The word “Meal Prep” for some implies a daunting task that many seem to dread. In conversations with my clients, I hear the same worries around the idea of meal preparation, “I don’t want to waste my whole weekend”, “I don’t have time for that”, or “I would have know idea where to start”. I think the tendency is to over complicate things when it comes to meal preparation where a simple task such as pre-cutting vegetables and having them ready to go in the fridge can make a big difference for the week ahead.
When consuming animal protein, one of the easiest ways to set yourself up for the week is to have pre-cooked chicken or turkey on hand. You can buy commercially pre-cooked meats, however, there is usually a lot of preservatives, fillers, and seasonings in the meat for it to keep well for transportation and resale. According to food safety guidelines, cooked chicken is good for 3-4 days in the fridge. So we do have to ask ourselves what is in those pre-cooked convenient chicken slices that allows them to be packaged, transported, then sold in the grocery stores for weeks at a time?
A solution is to prep your own, here is a quick and easy way to have moist, shredded chicken for the week ahead for lunch-time sandwiches, to add onto salads, or for weeknight dinners. This is a great method that requires little effort while being a huge help to your week ahead.
Meal Prep Mastery: Slow-Cooker Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 pounds chicken breast, skinless
- 2 cups filtered water
- handful fresh herbs, your choice I like thyme or rosemary
- pinch sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 3.5-4 hours.
- Shred the chicken with a fork, allow to cool and store in an airtight glass container for 3-4 days.
