This Is This Week

This week, I crushed meal prep!

OK, I crushed the beginning of meal prep.

Realistically, this is only 3-4 days worth of meals for A. and me.

But I love the sense of accomplishment that comes when you stack the containers in the fridge and know you don’t have to think about making dinner after a long day or decide what to pack for your breakfast at 5:00 a.m. when breakfast won’t actually happen for several more hours (after your workout and shower and commute).

So, what made this meal prep week successful when so many other weeks, meal prep just hasn’t happened?

#1: Utilize leftovers

I started out by taking stock of what fully prepped foods I already had in the fridge.

• Homemade tomato soup
• A black bean Indian dal
• A whole bunch of bean burgers I had made on Thursday

I opted to front load our weekday meals using these leftovers since they needed to be eaten anyway, but I saved us so much time by preportioning and packing them up!

#2: Add quick cooking ingredients to bulk things up

I popped a big batch of rice in my rice cooker and threw some broccoli in the oven to roast to round out the aforementioned leftovers!

Rice added to the Indian dish would be perfect since the dal already included greens.

Broccoli and rice packed up with 2 bean burger patties turned into a hearty dinner.

#3: Add your condiments to your containers

I can’t even tell you how many times I have made it to work and realized I forgot the hot sauce I wanted to add to my breakfast or the salad dressing for my greens.

This mistakes results in a very unappetizing meal.

So I have learned to just add the condiments or dressings to the containers themselves.

Pack your salads in jars and stick the dressing at the very bottom (so it just pours over the top when you dump it into bowl to eat).

Drizzle your hot sauce on top of your food; it will reheat just fine. (I’ve even done this with ketchup before, but I am sure someone will protest the idea of warm ketchup).

Even if you need to pack a mini container inside of your bigger container to keep the condiment separate, ensuring it is truly a grab-and-go meal is critical.

#4: Stick to tried and true favorites

Meal prep is not the time to experiment with new recipes. Or to randomly make a recipe up.

I speak from experience here.

Go with what you know!

Pick favorite meals that you can make without consulting a recipe or thinking too much.

The goal is efficiency – not innovation.

We don’t mind eating the same thing a few times during the week – when it is something we love. A new recipe that might end up flopping becomes even more unappealing when you have to consume it for several days.

For this week, I popped some tofu in the oven for a quick roast and dumped General Tso’s sauce over the top. Packed inside a container with more of that rice and rice I mentioned, this makes for a meal A. will actually look forward to eating.

I also prepped some tofu scramble with peppers, onions, and spinach for myself for breakfasts – but didn’t pack it up for A. He doesn’t love tofu scrambles, so why bother packing up containers of something he will skip over whenever he opens the fridge to select something?

I topped mine with my favorite hot sauce and bam! Breakfasts would be easy and delicious all week.

#5: Implement variety wisely

While I don’t suggest getting too creative with the variety of the meals you compile during meal prep sessions, it’s absolutely OK to add some variety as you consume the meals during the week.

Last week, I prepped a sloppy joe tempeh mix and packed it up over chickpea rice.

I ate mine out of the container with homemade bread and butter pickles while A. opted to scoop his mixture onto buns and eat it sandwich style.

This week, I might end up taking my salad jars and topping them with the bean burgers out of one meal kit, reserving the rice and broccoli for a later meal.

Or maybe I’ll add toast or a wrap to my tofu scramble for one of the breakfasts.

You can very simply adapt your already prepped food to give yourself something a little different, but you have food ready to go even if you don’t have the time for creativity one day.

I’m getting hungry just thinking about the meals ahead of me. I’d love to hear your favorite foods to prep in advance – and how you use those meals or ingredients in different ways throughout the week.

Leave us a comment and share your thoughts and ideas!