Meal Prep Sunday #1

I have always been an advocate for weekly meal preparation. It is an excellent way to stop you falling into the too-busy-to-eat-healthily trap during the working week. But now that I am a Dietetic Intern with a crazy schedule, meal prep has become even more important. So I thought that I would share with you the food preparation I carry out every Sunday in readiness for the working week ahead.

Every weekend I spend a few hours preparing various meals, parts of meals, or ingredients for the coming week. I plan the meals we are going to eat each night, then I make as many of them (or parts of them) in advance as I can. Because I want to have some fun at the weekend, I don’t make everything for the week ahead. I just spend as much time as I comfortably can in the kitchen, while still having some family life. This week I prepared the following foods:

1. Muesli

This is a delicious toasted fruit and nut muesli that my husband and I make regularly. It is a healthy and economical breakfast, with far less sugar than most commercial brands. The recipe will be coming soon!

2. Cranberry Almond Granola

This is my go-to breakfast cereal. It pairs perfectly with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and some fresh fruit for a protein-packed, nutritious breakfast.

3. Trail mix

This has to be the easiest homemade snack out there. Grab a jar, throw in your favorite nuts, seeds, and a few sweet treats (cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips), shake it up, and portion it out as needed. It’s great for that afternoon slump when you need a quick pick-me-up snack. This week mine contained almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and a few chocolate chips.

4. Korma Sauce

I made a double batch of the creamy curry sauce from this vegan malai kofta recipe. The sauce is made with cashews, garlic, ginger, and Indian spices. Although you can make the delicious vegan kofta in the recipe, the sauce also pairs extremely well with just about any roasted vegetable, legume, or meat. I separated the sauce into three portions and popped them in the freezer. Later in the week I will roast some cauliflower and throw it in the sauce with garbanzo beans and spinach, then serve it over brown rice. The other two portions are ready for future dinner emergencies.

5. Chana Masala

This is a delicious, healthy, and super simple vegan garbanzo bean (chickpea) curry from Cookie and Kate. It is packed with healthy legumes, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and plenty of wonderfully aromatic Indian spices.

6. Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

I know it has been 100 degrees outside every day this week, but sometimes you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do. I needed an easy, healthy, crock pot meal, and this one ticked all the boxes. So we will be having this enchilada soup from Gimme Some Oven one hot summer night this week and it will be delicious!

7. Chopped vegetables

This is the one activity that has changed my nutritional intake more than any other – pre-washing and chopping vegetables for munching on throughout the week. I always have a large tupperware in the fridge full of washed and prepared cherry tomatoes, carrots, sugar snap peas, and bell peppers. Then, when I’m hungry, my children need a snack, or I’m making packed lunches, I can grab the tupperware and voila, they are ready to go. My vegetable intake has increased dramatically since I started making this a regular practice.

8. Wholewheat pancakes

These wholewheat pancakes great to keep in your freezer. You can pull them out individually, pop them in the toaster or the toaster oven to heat them up, and top them with a drizzle of syrup and some sliced banana for a fast and tasty weekday breakfast. I made a double batch to see us through the next few weeks.

Is meal prep something you do? If so, I would love to hear about it.