Hi Friends!

Many of you have seen my Sunday meal prep pics on Instagram & Facebook and have been asking questions about them. Hopefully today’s post will be helpful for you.

When people ask me for advice about healthy eating, my number one suggestion is to be prepared. In an effort to make it easy for us to eat healthy meals at home, I’ve found that spending an hour or two on the weekend preparing food makes it much easier to throw together quick, healthy meals during the week.  I made it a goal to get back into a food prep routine for 2013 and  it’s made my life so much easier!  So let’s take a look at what I do on a typical weekend:

There are some staples that I prep every single weekend and some that vary week to week. Here’s a list of things I typically prepare:

• Quinoa {or a whole grain}: I usually cook 1.5 c dry quinoa with 3 cups of water for about 12 minutes. Quinoa is my most common choice but I also like to mix it up and cook wheatberries, farro or brown rice from time to time.
• Beans: I cook at least one bag of dried beans every weekend. Since I got my pressure cooker, it’s gotten SO much easier. You can put a dry (non-soaked) bag of beans in the pressure cooker and have a fully cooked pot of beans in 20 minutes. Can’t beat it. But even before I got my pressure cooker I was doing this. I used the quick soak method on the back of the bag and it could be done in under 2 hours with very little work. I cook black beans most often because we like them best, but I also occasionally cook white or pinto beans.
• Lentils: The great thing about lentils is they don’t need to be soaked and they cook in about 15 minutes. So, most weekends I cook one bag of dried beans and one bag of dried lentils.
• Hard-boiled eggs: Another thing that’s gotten way easier since I got my pressure cooker! However, these can also easily be done on the stove. I usually cook about 18 eggs per weekend so we can snack on them during the week. Hubby also usually has a couple with lunch and/or dinner for extra protein.
• Breakfast for Hubby: Like I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m on a mission to get hubby to eat breakfast. These Quinoa Breakfast Bars are his absolute fav. I double the recipe and make a 9 x 13 pan each weekend. Then, I cut them into bars, put them in ziploc bags and store them in the fridge so he can grab one in the morning. He also likes these Cranberry Sweet Potato Cottage Cheese Muffins.
• Soup: I love making a batch of soup on Sundays because it requires very little effort. It’s basically just throw it in a pot and let it simmer. I make a big pot and we eat it with our dinners and lunches throughout the week. Hubby’s favorite soup is this Curried Sweet Potato Soup. Other times I just throw whatever vegetables I have (or a bag of frozen veggies) in a pot with some veggie broth…and then add some of the cooked beans and quinoa and some spices.
• Trail Mix: Hubby and I love trailmix for a snack. I either premake them in baggies so we can grab and go, or I make a big batch in a container and we scoop out a portion each day to take with us. I usually include almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit (raisins or craisins), cereal and a few chocolate chips. For the nuts and seeds, i get the plain, unsalted kind and for the craisins, I buy the 50% less added sugar.
• Chopped Veggies: Lately it’s just been carrots, but in the past I’ve done this with bell peppers, cucumbers, etc. I spend time peeling and chopping them and then store them in tupperware containers so they’re easy to grab for lunch/dinner/snacks and when i’m packing my lunch. Usually for the carrots I add some water to the bottom of the tupperware to keep them from drying out.
• Black Bean Burgers: Lately I’ve been getting into a routine where I make a batch of black bean burgers every Sunday. We either eat them that night for dinner, or on Monday night. Some of my favorites include Sweet Potato Quinoa Black Bean Burgers, Asian Black Bean Burgers, Greek Black Bean Burgers (recipe soon!). If you’re a meat eater, whip up a batch of hamburgers or turkey burgers.

Other things you could consider making based on your diet:

• Meat-  Throw some chicken or pork in the crockpot shred to use in meals throughout the week. Or bake some chicken breasts in the oven. Prefer ground meat? Cook a package of ground turkey and throw it into casseroles, tacos and sauces during the week.
• Hummus- Make your own from canned (no-salt-added or dried) chickpeas. Here’s a little how to make hummus video for you.
• Frozen yogurt bites- another one of my favorites to make on the weekend for an easy snack during the week. You can make these frozen yogurt bars and cut them into bars or make them in ice cube trays.
• Roasted Chickpeas- They’re perfect for snacking and are also a great addition to trailmix. Here’s how I roast mine.
• Casseroles- Make a big casserole on sunday night. Eat some Sunday night and have leftovers to eat throughout the week. Casseroles are similar to soups. Very little effort to make a big batch of food.
• Marinades- Whip up a marinade and add some tofu, tempeh or meat to a bag. Let them sit overnight and pull them out to make an easy dinner on Monday night.
• Burritos- Check out this post on how to eat healthy during the week to see how I make freezer burritos.
• Salad- Chop up all the veggies and make a big salad. Having it ready to go makes it more likely you’ll eat it during the week.

Next step: Storage

If you have a freezer, use it! It makes life easier. Some of my favorite things to freeze:

• Beans and Lentils: Simply cook them, let them cool completely and then put in freezer-safe containers or ziploc bags. I usually use bags. Then, when I’m ready to use them I just smack the bag on the counter to loosen them up and dump them into whatever i’m cooking. If you use containers, just stick them in the microwave to defrost and then add!
• Soups and Casseroles: Did you make a double batch of soup or a giant casserole? Put half in a freezer safe container and stick it in the freezer. Then, in a couple weeks when you have a crazy weekend and don’t have time to prep food, you can pull the container out to thaw and have dinner all ready to go for at least one night that week!
• Burgers: I’m finally getting into the habit of making MORE veggie burgers than we need. That way, I can leave 4-5 in the fridge for us to eat during the week and still have 4 or so to put in the freezer. You can freeze them cooked or uncooked. If you’re freezing them before cooking, freeze on a pan, then transfer to a container. If I freeze them after cooking, I let them cool completely, then wrap in saran wrap put in containers or ziploc bags. When you’re ready to eat them, just cook from frozen if necessary (in the oven or on the stove), or defrost in the microwave and eat!

So how exactly does this make things easier?

Come back tomorrow to see what we ate for all our meals last week. It will show you how we used the food I prepped to make weekday meals quick and easy!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–