Prep for Success
Updated: Oct 25
When I started meal prepping, I soon grew bored of eating the same things every day for 2-3 days in a row. This led to food fatigue and made the idea of buying lunch out very appealing.
To combat this, I started component prepping instead.
This meant that I had key staples in the cupboard or fridge that I could incorporate into different meals throughout the week. This could look like:
Cooking up a batch of chicken and/or tofu to add to salads, rice bowls, pastas, wraps or vegetable-based dishes
Making my own granola to add to yoghurt/smoothie bowls, chocolate chia pudding or just crumbled on top of sliced fruit (recipe here)
Making a fibre rich psyllium husk jam (recipe below)
Boiling a large portion of quinoa (with bone broth as the liquid base for added protein) to mix with my protein of choice and veggies
Roasting a bunch of vegetables to have with my meals
Making fibre-rich crackers to have with cottage cheese or hummus; I love this recipe from Dr Rupy
Any sauces/dressings e.g. a yoghurt and mustard dressing for salad, pesto, or a roasted red pepper pasta sauce (both recipes below)
Sauces
Pesto
Ingredients:
100g basil
Basil is rich in vitamin A and K (which helps with blood clotting) and antioxidants like eugenol, rosmarinic acid, and beta-carotene which fight cell-damaging free radicals
Small tomato, core removed
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that has anti-cancerous properties
Also high in vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K
20g pumpkin seeds (of course you can use the traditional pine nuts if you want, this is just a way of getting extra nutrients in!)
A fab source of manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron
3-4 sun-dried tomatoes
10ml olive oil
Try to use a good quality EVOO here. EVOO contains oleic acid which may reduce inflammation and oxidative stress and holds onto the antioxidants that are lost in refined olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt/pepper to taste
Optional: Cooked broccoli florets or fresh spinach/kale to increase nutrient content
Method:
Blend everything together until you reach your desired texture
If using for pasta, mix in with a little pasta water to thicken up the consistency
Roasted vegetable sauce
This can be used with pastas/rice/as a sauce for your preferred protein, anything really!
Ingredients:
1 red pepper
High in vitamin C (one medium-sized red pepper provides 169% of your reference daily intake!)
100g red pepper contains approximately 2g of fibre
1 bulb garlic
Garlic is antimicrobial and antibacterial and generally great for the immune system
2-4 tomatoes
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that has anti-cancerous properties
Also high in vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K
1 red onion (omit if you don't want a sweet taste to the sauce)
Full of anthocyanins, a potent antioxidant only found in red or purple onions, it's what gives them their colour!
Drizzle of olive oil
Try to use a good quality EVOO here. EVOO contains oleic acid which may reduce inflammation and oxidative stress and holds onto the antioxidants that are lost in refined olive oil
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180C
Cut up all veg, either leave the garlic bulb whole (you can squeeze out the cloves at the end) or roast the individual cloves in their skins
Drizzle with olive oil
Roast for 20-25 mins until you can see the edges of the vegetables are charred
Remove from oven and blend together until smooth, adding a little water whilst blending if necessary
Fridge Staples
Psyllium husk jam
This is a more recent addition to my prepping and packed with a mix of insoluble and soluble fibre as well as important vitamins and nutrients. Spread it on toast, add it to yoghurt bowls, cereal or overnight oats.
Ingredients:
400g frozen berries of choice (I used a mixed berries bag with strawberries, blackberries, redcurrants, raspberries and blackcurrants: M&S Berry Mix)
Berries contain a mix of soluble (read below) and insoluble fibre. Insoluble fibre, which is in the seeds and skins of the berries, adds bulk to stool and speeds up its movement through the gut
All berries are very high in antioxidants
30g organic coconut sugar
If you don't have this, substitute it with honey or maple syrup to your liking
3tbsp whole psyllium husk
A soluble fibre, meaning that it soaks up water in the gut, ensuring your bowel movements are more consistent, frequent and easier to pass
Method:
Add berries to a pan and bring to the bowl on a medium/low heat stirring constantly until the berries have defrosted
When the berries have released a lot of liquid and reduced, add your chosen sweetener
Turn off the heat and add the psyllium husk while the mixture is still hot, stir thoroughly so all of the husk has been incorporated
Leave to cool completely. You'll notice that the texture completely changes to become thicker and more jam like
Store in an airtight container in the fridge
Freezer Staples
If it wasn't for my pathetically tiny freezer, I would be batch cooking and freezing way more meals than I'm currently able to!
Having nutritious food in the freezer that you can quickly defrost makes healthy eating so much easier (if you own an air-fryer, many of these come with a defrost setting) and means the mental load of cooking and prepping can be put on hold for a while.
Egg, vegetable and quinoa bake
Ingredients (quantities of the veg are up to you, depending on what you like and how big your baking dish is):
Broccoli
Loaded with vitamins C, K and B9 and calcium and potassium
Contains sulphoraphane, a powerful antioxidant that can reduce inflammation
Yellow and/or red pepper
High in vitamin C (one medium-sized pepper provides 169% of your reference daily intake!)
100g pepper contains approximately 2g of fibre
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that has anti-cancerous properties
Also high in vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K
250g of egg whites
Great protein source, 100g contains approximately 10g protein
0g fat so great for fat/weight loss
205g of whole eggs (I think this about 4 large eggs)
Rich in protein, vitamins B2, B5, and B12 and selenium, and choline. Choline supports cell membranes and brain function and is hard to find in modern diets
Eggs contain nearly all the nutrients you need, wrapped up in a small package!
225g cooked quinoa
A complete protein that contains all 9 essential amino acids that your body can't make on its own and needs to be supplied with
80g cheese (I used the Mature lighter version from Cathedral City but use whatever you prefer)
1 tsp olive oil
Method:
Chop veggies and add to a lightly oiled baking dish
Add eggs, egg whites, olive oil and cheese into dish and whisk thoroughly
Season however you like
Bake at 170 for 30-35 mins or until completely set
Chicken patties
These are amazing for when you need a quick protein hit post workout, or you want something easy for a main meal. You can defrost these (I use the defrost setting on the airfryer, it takes about 10 mins at 175C) and have them as burgers, cut them up and add them to pasta or rice or just by themselves with a bit of English mustard!
Ingredients:
Less than 5% fat chicken mince
A great source of low fat protein
Veggies of your choice - I used red pepper, broccoli and leeks because that's just what I had in the fridge
3tbsp ground flaxseed
Full of healthy fat and omega-3s, works very well as a binder if you take 5-10 mins to soak it in a little water beforehand
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C
Stir fry your veggies before adding them to the mince. I find that this dries them out a little so they don't leak moisture when in the oven
When done, mix this into the mince along with the flaxseed
Season however you like. I used garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper, mixed herbs
Shape into equal sized patties and place onto a lined baking tray
Bake for 20-25 mins until juices run clear when you cut into the meat
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