Doing some meal prep once or twice a week can save you time, sanity, even money, and it’s definitely a key tool to help you eat healthier at home.
Meal prep should make feeding yourself and your family - in a healthy way - easier. It gives you a headstart on the week and helps you feel more in control of what you’re eating and how you spend your time. Plus it ensures that there is always something healthy on hand (that requires little extra prep time).
Just remember that every person and every household is different, so what works for me might not necessarily work for you. That being said, many people have asked me to share my personal meal prep tips, so today I’m sharing the usual meals I prep almost every week (it varies a little of course) to help inspire you with your meal prep!
Below I share an example of my weekly meal prep, that helps me (and my family) stay healthy, with plenty of options for easy-to-create meals (with little added prep/cooking), including snacks and healthy desserts, so that the kids and I don’t end up munching on things that are not balanced and nutritious.
Here are a few example of my weekly meal prep staples:
Overnight oats with protein (sometimes “no oats”) – my go to breakfast on Sundays, but this is also great to have 2-3 days in the week, depending on your preferences. I suggest making a double portion (and this lasts 3-4 days, so you can make double portion on Sunday and have it Monday and Wednesday for breakfast, for example). See my RECIPES HERE.
Note: As my glucose easily spikes with oats, I now make mine with only 2 tbsp oats, and add 2 tbsp chia, 2 tbsp hemp and 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds. (So its a mix of my overnight oats and my no-oats that I share here). Then I add about 1 tbsp vegan protein powder, 1 tbsp nut butter, pinch of cinnamon/salt, then water/almond milk as needed.
Chia pudding – I like to have a 12oz jar of a high protein chia pudding to enjoy during for the week. I sometimes add to my smoothie, or have a small portion with a sprinkle of granola as dessert or a sweet snack. I also share this with my toddler and baby! Note: I no longer add any sweetener, but I’ll add some extra protein - either some collagen or protein powder and some nut butter.
One grain. I usually make one grain per week (I choose gluten-free grains and organic) and I alternate every week, mostly between quinoa, brown rice (or sometimes I swap for black forbidden rice, or wild rice), or a mix of quinoa/millet/buckwheat that I love. I personally eat very little grains (I’ll usually only have a small portion of grains when I’m having something with a sauce, like curry or saucy shredded beef) but my husband and kids eat more grains, so we always need to have at least one grain cooked on hand!
TONS of Vegetables!
Roasted veggies. I like to fill two baking trays filled with different veggies, at least 3-4 different vegetables, ex. broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, different bell peppers, red onions, asparagus, etc. really anything goes!
One or two steamed vegetables (that I then drizzle generously with olive oil) – ex. green beans and broccoli
Kale chips, and sometimes I’ll also do carrot and beet chips.
One or two LEGUMES – such as lentils, chickpeas, black beans, white beans, red beans or peas, which I’ll usually just cook simple and leave to use for different recipes.
For example, if I cooked lentils, I’ll leave a portion to enjoy as a side dish, which I’ll just condiment with salt/pepper/onion/garlic and a dash of cumin usually (and have as a side to any salad or bowl), and the other part I’ll use to make lentil meatballs. (Message me if you want my lentil meatball recipe, they’re divine!)
Same with chickpeas, maybe I’ll cook a big batch and leave ½ to do crispy oven roasted spiced chickpeas (I’ll place in oven with a spray of olive oil or avocado oil, a pinch of paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt & pepper), and then the other half I’ll use to make a hummus and/or falafels.
Same with black beans, I’ll save one part of the cooked black beans to have as a side, and the other part to make black bean burgers, or add to sauteed mushrooms for filling for some vegan tacos.
Animal Protein: I usually make my animal protein in the moment (I decide each day in the morning what we’ll have for animal protein), but I usually “cook once, eat twice”. For example, if I make a large roasted salmon fillet, I’ll save leftovers to add to a bowl, or make into a salmon salad. If I make grilled chicken, leftovers can be added to a salad, or used for tacos, or just enjoyed with different sides to have again. Ground beef I might make ½ into just a mix of ground beef with finely chopped veggies, and the other part I’ll use to make meatballs or burgers.
One entree that I don’t mind repeating in the week, that I can divide into portions and freeze some, and have for easy dinners. I mostly alternate between my vegan lasagna, curry with chickpeas or chicken, a stir-fry with tofu, or a chicken veggie stew.
