My personal guide to effective meal planning.
A productive weekend for me includes having crossed off everything from my todo list, afternoon naps and a fridge full of prepped meals for the week ahead. For a couple of years now my Saturday consists of visiting the farmers market and grocery store, then getting in the kitchen to cook and prep meals. I have slowly learned small tips and tricks of how to effectively meal prep, stay within a given budget and avoid food waste. Here are my top tips of how to meal prep like a boss!
Make those lists! Take your time to loosely plan out a menu. As I sit there and have my morning coffee I’ll go through cookbooks and make a list of things I feel like having that week. Then I'll do a quick scan of my pantry and fridge to see what I can use and make a shopping list of what it is I need to buy.
Never go to shopping on an empty stomach! Trust me its not pretty. Whenever I’m hungry I always end up buying things that are not good for me or things I don’t need. Sometimes I’ll treat my self to a coffee or smoothie while I shop so I don’t end up grabbing a bunch of snacks.
Try to buy local and seasonal when you can, it’s not only nutritious but also budget friendly. In Bahrain the farmers market is a great way to pick up seasonal produce at a fraction of the price. I always go there first and pick up what I can, then make my way to the grocery store and see whats on offer for that particular week.
Think of ways to substitute things you already have or seasonal produce into existing recipes. For example I was making pesto this morning but didn’t have pine nuts so I just used the walnuts from my pantry. Similarly I saw a recipe for a pear and blackberry crumble but I have so many apples at home so I’ll just substitute the pears with them.
If you can break down your meal prep into prepped ingredients, semi prepped meals and fully prepped meals, you’ll never get bored. This way you always have something to work with. For example, I have roast chicken and potatoes in the fridge, frozen meatballs in the freezer and cut up veggies that I can use in a stir fry, salad or soup on any given day. By repurposing meals and ingredients you automatically cut down on food waste.
Always have something in the freezer for the nights you want to order take out or are too lazy to cook a full meal. Bolognese, chilli, meat balls, kababs, soup etc. are all great options to have stashed away in your freezer to just heat up and eat.
Get creative, the more variety you have and the more you play around with your favourite meals the more fun it gets.
Find a buddy to meal prep with, whether its a friend who you can split meals with or a co worker you can exchange lunch with, its always nice to have an accountability buddy that keeps you on track.
