We get asked all the time how we make home cooked meals that are delicious and good for us while juggling little kids, work, and the demands of our busy lives. We know that cooking for your family does not have to be stressful or time consuming or complicated. Keep it simple, be prepared and you too can create healthy food that you will enjoy making and eating!
Follow these top tips to make meal prep a cinch and get cooking! We suggest you set a realistic goal to prepare one more meal at home this week than usual—breakfast, lunch or dinner. Now get chopping!
Stock Up. The key to healthy meals on the fly is a well-stocked pantry. We always have staples on hand to be able to whip up a nutritious meal for the whole family in minutes. Rice + beans + salsa + frozen veggies + pumpkin seeds becomes a Mexican burrito bowl. Keep some of our essentials on hand and you may not need to reach for the take out menu as frequently!
- Grains: brown or wild rice, quinoa, whole rolled oats, whole grain or bean pasta.
- Condiments: salsa, pasta sauce, mustard, vinegars, oils, hummus, coconut oil, nut butters.
- Frozen: spinach, kale, vegetables, berries, bananas, ground meat, chicken, turkey.
- Cans/Jars: beans, tuna, tomatoes, preserves.
- Other: spices, superfoods, nuts.
Wash and Chop. Prep your veggies when you bring them home. Wash them and cut them into snackable sized pieces. Having them at the ready means you will be more likely to reach for them when the noshing urge strikes. It also saves so much time when you need it most—the dinnertime rush.
Cook Once and Use It Lots (and Freeze). You will always have a healthy meal at the ready if you cook in bulk. It takes no extra time to boil 10 eggs instead of the two you want to eat for breakfast or to make three cups of quinoa instead of one. By cooking in quantity, you can reuse ingredients in different ways while cutting time and dirty dishes! Your roasted veggies from dinner become a sandwich filling the next day for lunch or omelet ingredients for breakfast.
We also love making dishes that store or freeze well like mini frittatas, healthy muffins, big pots of chili, soups and beyond. Grab a dish out of the freezer in the morning and it will defrost in the fridge while you go about your day, ready for you to just reheat and serve for dinner.
