Meal Planning & Prepping
Alright here’s an area that I think many people struggle with/don’t want to put the effort into - meal planning and preparation.
PLANNING IS KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS.
Even though I cook on a whim, the reason I am able to stems from a lot of pre-meditated planning and stocking. You can’t walk into a kitchen, un-stocked with basic ingredients, and with zero fresh product and expect to be able to make something delicious off the cuff.
It’s when we’re strapped for time and we haven’t set out our week of food planning properly that we start to lean on fast or processed foods - which can have negative long-term effects on our health.
My general rule is that I try to eat healthy during the week and use all of the groceries I buy for meal prepping (with flexibility in how I want to use them), and avoid over indulgence so that I can treat myself on the weekend to eating out and/or getting desserts…ok a mid-week ice cream or beer is fine too, because life is hard sometimes.
By sticking to what I have at home, I end up healthier and saving more money.
Everyone preps and plans differently, below I will outline a general set of steps I follow which help me to avoid getting stuck in an endless loop of making the same things every week, or making too much of one thing so that I am eating it 5 meals in a row.
Remember: healthy eating does require planning, Preparation, time, & attention.
Planning for Meal Prepping:
Recipe skim - even if I am not going to follow a strict recipe, I still skim Pinterest before/at the grocery store to gain an idea of what kinds of meals I want to make that week. If I have one adventurous meal I want to make, I might buy all the ingredients I need to make it, and I then I will buy complimentary food items so that I can utilize the ingredients from the recipe in multiple ways. This strategy ensures less waste; for instance, if I am buying a bunch of cilantro for tacos, I might also buy ingredients for making a Thai soup so that I can be sure to use up all that cilantro. There might be other corresponding ingredients like chicken breast - where I would then opt for a larger pack size and get a better deal buying bulk!
Weekly Staples - there are certain fresh things I buy almost every week that are just extremely versatile. In doing so I allow myself the opportunity to be creative in my cooking as I can pair those items together differently each time with different sauces/seasonings, without having a strict recipe or plan in mind. For example, I almost always have: kale, peppers, onion, cucumber, avocado, apples, broccoli, and cauliflower in my fridge. All of these items can be used in varying fresh recipes and cooked or eaten fresh to create variety and excitement in your day to day cooking.
Beyond fresh staples, it’s also a good idea to stock up on the longer dated items that I mentioned above in the Sourcing Ingredient Tip. These don’t need to be bought weekly, but should always be stocked so that you can cook more freely.
Proteins - typically I base my meal planning around the proteins I am going to buy for the week. Like I mentioned above if I find a recipe that calls for chicken breast, I will typically buy other things I can utilize chicken breast with, the same principle applies for ground beef, ground turkey, pork chops, pork roast, seafood, etc. I also usually plan for at least one meat-free meal each week, which is where having chickpeas, black beans and/or tofu on hand is helpful.
Timing - after I’ve picked up my weekly grocery haul, I make a quick timeline in my head for the week about when I plan to make certain meals. I usually buy enough ingredients to make approximately four servings of a dish - and I cook for two. That way I am usually only eating each meal twice - once for supper and then the left overs for lunch the next day. If I have my special/adventurous recipe picked out, I will usually do it closer to the start of the week when the ingredients are at their freshest, then I can use as much as I need for that specific recipe, and get creative later in the week in deciding how to use up the remaining ingredients. As I’ve mentioned, having staples on hand allows for a little more freedom in how you actually want to cook your ingredients.
Repurposing certain parts of a meal is also a good strategy. For example if I am making a low-carb cheese bun for my yam burgers one evening, I will always make extra cheese buns and save them for another meal that week, like to pair with soup or to use as a breakfast sandwich.
Be strategic with your planning and ingredients as it will ensure you get the most out of your:
Ingredients/money - by utilizing similar ingredients throughout the week you will ensure less waste and you can find value in buying in bulk of certain ingredients.
Time - with a plan, you can have meals prepped in advance to save you time throughout your day. Especially if you are planning on slow cooking or need to thaw out frozen meat as those steps need to be done in advance of when you actually plan on cooking.
Health -having a stocked kitchen and a meal plan for the week creates a better environment for healthy cooking and eating and reduces the chances you will reach for processed and fast food.