Easy, healthy and delicious meal prep ideas and recipes
Meal prep can be a great tool not only to get you organised for a week of healthy food, but can be something that gets you excited and motivated to stay on track.
Whether it’s chopping up vegetables ahead of time, making double batches for leftovers or cooking a weeknight dinner on the weekend, meal prep is a healthy habit to get in to. We’ve created a list of meal prep inspo to get you ready ahead of time.
Breakfast prep
Bircher muesli - healthy, delicious, and perfect for busy mornings. It’s one meal that has to be prepared ahead! Mix together some oats, your choice of milk, yoghurt and fruit like grated apple, a few sultanas and a pinch of cinnamon. Keep it in the fridge over night for a healthy and delicious meal by morning.
Smoothie ingredients – if you’re a morning smoothie person why not cut up your fruits the night before. You can put everything in a zip lock bag (minus the fluid you’re using) and store in the fridge. Over ripe bananas are the perfect smoothie ingredient when frozen – so remove the peel and wrap in cling wrap, then freeze for later.
Main meals
Cutting up vegetables in bulk can be a real time saver. Starchy veg (e.g. potato and sweet potato) as well as carrots, zucchini, broccoli, pumpkin and celery all keep well cup up ahead of time in the fridge. This can be useful for all your roast veg and stir fry dishes.
Pasta bakes are a family favourite that can be made ahead. Once in the casserole dish, you can put them in the fridge for baking the next day. Grab the recipe for our delicious BBQ chicken, broccoli and pasta bake here.
Soups
Cooking a big batch of soup for the week is always a great idea, as this hearty cool-weather meal can be frozen and last in the freezer for up to 6 months. We’ve made a list of warming soup recipes for you to try here.
Baked snacks
Baking some treats on the weekend can be a great way to have snacks ready to go for the start of the week. Our delicious zucchini and carrot muffins are a perfect morning tea or work- day afternoon pick me up. Get the recipe here.
Veggies
Vegetables are one food you can’t have too much of! Veggie sticks are a go-to healthy snack, and can be cut up for the week ahead. Put them in an air tight container with a damp paper towel over the top to keep them fresh.
Veggie sticks feature in our personalised plans to help you get your daily intake of veg. Have a look at them as a snack with other healthy snack ideas here.
If you’re entertaining
Meal prep is always great if you’re having guests over – the more than can be made ahead of time, the more time you have to enjoy your guests company!
Dessert is a great example of this, like a fruit crumble that can be completely prepared in the baking dish and just popped in the oven when dinner is served. Our scrumptious apple crumble recipe serves one, but can easily be multiplied. See it here.
Prepared by Kara Vogt – Accredited Practicing Dietitian
