Many families have started to include a “once a week” meal prep in their routine. Making and packaging food for the week is a great way to save time, but it can sometimes be a long process.
This week I will be assisting a client with her weekly meal prep. Together we will prepare several different items and dishes to help her family get through the week. Here are some meal prep methods that I plan to include:
-Frozen smoothies: portioned-out containers of frozen bananas, berries, Chia seeds, peanut butter, etc., ready to blend with your favorite milk product. Alternatively, you can blend your smoothies ahead of time, freeze them into ice cubes, and give it a quick blend when you want.
-Quiche bites: a great do-ahead that can be eaten as a breakfast or snack, with many different flavor options
-Ready-to-cook skillets or sheet pan dinners: Marinated meat, chopped vegetables, and different flavors of sauce; served with your choice of grain or pasta.
-Cooked grains such as quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, millet: these will be prepared and fozen into portions. They are great for a quick stir fry or an addition to a grain bowl.
-Frozen chopped onions, celery, and peppers: you can freeze these vegetables without blanching them first. I like that they are slightly soft when you pull them out of the freezer, so that you don’t have to cook them as long.
-Seasoned chicken bites: lightly seasoned, diced chicken can be quite helpful for a daily meal. Add it to salads, stir-frys, grain bowls, chicken salad, or a pasta dish… Even just a couple pieces alone makes for a quick protein boost.
-Deli salads like quinoa tabouli, balsamic roasted beets with kale and wild rice, and curry couscous with carrots and currants; these are great for an on-the-go meal packed with protein and healthy vegetables.
-Hummus: you can make all kinds of flavors, and it’s so much cheaper to make than the store-bought kind.
-Sauce/salad dressings: there are many sauces that youi can make, then add some oil and vinegar to make a salad dressing. Some examples are: Creamy herb sauce, curry sauce, honey-dijon, to name a few.
I am sure I will think of more ideas in the near future, and will post them when I do. In the meantime, I hope you have found these useful. If you have any questions on any of these suggestions, feel free to contact me (Abby) via the “contact” link below.