One morning earlier this month, I woke up to cold weather again feeling under the weather. It was a perfect day to not get out of the pajamas—and one thing I felt about it indeed thankfulness at that time was that I had spent several hours a day before filling our refrigerator with building blocks for delicious meals. There was chicken and rice soup, lots of fresh vegetables and chopped greens, creamy hummus, and lots of morning glory muffins ready to be slathered with butter.
One of my friends recently told me that for him, “happiness is a fridge full of food.” It struck me that there is a special comfort that comes from knowing that you have something made from delicious food that is ready. Of course, the busyness of modern life means that most of us don’t have hours to prepare complex meals.
When I get home at the end of a long day, I want healthy options and I’m ready—and I promise that once you’ve stocked your kitchen, you can make eating nutritious meals easier than ordering takeout. For me, prepping ingredients is the only way I will stick to healthy eating with a busy schedule. Enter: meal prep for the week.
How I Eat to Prepare for the Week
This is where my simple meal prep trick comes in. Every weekend, I make just a few simple “building block” recipes that I can use as a place to skip a bunch of nutritious meals during the week. Roasted vegetables can top a salad or fill a sandwich. A bowl of quinoa forms the basis of a cereal bowl, or it can be a hearty breakfast porridge. These basic recipes are infinitely versatile, and part of the fun is getting creative and finding different ways to use them.
Watch the video above to see how I pull off these five meal prep tasks in less than an hour, then read on for specific instructions. But first, some tips for meal prep success.
Prepare with the Seasons
How do I decide which ingredients to use in this basic recipe? For me, it’s all about being inspired by what’s in season. If you have fresh lettuce or deep orange sweet potatoes or ripe strawberries, it doesn’t take much to turn them into a delicious meal. It also means you’re getting high nutrition from these whole, unprocessed foods so you can look and feel your best.
Practice Cooking Carefully
If you think you don’t have time to prepare food on Sunday, try thinking of it as a moment of self-care—something you can take your time and enjoy the process. I like to pour a glass of kombucha, wine, or make hot tea, turn on some music, and do my meal prep ritual. And that wonderful feeling of opening my refrigerator at the end of a long day and encountering healthy, delicious options? The ultimate reward.
Keep it Simple
You don’t need tons of time (an hour or two is enough!) or any fancy equipment. Most of these recipes only require a knife, a cutting board, and a sheet pan. I try to be productive and make the most of my time: while the vegetables are roasting and the grains are cooking on the stove, I make my dressingand my shelled seeds. You will find your rhythm and eventually you won’t even have to look at any instructions. After doing these a few times, you will find your flow.
Friendly reminders
- Clean as you go.
- Write down your to-do list ahead of time so you have an action plan.
- Remember that even if you can do a few of these, it will still make a big difference during the week. Do what you can!
Cook Whole Grains
A bowl of cooked cereal is one of the most versatile items you can have in your fridge. Cooked grains like farro or quinoa make a great side dish for any protein, or use them as the base of a cereal bowl, top with an egg, or warm and add nut milk and cinnamon for a breakfast porridge.
Today I use quinoa. I love its chewy consistency and plant-based protein, but you can use farro, buckwheat, rice, amaranth, or any other. Here’s how to properly cook quinoa:
- Drain 1 cup of quinoa in a mesh container, then place in a small saucepan.
- Add 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, quickly reduce heat to low and cover. Leave for 20 minutes, stirring with a fork in between to make sure the quinoa doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once cooked, I place a folded dish towel between the pot and the lid while it cools to remove excess moisture.
Cooked quinoa will keep in the fridge for up to five days. To freeze the cooked cereal, spread it in one place on a baking sheet, and transfer it to the fridge for at least two hours. After the grains are frozen, you can store them in a safe container in the refrigerator.
Roast Vegetables
Pretty much any vegetable tastes better grilled—cooking it at high heat intensifies the flavor and gives it the caramelization I love.
Here are some of my favorite vegetables to roast:
- sweet potato
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- butternut squash
- beet
- baby red potatoes
- cabbage
- brussels sprouts
- tomatoes
- eggplant
Add spices and herbs to keep them tasting different and interesting. Sometimes I’ll toss mine with taco seasoning, sometimes I’ll drizzle with harissa or vinegar, or keep it simple with a little Italian seasoning. Salt and pepper are always needed. When made, they are a perfect addition to salads, grain dishes, tacos, and sandwiches.
Here’s the perfect way to roast almost any type of vegetable:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the vegetables in one place, leaving the surrounding area to roast instead of steam. You want the edges to be crispy and brown.
- Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper (and whatever other spices you’re using) and toss around. Bake until caramelized. (Cooking time will vary depending on the vegetable.)
Make a dressing or sauce
This is a step that makes me happy to use my prepared vegetables throughout the week. Grains and vegetables it can be get a little boring without a sauce full of flavor to pour over everything and make it nest. Having a mason jar full of dressing at the ready means you have salad dressing and sauce for dishes, tacos, and veggie sides. You can drizzle over roasted sweet potatoes or use as a green vegetable dip. It really is your best friend when it comes to making easy and delicious meals in no time.
This week, I made one of my favorites, Turmeric Vinaigrette. It’s very easy to make – just add all these ingredients to a blender:
- 1 shallot, peeled and divided
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 2 tablespoons of mustard
- Squeeze the honey
- A spoonful of ground turmeric
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Mix everything together, and store in a mason jar for a week.
Prepare Your Salad Vegetables and Green Vegetables
Are you 10 times more likely to eat your vegetables if they are already washed and refrigerated first? THE SAME. And my children, too. I’ve started keeping a sealed container in the fridge full of chopped carrots, cucumbers, and peppers so that when they come into the kitchen looking for a pre-dinner snack, I can point them to the crudité bowl. And we always have guacamole, hummus, or my weekly salad dressing (above) to pair with their veggies for dipping.
Plus, if you have fresh lettuce and other chopped greens ready, it’s very easy to put together a salad with any dinner you’re serving. I’d much rather do all the prep at once, than pull out my salad spinner and cutting board over and over again. Here’s what I do after grocery shopping on the weekend:
- Wash and dry my lettuce in a salad spinner, then wrap in paper towels to trap moisture and store in the produce drawer of the fridge.
- Peel and cut carrots, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, and any other green vegetables I have laying around, so I can easily throw them into my school lunch during the week.
Make a Spicy Seed Mix
I’m all about adding crunch to almost everything—sometimes it’s just a handful of chopped nuts or seeds, but I like to have some kind of crunchy seed mix in the fridge that I can sprinkle on everything from salads to dishes to vegetable sides. . Just give it that little thing, you know?
This recipe is flexible for whatever seeds, nuts, or spices you have on hand. Sometimes I go a little sweeter and add maple syrup or orange zest, but today I’m going sweeter with sea salt and coriander. Here’s what I do:
- In a small frying pan, add pumpkin seeds, chopped almonds, and sunflower seeds. Saute until fragrant, then add sesame seeds, a pinch of sugar and salt and coriander.
- Saute until everything starts to get a little golden brown, then transfer to a mason jar and store in the fridge.