Meal planning and prep
Meal planning – determining what you are going to eat for the week ahead – is becoming a mainstay of maintaining health while leading a hectic lifestyle. With #mealprepsunday trending on a weekly basis; there is plenty of inspiration to be found on social media.
There can be a load of benefits to meal planning
Cheaper food bill (assuming less eating out or takeaway)
Better variety (planning ahead means that you spend time thinking about what you’re going to eat rather than deciding on the spur of the moment)
Healthier diet overall (with focus, meals tend to be more balanced)
Less time spent in the kitchen (cooking in bulk over the weekend means that your daily preparation time during the week is reduced)
Less mental strain during the week (all the decisions around food have already been made)
It makes it easier to avoid the office morning/afternoon tea as you already have meals and snacks sorted
Less fatigue (eating well throughout the day means that you are less likely to experience an afternoon slump)
Reduced stress (time spent upfront planning meals, you’ll never have the panic that comes from trying to find something before you walk out the door in the morning or when you get home after a long day)
A sense of achievement from being organised
There are potentially some perceived downsides to meal planning
Time investment on weekends (when you could be doing other, more exciting things)
Monotony (if you don’t seek out new recipes, you could get bored of having the same thing all the time)
If you commute to work, you will be carrying more with you
Initial set-up costs (you will need containers to store and transport your food)
The process of meal planning is pretty simple
Choose the meals for the week ahead – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
Make a shopping list
Buy or order your groceries
Prepare your meals (many people choose to do this on a Sunday so meals for the week are fresh but if you are planning on freezing, you can do this on any day that suits you)
Alternatively, cook in bulk every second night, using the leftovers for the following day
Whether you have been meal planning for a long time, are new to it or want to reintroduce it into your routine; here are a few tips to make the process easier:
Choose meals you know you will enjoy – while you might love the thought of diving into the deep end and eating broiled chicken with steamed greens on a daily basis, motivation is likely to wane quickly if it’s not what you enjoy
Once you’ve chosen the meals, you don’t necessarily have to allocate them to specific days. Unless you are on a strict diet (where you can’t swap and change your macros easily), pick what you want on any given day based on your mood.
Meal prep breakfast the night before – chia pudding and overnight oats are perfect options for this approach
Set yourself up (but don’t go overboard)
Invest in some good quality containers (my preference is for glass. Even though it is heavier to carry around it is sustainable and hygienic)
A mandolin is a great way to quickly prepare salads and vegetables for soups and stews
A slow cooker – it’s an easy way to cook in bulk without too much effort
Good quality kitchen scales if you’re planning on being regimented with quantities
Start small and build up over time. Habits are easier to form piecemeal. It will be much easier if you start with one meal per day initially and add another meal every week until you have everything covered (pun intended) than going big bang. For example, you could commit to meal planning for lunches initially. Once you have this down pat, then add in dinners.
Keep a well-stocked pantry. Having all the dry ingredients you need makes the process so much easier
Keep your favourite recipes in a central place. I use a display book with clear plastic pockets, divided into meal types (lunches, dinners, snacks) and add recipes to it as I come across them
Plan to repurpose leftovers e.g. if you make a stew one night you can turn it into a pie with pastry the next night to keep things easy and interesting
Batch cook. Cooking in bulk and packaging meal-sized portions is a great way to ensure variety
Your freezer is your friend. Most soups freeze well, as do steamed vegetables. Cooked fish generally thaws with a little extra water so suggest that you keep this separate when you package your lunch so the whole thing doesn’t get soggy. You can also freeze uncooked meats to cook fresh later in the week and save you from making another trip to the supermarket
Assemble ingredients but don’t cook. A popular concept for pre-packaged groceries, you can DIY this approach by planning your meal, getting groceries and preparing the ingredients ahead of time. All that’s left of the day is to cook the meal.
By way of inspiration, for those starting out. I have included my favourite meal prep options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
For breakfast, I love chia pudding. Not only does my inner child like the rebellion that eating 'dessert' for breakfast implies; I love that it provides a great vegan protein boost to my morning. I soak three tablespoons of chia seeds, and a dash of cinnamon with a scoop of protein powder in almond milk then add blueberries. In a separate container, I combine a teaspoon each of pepitas, sunflower seeds, bee pollen, and flax seeds with two teaspoons of shredded coconut. I add this just before serving.
I also make protein pancakes which are half a mashed banana, and two eggs mixed with a scoop of protein powder and a little cinnamon which I fry in a little coconut oil then serve with a little almond butter and blueberries.
While there are a plethora of options for meal-planning lunches, I love making salads and soups in bulk. Salads will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days with the exception of fruits like avocado, apple, strawberries, and pear. If you want to add these to your salad, I would suggest cutting them fresh and adding them to your salads before serving. Likewise hemp, nuts, and grains can be a great addition to salads.
If you are transporting soups to work, I find it's easier if they are frozen. They will generally thaw in the fridge by lunchtime and, if not, can be thawed and then heated in the microwave. Transporting them frozen means that there's less likelihood of spills in transit.
Some of my favourite soups include:
Cauliflower and broccoli
Carrot and kale
Sweet potato and carrot with a basil "pesto" sauce to serve (blend basil and pine nuts with a splash of water)
Roast vegetable soup (any combination of carrot, zucchini, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus) topped with chopped dry roasted almonds
Carrot, cumin and coriander
For a 'creamy' taste, I often add a dollop of coconut yoghurt just before serving. Stir it in, add some pepper on top and enjoy!
Another of my favourite weekday lunchtime meals is zucchini boats. Longitudinally slice a couple of zucchinis and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds to make a boat. Place in a lined baking tray in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius. While they're getting toastie, brown a packet of chicken mince, then add passata to your desired consistency (not too runny or the mix won't stay in the boats, too thick and it will dry when it's baked). Add some diced basil (fresh), salt and pepper to taste. Pull your boats out of the oven - they should be steaming not singed - and fill them with the mince mix. I usually find there's a little mince leftover which my hubby loves as it is a welcome break from his broiled chicken and steamed greens.
An alternative is to use the same chicken mince mix but with zucchini 'cannelloni'. Where I use a mandolin to slice a zucchini lengthways then scoop on a spoon of the chicken mince and roll and layer a baking tray before topping with a little extra passata and a light smattering of parmesan.
We don't tend to meal prep our dinners but they are generally planned. I prefer to eat as fresh as possible so we usually cook every night. If we are super busy, I might make a double portion so we can just heat and eat every second night. Some of our staple dinners include:
Loaded baked sweet potato. We top ours with a mix of shredded chicken, sauteed tomatoes and a little apple cider vinegar with smashed avocado and a blend of tahini and coconut yoghurt
Lemony baked salmon (just slice some lemons, add some parsley and wrap salmon fillets in foil then place in the oven for about 15 minutes) and serve with a garden salad of spinach, cucumber, tomato and carrot or steamed/roasted vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, cauliflower and carrot
Zucchini or pea fritters and a salad or mashed sweet potato and steamed vegetables
Zoodles with cashew cream, sauteed mushrooms and zucchini
Vegetable stir fry made with shredded carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, corn and cauliflower. Occasionally we will add some scrambled egg to the mix
Roast vegetable 'lasagne' - essentially layers of thinly sliced roasted vegetables with passata, ricotta and homemade pesto (pureed basil and pine nuts)
While it can seem a lot of work upfront, I believe meal planning and prep is a worthwhile investment. I am personally not structured in my approach but I know I'm eating well at all times.
Here's to happy, healthy eating!
