Meal Prep Tips + Tricks
Keep it simple! If you are new to meal planning, start small, whether it’s preparing my Apple Pie Overnight Oats recipe the night before a busy work day, writing out your dinner plans for an efficient grocery shop or even washing and chopping your fresh produce so it is readily accessible during the week. These simple steps make your new healthy habits sustainable, and you can build upon your plan accordingly.
Keep a stocked pantry! Now I don’t mean a pantry full of crackers, chips and packaged food items. I mean fill your cupboards with herbs and spices, this addition makes an exceptional difference to your meals adding flavour and a variety of extra health benefits. As we know every food has a benefit. Stock your freezer with poultry, fish and meats. Doing this helps prevent food waste and also allows you to create well balanced meals by simply letting protein sources defrost while you work for a delicious dinner meal. Stock up on healthy oils such as olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil. These are all sources of healthy fats that are great to cook with. Keeping whole grains like quinoa, rice, and oats allows you to have variety from week to week while considering each food group at every meal. My e-book includes a fully loaded grocery list, from fresh produce, protein sources, pantry staples, herbs and spices. The grocery list I have created allows you to cook every single recipe in the book and so much more. By keeping these basics on hand you only need to worry about picking up fresh and seasonal ingredients during your weekly grocery shop.
Batch cook! By dedicating 1-2 hours a week you can prepare a big tray of vegetables, chicken and potatoes like my Harvest Honey Mustard One sheet Pan recipe found in my ebook. By cooking large batches of quinoa or rice you can use this already prepared item in many different ways throughout the week. You can also do this by planning and repurposing leftovers from the night before. For instance you make my Homemade Turkey Meatball recipe with pasta for dinner. The next day for lunch you add the leftovers to your power bowl with your already prepared vegetables and grains.
Consider every food group! Ensuring that your meals fuel you throughout busy weeks. Having an already prepared complex carbohydrate, vegetables and protein source allows you to throw together meals in a matter of minutes. This also allows you to nourish your body with different food ingredients each week, if last week you prepped my Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes, maybe this week you decide to make my Teriyaki Salmon and Coconut Rice. The healthiest meals emphasize whole foods, complex carbohydrates, high quality protein and healthy fats. While limiting processed foods, refined grains and added sugars. Cycling your menu and changing up your meals on a weekly basis allows you to feel excited about your meals, optimize your nutrition and ensures that you are getting adequate amounts of nutrients. Think of the variety of colours on your plate, essentially the more colours the more vitamins and minerals you are incorporating into your diet.
Stay organized! Consistently make time to prioritize your health and wellbeing. This includes carving out time each week to make sure you have healthy ready to go items prepared in your fridge for quick throw together meals and bowls. Whether it's an hour of your day every Sunday, make it a plan in your calendar the same way you would make plans with a friend. This is for you, a form of self love and care.
In my ebook you can find a fully loaded grocery list, all recipes with the focus of whole foods and variety, free of additives, gluten, dairy and refined sugars! I have done my very best to help you set yourself up for success!
Below is a condensed version of very basic pantry staple items.
Oats
Quinoa
Brown Rice
Spices + Herbs
Dried Beans + Legumes
Whole-grain Pasta + Chickpea Pasta
Unsweetened Nut Butters
Raw Nuts + Seeds
Olive Oil + Avocado Oil + Coconut Oil
Low sodium vegetable broth
Bone Broth
Maple Syrup + Coconut Sugar + Manuka Honey
Once you’ve mastered these basics, you’ll be ready to mix up your meals more and customize them to suit you and your family’s needs.