Happy Sunday! I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend so far 🤍 I wanted to share with you one of my favourite ways to prepare for the week ahead, and that is food prep. Rather than traditional meal prep, I opt for flexible meal prep (read more about it here), by prepping ingredients, sides and/or snacks as opposed to pre-portioned meals. This allows me to easily put together meals, yet maintain flexibility and adaptability.
Here’s what’s on the food prep menu this week.
Roast Vegetables
My go-to food prep is roasted vegetables. This week I prepped sweet potato, pumpkin and carrots. I love having these on hand to add into scrambled eggs for breakfast (current breakfast fixation) or to make a lunch/dinner nourish bowl with some greens and lean protein.
Zucchini Slice
Another favourite recipe to prep is my zucchini slice. It’s easy to make, delicious and nutritionally balanced with a source of protein, fibre and healthy fats. It makes a delicious snack or quick meal (2-3 squares) with a salad. It’s also great to add to a snack plate or ‘girl dinner.’
Quinoa Salad
As a coeliac, quinoa is a staple for me because it’s naturally gluten-free and very versatile. This week I made the Easy Quinoa Salad by Eating Bird Food. You may recognise it from my last post on ‘5 Summer Salads That Aren’t Boring’. This salad is one of my favourites, it’s refreshing, nutrient-dense and delicious. I typically have it with some grilled chicken or roasted chickpeas for added protein.
Roasted Chickpeas
Another food prep staple for me is roasted chickpeas. Chickpeas are a great source of protein, fibre and non-heme iron. They make a yummy snack when you’re craving something salty and crunchy. They’re also handy to add into nourish bowls and salads for extra protein.
Quinoa & Chocolate Energy Balls
If you haven’t tried quinoa before, these quinoa and chocolate energy balls could be a fun way of introducing it. These balls make a nutritionally balanced snack with protein, healthy fats and fibre. Not to mention, they taste great!
Other food prep ideas:
- Cook some freezer meals to defrost whenever you need them, e.g. soups or curries.
- Chopped vegetables for snacking, e.g. celery, carrots, capsicum.
- Dips for veggie sticks or to spread on wraps , e.g. hummus or tzatziki.
- Boiled eggs for snacking or adding to salads or toast.
- Chopped veggies for stir-fries.
- Breakfast prep ideas: chia seed pudding, overnight oats, or egg and veggie muffins.
Having this food on hand makes healthy eating throughout the week so easy! It gives me the perfect amount of structure, yet flexibility in what meals I put together. And this week’s prep only took about two hours. Most of which, I watched movies while I cooked.
I hope this gives you some motivation for the week ahead!
Talk soon,
Chanté x
