Food Prep Vibes

KEY BENEFITS TO FOOD PREPPING

• Money Saver

• Control of ingredients being used

• Reduced stress of “what to eat?”

• Timer Saver (Less time in the kitchen each day, means MORE time for you, your loved ones, hobbies, goals, self care, growth)

PLANNING AHEAD

When we wait until we’re hungry to prep a meal, we are basically ready for the meal and more keen on making poor decisions. So instead, it helps to prep several healthy ingredients ahead of time. Depending on your work day setting, Food prep can look very different for a lot of people. For some, it makes sense to prepare a full meal and break that full meal into daily containers to take with you to work. For others, it makes sense to prepare key ingredients each week that will make for quick lunches and dinners throughout the week. I prefer the second option, because it allows for more diversity of meals each week.

I prep full meals for my partner to take as lunches to work and key ingredients for both my lunches and our dinners.

KEY INGREDIENTS VS. FULL MEALS

You might get bored of eating the same meal over and over, or you might just be in a different mood later in the week than you were at the start. For this reason, I recommend prepping ingredients that can be mixed together in different forms/styles.

MY FORMULA FOR WEEKLY MEAL PREP

I like to switch up my food prep weekly, but often stick with some of the same staples that I know pair well with other foods. For instance Japanese sweet potatoes are typically on repeat. My meals also change with the season and what produce is ripe in that season.

But my rotation for a solid week of meals is: Protein, Fat, Fiber/Greens/Veggies, Functional carbs, Snacks

1. Protein (baked chicken thighs, shredded chicken, baked salmon, tuna salad)

2. Fat (Avocados, Olive oil based dressings, raw nuts)

3. Fiber/Greens/Veggies (Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, spinach, kale, arugula)

4. Functional Carbs (Japanese sweet potato cubes, sweet potato mash, plantain)

5. Dressings/Sauces (Make a simple salad or warm bowl extra tasty by adding a simple dressing/sauce you prep at start of the week)

6. Snacks (Fruits, almond butter, chopped veggies with herb dips)

Staples: garlic, onions, nuts, seeds)

I may not cook all the ingredients/food above, but I make sure to wash, and chop them accordingly so that when I’m ready to make a meal, I can do so in no time at all.

Typically I do groceries on an early Sunday or Monday morning. I also like to pair my food prep with laundry, because hello multitasking!

Below are a few examples of food prep and the different meals I put together from that food prep.

You’ll also find some recipes that are easy to make and time efficient.

Japanese Sweet Potato Cubes → Recipe

Shredded Chicken → Recipe

Pickled Onions → Recipe

Dairy-free Caesar Dressing → Recipe

Baked Salmon↓

Ingredients:

2 Wild salmon fillets

4 fresh lemon slices

1/4 cup avocado oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Sprinkle of black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. On your prepared baking sheet, coat salmon filets with avocado oil.

4. Place salmon skin side down and evenly season with sea salt, garlic powder and black pepper.

5. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes. (Thinner filets require less cooking time).

6. Then broil for 5 minutes.

Bacon Brussels Sprouts↓

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 tbsp melted ghee

Sea salt and pepper

4-6 bacon slices, diced

Aged balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.

2. Cut off the ends and discard.

3. Cut sprouts in halves (keep any of the outer leaves that comes lose, store them in container in fridge, to use for easy crunchy salads).

4. In a medium/large bowl, toss the sprouts in your melted ghee, sea salt and black pepper.

5. Pour your sprouts into a parchment lined, rimmed baking tray, speaking into one layer.

6. Chop up your bacon and sprinkle the bacon bits all over your sprouts.

7. Bake for 10 min, toss around, bake another 10 min, toss around and bake for 10 more minutes.

8. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar and toss before serving.