6 Meal Prepping Hacks
Stock the freezer - when there’s a sale on, grab as much as you can and stock up. Keep frozen fruit and vegetables on hand for then you run out of the fresh stuff but need to eat. Lots of frozen produce is actually picked at it’s prime freshness and can preserve some of the great nutrients we miss out on with “fresh” produce in the store that was picked weeks prior. If you have produce that is about to go bad, you can also freeze some of it to use in soups and stews later on. Winter squash and pumpkin will freeze quite well if you have way too many pumpkins after Halloween but don’t want to waste it. Pre-shred zucchini and freeze it for muffins and breads later on. You can also blend up greens that are about to turn and freeze them into ice cube trays for quick smoothie adds. Prep casseroles and store in the freezer, pies also store well for a couple months. Just remember to go through your freezer every few months to make sure nothing has been in there too long or is wrapped improperly. I recommend to set an alarm on your phone every 3 months to bring out the old stuff to prevent waste.
BFF with your crock-pot - this can save you! It will taste like you spent hours slaving in the kitchen, when really you spent hours working, driving the kids around and folding laundry. Make sure to pick hearty legumes like green lentils and root vegetables like purple potato, rutabaga, carrot and turnip so you can set it and forget it. Using vegetables that cook quickly and have a higher water content will cook too fast and turn to mush. You can also make crock pot freezer packs ahead of time so all you have to do it dump a bag in, set it on low and continue on with your day. Crock pots also make a large batch meal so that you will have left overs for a couple days or potentially have meals to freeze and pull out when you’re in a pinch.
Prep foods early - in a restaurant, they can get your meal together extremely quickly because everything has been prepped ahead of time. Do this for yourself and make dinner and lunches a breeze. Try doing some of these:
Pre-chop carrots into sticks or cubes
Cut celery into sticks and store in cold water
Place herb stems in water and cover the top for lasting freshness
Dice 1-2 onions and store in an air tight container
Cube root vegetables for roasting, stews or soups
Chop up proteins like tofu, chicken and beef and marinate them for meals or freeze them for later
Place chopped broccoli, bell pepper and beans in a container for quick stir fry
Make smoothie packs for your freezer with fruit, greens, frozen cauliflower or zucchini
Make breakfast burritos and freeze
Chop a hearty salad with cabbage, kale, broccoli and carrots and leave undressed for quick grab-and-go salad
Soak, sprout or cook dried legumes for quick protein
Prep sauces and dressings and keep them in a mason jar in the fridge for marinades, salad dressing or Buddha bowl topping
Keep a snack or two on hand - this goes with stocking your freezer because lots of snacks will keep well in the freezer, like energy balls, granola bars, breakfast cookies and muffins. You can also make a large batch of granola or trail mix to have on hand. These are both very nutrient dense and will keep for a long time in an air tight container. Hummus, chia pudding or a yogurt ranch are also good to keep on hand to add some protein to your veggie snacks. Roasted chickpeas or frozen edamame beans will also be great snacks for kids (or adults) that have protein and carbs to satiate you until your next meal.
Combine most used ingredients - to save time, mix together flax, chia and hemp seeds for a one-scoop only smoothie add-in. You can do this with a collagen and greens powder too for on-the-go protein greens shake. The same applies to vegetables and sauces - pre-cut veggies and put them together with veggies with a similar cook time. This way, you are just adding one container of food into the oven instead of five. Mix your favourite liquid ingredients together for a multipurpose sauce . If you make a lot of Asian food, mix together tamari and sesame oil that can be used in sir fry or salad dressing.
Keep your staples on hand - self stable ingredients like nuts and seeds, quinoa, millet, lentil pasta, pasta sauce or pesto are great to keep in stock. Nut butters and tahini are also great for whipping up a quick snack or hearty sauce for buddha bowls, stir-fry or salads. When your go-to’s are on sale, stock up (if they’re shelf stable) so you never get caught with no options for meals. Certain dried foods like split red lentils and quinoa will cook in the same time, so you can cook them together for a complete vegetarian protein in half the time. Lemons and limes are also great to keep on hand because they can make your pantry meal taste fresh. They also keep for a couple weeks so buy a bag and spruce up your meals with some tangy citrus.
Eating shouldn’t be complicated and with these meal prep hacks, you can eat great every day of the week.