
- 2 cups no salt-added vegetable stock, plus more as needed
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- CHIPOTLE TAHINI
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 tablespoons chipotle sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
For the sweet potatoes:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash the sweet potatoes, poke a few holes in them with a fork, and place them on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven until they are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork, 50-55 minutes.
- To a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic, onion and celery. Cook until the onion begins to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add the thyme and oregano to the skillet and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the lentils to the skillet, stirring to ensure that each lentil is coated with oil and seasoning.
- Add the stock and bring to a light simmer. Stir occasionally and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are tender and the sauce is thick, 35-40 minutes. If you notice the liquid level getting very low at any point, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the chipotle tahini:
Whisk together the tahini ingredients. Cover and set aside in the fridge. To make it thinner, add freshly squeezed lemon juice or water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
To serve:
Slice open a baked sweet potato and fluff the flesh with a fork. Top with a serving of lentils, followed by a teaspoon or two of chipotle tahini. Garnish as desired.
‘Good Fat’ Berry Blast Smoothie
Kevin Curry
20 hours ago
SERVINGS: 1
This smoothie has a lot of personality. It’s a burst of sunshine to start the day in a creamy, berry red smoothie. What’s the secret energizing ingredient? Avocado! It makes the smoothie thick while balancing the sweetness of the date, berries and OJ.
Ingredients
- 1/2 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
- 1½ cups frozen mixed berries
- Juice of 1 orange
- 1½ cups unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk or hemp milk
- 1 pitted date, soaked in water for 15 minutes to soften or 1 tablespoon honey or 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) stevia in the raw
- Handful of ice cubes (if desired)
Preparation
Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Begin at the lowest speed and gradually increase to the highest.
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