One morning earlier this month, I woke up to below-freezing temperatures. emotion severe weather. It was a perfect day not to take off my pajamas, but one thing I noticed was that really In that moment, I was grateful that I had two hours a day to spend before filling my fridge with the components of a delicious meal. There was chicken and rice soup, fresh and chopped greens, creamy hummus, and a batch of morning glory muffins to slather with butter.
One of my friends recently said to me, “Happiness is a refrigerator full of food.” It struck me that there was a special comfort that came from knowing that a delicious meal was ready to be prepared. Of course, the hustle and bustle of modern life means that most of us don’t have time to spend preparing complicated meals.
When I get home from a long day, I like to have something healthy to eat. Once you stock your kitchen, I promise you, making nutritious meals will be easier than ordering takeout. The only way to maintain healthy eating habits even with a busy schedule is to prepare your ingredients in advance. Enter: Meal prep for the week.
How I Meal Prep for a Week
This is where my easy meal prep strategy comes into play. Every weekend, I create a few simple “building block” recipes that can be used as a starting point for countless nutritious meals throughout the week. Roasted vegetables can be topped on salads or filled with sandwiches. A pot of quinoa can be the base for a grain bowl or a cozy breakfast porridge. These basic recipes are endlessly versatile, and part of the fun is getting creative and finding different ways to use them.
Watch the video above to see exactly how I complete five meal prep tasks in about an hour, then read on for the exact instructions. But first, let me give you some tips for successful meal prep.
Prepare according to the season
How do you decide which ingredients to use in each of these basic recipes? For me, it’s all about finding inspiration in what’s in season. With some fresh lettuce, deep orange sweet potatoes, and perfectly ripe strawberries, it doesn’t take much to turn it into a delicious meal. It also means you’re getting maximum nutrients from whole, unprocessed foods so you can look and feel your best.
Practicing mindful cooking
If you don’t think you have time to meal prep on Sunday, consider it a moment of self-care. It’s something you can take your time and enjoy the process of. I love pouring a cup of kombucha, a glass of wine or making some hot tea, putting on some music, and making meal prep a ritual. That amazing feeling when you open the fridge after a long day and find healthy, delicious food? Best reward.
Keep it easy
It doesn’t require a lot of time (1-2 hours is enough!) or advanced equipment. For most recipes, all you need is a knife, cutting board, and sheet pan. I try to be productive and make the most of my time. While you’re roasting vegetables and cooking grains on the stove, make the dressing and crunchy seed mix. You will adapt to your own rhythm and eventually you won’t even need to look at any instructions. Do this a few times and you’ll find your flow.
friendly reminder
- Clean as you go.
- Write down a list of what you’re going to do in advance so you can make a plan of action.
- Remember, just making these two things can still make a big difference during the week. Do what you can!
grain cooking
Containers of cooked grains are one of the most versatile items you can store in your refrigerator. Cooked grains like farro or quinoa provide protein and make great side dishes. Use it as the base for a grain bowl, top it with eggs, or warm it up and add nut milk and cinnamon to make a breakfast porridge.
Today we will use quinoa. I like the chewy texture and plant-based protein, but you could also use farro, buckwheat, rice, or amaranth. Here’s how to cook quinoa to perfection.
- Rinse 1 cup of quinoa through a mesh strainer and place in a small saucepan.
- Add 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt and boil.
- Once it boils, immediately reduce the heat to low and cover. Boil the quinoa for 20 minutes, fluffing it with a fork halfway through to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- When finished cooking, place a folded dishtowel between the pot and the lid to cool and remove any excess moisture.
Cooked quinoa will keep in the refrigerator for 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. After the grains are frozen, they can be stored in freezer-safe containers.
roasted vegetables
Almost all vegetables taste better when roasted. Cooking at high heat concentrates the flavors and creates the caramelization effect that I love.
Here are some of my favorite roasted vegetables:
- sweet potato
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- Butternut Squash
- sugar beet
- baby red potatoes
- cabbage
- Brussels Sprouts
- tomato
- egg plant
Always add spices and herbs to make it taste different and interesting. Sometimes I toss it with taco seasoning, sometimes I drizzle it with harissa or vinegar, or I keep it simple with a little Italian seasoning. Salt and pepper are always essential. Once made, it’s the perfect addition to salads, grain bowls, tacos, and sandwiches.
Here’s the perfect way to roast any type of vegetable.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the vegetables in a single layer, leaving space around them so they can bake rather than steam. You want the edges to be crispy and brown.
- Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper (and any other spices you’re using) and toss. Bake until caramelized. (Cooking time varies depending on the vegetables.)
Making dressings or sauces
This is the step that gets me excited about using my prepared vegetables all week long. grains and vegetables ~can do Without a flavorful sauce to drizzle over everything, things get a little boring. Fill a glass jar full of dressing and you have salad dressing, bowls, tacos, and sauce for vegetable sides. You can drizzle it over roasted sweet potatoes or use it as a dip for raw vegetables. It’s your best friend for making easy and delicious meals in no time.
This week I’m making one of my favorites. Turmeric Vinaigrette. How to make it is very simple. Simply add all of the following ingredients to a blender.
- 1 shallot, peeled and halved
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of warm water
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- squeeze the honey
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- large pinch of salt and pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Mix everything and store in a mason jar for a whole week.
Preparing salad greens and raw vegetables
Are you 10 times more likely to eat vegetables that have already been washed and stored in the fridge? same. And so do my children. I started keeping a covered container filled with chopped carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers in the refrigerator so they can point to their bowl of crudités when they come into the kitchen looking for a snack right before dinner. And we always have guacamole, hummus, or my weekly salad dressing (above) for dipping with vegetables.
Plus, once you have fresh lettuce and chopped vegetables on hand, it’s super easy to add a salad to any dinner. I prefer to prep everything at once rather than constantly pulling out salad spinners and cutting boards. Here’s what I do after my weekend grocery shopping.
- Wash and dry the lettuce in a salad spinner, then wrap it in paper towels to absorb moisture and store in the produce drawer of the refrigerator.
- Peel and slice carrots, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, and any other raw vegetables you have lying around, so you can easily add them to school lunches during the week.
Making Spicy Seed Mix
I love adding crunch to almost everything. Sometimes it’s just a handful of chopped nuts or seeds, but I like to keep a spicy seed mix in the fridge that I can sprinkle on everything from salads to bowls to vegetable sides. . It’s just giving a little something. You know?
This recipe works great with any seeds, nuts or spices you have on hand. Sometimes I go a little sweeter and add maple syrup or orange zest, but today I’m going to make it savory by adding sea salt and cilantro. Here’s what I do:
- Place pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, and sunflower seeds in a small sauté pan. Roast over low heat until it starts to smell fragrant, then add sesame seeds, a pinch of sugar and salt, and coriander.
- Toast until everything is slightly golden brown, then transfer to a mason jar and store in the fridge.