One soup. I usually make this towards the end of the week, using any/all leftover veggies. I just boil them together, with some bone broth and water, throw in a pinch of spices, blend (with a dash of coconut milk or soaked cashews) and that’s it! I serve creamy veggie soup to my daughter at least twice a week, and I love to have it as a dinner appetizer.
One or two protein rich SNACKS. My go-to’s are:
Salmon or tuna or mix of tuna-sardine salad. I’ve perfected my recipe. I use one 3oz pouch of wild-caught salmon or wild skipjack tuna + one 4oz tin of sardines, and mix with 1.5 tablespoons organic mayonnaise (avocado oil based) + 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard + 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice + 1 date finely chopped + 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds. If I have, i’ll add finely diced celery and shredded carrots. This makes for 2 well portioned snacks (or 3 small snacks), which I enjoy with my yummy seed crackers.
Lupini bean + artichoke salad. I mix about ½ cup lupini beans plus ½ cup artichokes, with 2 tablespoon avocado oil based mayonnaise, salt and pepper. I sometimes only use 1 tbsp mayo but also add chopped avocado. (This serves 2-3 snacks).
Lentil salad with tahini. I mix 3/4-1 cup cooked lentils with about ¼ cup finely chopped tomato, ¼ cup finely chopped bell peppers, and 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, parsley, spinach or kale (and/or any veggies on hand) and mix with a thick Tahini dressing (I’ll mix 2 tablespoons Tahini + 1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1 teaspoon EV olive oil, sea salt and pepper to taste).
Babaganoush and/or hummus.- with seed crackers. (Since my seed crackers are pure seeds and also contain tons of nutritional yeast, they’re actually quite high in protein, plus the tahini and garbanzos in the hummus will add to the protein count. If I have the babaganoush i might add some extra hemp seeds).
Egg & Veggie muffins. I scramble 8-9 eggs with salt/pepper, some spinach or kale, tomatoes or peppers, sometimes mushrooms (or whichever veggies I have on hand), and for extra protein I’ll add either my cashew “cheese”, or turkey slices, or smoked salmon, or some beans. I fill my 12 muffin cups, stick them in the oven, and voila, I’ll have savory egg muffins for the kids and I. This is my go-to easiest meal (that works for breakfast, lunch or dinner) for my little ones, that requires nothing more than 5 minutes heating up, so it’s a MUST for my weekly meal prep!
Healthy dessert: Every week I make a new batch of energy balls and/or chocolate mousse and/or no-bake brownies. I personally “allow” myself to have dessert daily, but I make my desserts very low sugar, high in protein, healthy fats and fiber, and of course delicious! So there is NO guilt.
Then I always have on hand:
Seed crackers to have with my midday savory snack.
Homemade almond flour tortillas (I make in batches and freeze) or I use Siete tortillas, to make a quick dinner.
Organic Eggs – a typical quick dinner for me is 2 eggs mixed with leftover veggies (made into an omelet or frittata or just scrambled). I’ll also make egg salad for an easy snack or use as filling for lettuce tacos for a light dinner. The easy options are limitless with eggs!
Hummus, Babaganoush or Vegan cheese spread (I always have one of these on hand and alternate them) as they’re great for a snack and/or to compliment any salad/bowl.
A ton of raw nuts and seeds and nut butters. I always have hemp, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds, brazil and macadamia nuts, cashews and almonds, plus almond butter, cashew butter and peanut butter! I add them to any smoothie bowl, yogurt, chia pudding. I also add seeds to a soup or salad, or have as a small snack (I’ll usually mix a few nuts/seeds to create a trail mix with coconut flaked, goji berries, and sometimes chocolate chips).
Dark chocolate (ALWAYS!). My favorites include: Theo 85%, Chocolove, Hu, Lilys (70% or 92% - sugar free) and Alter Eco 85%.
There you have it! The list of my most common meal prep cooking, which I tend to do on a typical week.
This is just for your inspiration; you don’t have to do all of this at once. I usually do some of this meal prep on Sunday or Monday, and some on Thursday or Friday, and I switch it up. Plus, I admit I have help to do this, so don’t feel like you have to do all of this. Just committ to doing some prep to help you have healthy options on hand for the week.
Hope this serves as motivation for you and your family, and please reply for any specific recipes; I’m always happy to share!
