Meal prep is daunting anytime for anyone running from one activity to the other… yes, back to school it is and to all my fellow parents. The struggle is real, I see you!
First of all, if you don’t have the time, or the energy stop trying to be suzy homemaker. That will only add to your stress level and no one needs a cranky spiteful parent serving them dinner after a long day at school, you don’t deserve that either.
We have so many tools at our disposal, USE THEM:
They will save you time and energy, take an hour on Sunday and pre cut all the ingredients, throw them in freezer bags and take them out the night before, dump and go. It’s as easy as that.
For those weeks that you can’t be bothered to find the perfect recipe, and we’ve all been there. The key is to use versatile ingredients. Try to choose ingredients that can be used in multiple dishes. This way, you can mix and match ingredients throughout the week to create different meals.
PROTEIN: Choose 2 protein sources (tofu, beans, legumes, or quinoa) and cook a large batch of it. Marinate and season with basic spices like salt, pepper, and garlic powder, so it can be versatile for different dishes throughout the week.
FRESH VEGETABLES: Wash, chop, and portion out your vegetables in advance, try 3-4 veggies like broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes. These can be used for salads and snacks.
ROASTED VEGETABLES: Roast 3-4 different veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, red pepper, brussel sprouts. These can also be added to your protein and grain as a dinner but also as a roasted veggie wrap or sandwich or in a salad with grains.
GRAINS: Cook a big batch of 1-2 types of grains like rice, quinoa, couscous, barley, millet and store them in portioned containers. These can be mixed and matched with your protein and cooked veggies, can be added to a wrap or in a salad as well.
SAUCES & DRESSINGS: Prepare a few simple sauces or dressings, such as vinaigrette, tahini sauce, hummus, or salsa. Add them to your main meals as added flavor, in your wraps and of course as salad dressings.
FRUIT: Makes for healthy and thirst-quenching snacks, berries can also be added to salads too. .
POPCORN: The most versatile snack (and it’s good for you!!) pop up a huge batch of plain popcorn, when you get a snack ready just drizzle some avocado, flax or olive oil with some spices and salt and voila!
WRAPS & PITA: Having these around the house make for easy lunches along with salads, actually you can even stuff a salad in one with some sauce or dressing and enjoy. Another fun way is to stuff your protein and roasted veggie inside with your sauce of choice and warm it up on a pan to make it a bit crispy.
NUTS & SEEDS: Always have some raw nuts and seeds available, they make great salad toppings and snacks.
Committing to an hour or two over the weekend will help save you your precious weeknight sanity. These dinner can make wonderful leftovers for school lunches too. It’s a win/win.