One morning earlier this month, I woke up to freezing weather and feeling like I was under the weather. It was the perfect day to get out of my pajamas. And what I felt truly grateful for in that moment was spending a few hours before filling the fridge with ingredients for a delicious meal. There was chicken and rice soup, lots of fresh and chopped veggies, creamy hummus, and lots of morning glory muffins ready to be smeared with butter.
One of my friends recently told me that for him, “happiness is a refrigerator full of food.” I’ve found that knowing that a delicious meal is ready gives me a special sense of security. Of course, with the busyness of modern life, most of us don’t have hours to spend preparing complex meals.
When you get home after a long day, you want to have some healthy food options on hand. Once you have the ingredients in your kitchen, we promise it’s easier to make nutritious meals than ordering takeout. For me, the only way to stick to healthy eating despite my busy schedule is to prepare the ingredients ahead of time. Enter “Meal Prep for the Week”.
How to prepare meals for a week
That’s where my easy meal prep strategies come in handy. Every weekend I make just a few easy “building block” recipes that I can use as a starting point for countless nutritious meals during the week. Roasted vegetables can be added to salads or sandwiched together. A pot of quinoa can form the base of a grain bowl or make a comforting breakfast porridge. These basic recipes are endlessly versatile, and part of the fun is getting creative and coming up with different ways to use them.
Watch the video above to see exactly how to complete these five meal prep tasks in about an hour, then read on for the exact steps. To get started, here are some tips for successful meal prep.
prepare according to the season
How do I decide which ingredients to use in each of these basic recipes? For me, it’s about finding inspiration in what’s in season. If you have fresh lettuce, dark orange sweet potatoes, or perfectly ripe strawberries, it doesn’t take much to turn them into a delicious meal. It also means you can get the most nutrition from these unprocessed, whole foods to help you look and feel your best.
Practice mindful cooking
If you don’t think you have time to meal prep on Sunday, think of it as a time for self-care. It’s something you can take your time with and enjoy the process. I love pouring myself a glass of kombucha or wine, making some hot tea, putting on some music, and making meal preparation a ritual. That wonderful feeling you get at the end of a long day when you open the fridge and find a healthy and delicious option? The ultimate reward.
please take it easy
You don’t need a ton of time (1-2 hours is enough!) or fancy equipment. Most of these recipes only require a knife, cutting board, and sheet pan. I strive to be productive and make the most of my time. While the vegetables are roasting and the grains are cooking on the stove, make the dressing and crunchy seed mix. You’ll develop your own rhythm, and eventually you won’t even need to look at the instructions. If you repeat this several times, you will see a flow.
friendly reminder
Always clean. Make a plan of action by writing down your to-do list in advance. Remember, making just a few of these can make a big difference during the week. Let’s do what we can!
cook grains
Containers of cooked grains are one of the most versatile items in your refrigerator. Cooked grains like farro and quinoa are great accompaniments to any protein. It can also be used as a base for grain bowls, topped with eggs, or warmed with nut milk and cinnamon for a breakfast porridge.
Today I’m using quinoa. I love its chewiness and plant-based protein, but you can also use farro, buckwheat, rice, amaranth, etc. Here’s how to perfectly cook quinoa.
Wash 1 cup of quinoa in a mesh colander and place in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Once it boils, immediately turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring the quinoa with a fork halfway through to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once cooked, place a folded kitchen towel between the pot and the lid to remove excess water until cool.
Cooked quinoa can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To freeze cooked grains, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for at least 2 hours. Once the grains are frozen, they can be stored in a freezer-safe container.
roasted vegetables
Most vegetables taste better when roasted. Cooking over high heat concentrates the flavor and creates that caramel taste that I love.
Here are some vegetables that I often grill.
Sweet Potato Broccoli Cauliflower Butternut Squash Beetroot Baby Red Potato Cabbage Brussels Sprout Tomato Eggplant
Adding spices and herbs always gives it a different and interesting taste. Sometimes I add taco seasoning, add harissa or infused vinegar, or keep it simple with a pinch of Italian seasoning. Salt and pepper are a must. Once made, it’s a great addition to salads, grain bowls, tacos, and sandwiches.
Here’s the perfect way to roast almost any type of vegetable.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the vegetables in a single layer, leaving space around them so they can roast instead of steaming. Make sure the edges are crispy and brown. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper (and any other spices you’re using) and toss to combine. Roast until caramelized. (Boiling time will vary depending on the vegetables.)
make dressings and sauces
This is the step that will make you look forward to using your prepped vegetables throughout the week. Grains and vegetables can get a little boring without a flavorful sauce to drizzle over everything. Having a mason jar full of dressing means you have salad dressing and sauce for bowls, tacos, and vegetable garnishes. You can drizzle it over roasted sweet potatoes or use it as a dip for raw vegetables. It’s your best friend when it comes to making easy and delicious meals in no time.
This week I’m making one of my favorites, turmeric vinaigrette. It’s very easy to make, just add all these ingredients to a blender.
1 shallot, peeled and cut in half 1 garlic clove 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons warm water 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard Squeezed honey 1 teaspoon turmeric Large pinch of salt and pepper 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Blend everything and store in a mason jar for a week.
Prepare salad greens and raw vegetables
Are you 10 times more likely to eat vegetables if they are already washed and stored in the refrigerator?Same. And so are my children. I started keeping a lidded container full of chopped carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers in the fridge. That way, when you come into the kitchen looking for a snack just before dinner, you can point to your crudité bowl. And I always have guacamole, hummus, or my weekly salad dressing (above) on hand to pair with vegetables for dipping.
Plus, if you have fresh lettuce and other chopped vegetables, you can easily make a salad to accompany dinner. I prefer to prep everything at once rather than having to pull out the salad spinner or cutting board over and over again. Here’s what I do after a weekend of shopping.
Wash and dry lettuce in a salad spinner, wrap in paper towels to absorb moisture, and store in the produce drawer of the refrigerator. Peel and slice carrots, cucumbers, celery, peppers, and any other raw vegetables you have on hand to easily throw them into your weekday school lunches.
Make spicy seed mix
I love adding crunch to almost everything. Sometimes I just add a handful of chopped nuts or seeds, but I love keeping a spicy seed mix in my fridge and sprinkling it on everything from salads to bowls to vegetable garnishes. . It just gives you a little something, you know?
This recipe is highly adaptable to whatever seeds, nuts, and spices you have on hand. Sometimes I sweeten it a little and add maple syrup or orange zest, but today I’m going to make it flavorful with sea salt and coriander. What I do is:
In a small sauté pan, add pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, and sunflower seeds. Toast over low heat until fragrant, then add sesame seeds, a pinch each of sugar and salt, and coriander. Toast until everything starts to turn a little golden brown, then transfer to a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.
