Happy Meal Prep Monday friends! This is my first meal prep recipe of the summer and I wanted to brighten up the bowls! Something sweet and fun with a bold flavor is what I was looking for and exactly what I got! I accomplished this by adding some fresh pineapple this week to make the bowls sweet, bright, and delicious! The chicken is marinated in a new sauce I got from Smith’s last week, a mandarin teriyaki sauce that was perfectly sweetened and complimented the pineapple cubes beautifully! These Meal Prep Monday: Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls are easy, fun, and a delicious way to get that sweet summer flavor into the bowls.
What Teriyaki Sauce to Use?
This is the sauce that I used for the chicken. I love the Island Soyaki teriyaki sauce from Trader Joe’s and that would be my favorite but sometimes, Trader Joe’s is a little out of the way for me.
Smith’s is much closer to my house and sometimes I just like to get all my shopping done in one trip. I found this sauce on the shelf and with only 70 calories per serving, I thought I would give it a try!
We loved it! It is sweeter than the Soyaki sauce and it has a very different flavor, which is nice to try something new! I wouldn’t use this sauce every week because it is a little higher in sugar and calories, but it was a nice flavor change up for this week!
We love it in these Meal Prep Monday: Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls.
Use Seasonal Ingredients!!
One of my favorite things to add to my meal prep bowls is zucchini and squash. I love zucchini and squash because it is a very mild flavor and it is something different than broccoli.
Broccoli is so easy to make that I often get in the habit of using it for everything. I need variety in my life and that is why I love zucchini. I don’t always use it but when I do, I remember how much I like it.
When cooking vegetables for meal prepping, you always want to be sure to undercook them just slightly, so that when you are heating them up in the microwave, they will finish the cooking process.
If you skip this step, your vegetables will end up mushy and soggy. This little tip goes for all vegetables, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, and anything else.
Using Fresh Fruit in Bowls
The pineapple was a delicious addition to the bowls. I have never used fruit before because I hate warm fruit. My husband Brandon is a big grilled pineapple fan so I knew that he would like it.
When he reheats these bowls, he heats the pineapple along with the chicken and vegetables. When I heat them up, I scoop the pineapple out into a bowl and just heat up the rest.
This way, I am still enjoying the serving of fruit, but it is cold (as it should be (; ). Taste amazing in the Meal Prep Monday: Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls.
Using Premade Chicken
The chicken I used in this recipe is my favorite rotisserie packaged chicken from Costco.
It costs about $12 but you get two full rotisserie chickens already chopped up and prepped.
When I use this Costco chicken, I use half the chicken to make 5-6 bowls one week, then I freeze it and use the other half for the next weeks bowls. Yes, I do meal prep every week. I love it and it works for my lifestyle.
If you don’t think you have time to meal prep every week, let me tell you, you do. This Costco chicken hack makes the prepping so much faster. I often will start the rice the night before and fill the bowls.
Then Monday morning, I will marinate my chicken in the sauce while I cook the vegetables, then I fill eat bowl and I’m ready to rock and roll. You have time to meal prep using my simple hacks, so try it!
What You’ll Need for the Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls
2 cup brown rice
1 package Costco rotisserie chicken
2 sliced zucchini
2 sliced squash
1 pineapple, cubed
2 cups mandarine teriyaki sauce
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Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 cup brown rice
- 1 package Costco rotisserie chicken
- 2 sliced zucchini
- 2 sliced squash
- 1 pineapple, cubed
- 2 cups mandarine teriyaki sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the brown rice by adding two cups of water and two cups of brown rice to the Instant Pot. Use the manual setting, set the time to 24 minutes and let the rice cook.
- Add half the package of chicken to a ziplock bag with 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the zucchini and squash. Using either a mandoline slicer or a food processor with a slicing attachment, slice the vegetables into 1/8 inch thick disks.
- Prepare the pineapple, removing the core and cubing it into small, bite sized pieces.
- Build the 6 bowls, brown rice on the bottom, chicken on one side, vegetables up the middle, and pineapple on the other side. Add the additional 1/2 cup sauce to the chicken and store for later use.
- For reheating: place the bowls in the microwave for 2 – 2:30.
I'm pinning this for later. Love getting that chicken at Costco…and my little one is into pineapple too. Win all around!
Nice suggestions for making meal prep easier, such as using the pre-cooked chicken. This meal looks yummy, and I agree with you – I would scoop out the pineapple before heating the rest of it, too!
This looks so delicious and like the perfect summer meal!
These look amazing! I need to be better about meal planning and do it ahead of that day!
Looks delish!! And I love that you've got it all set for the week ahead!