P lan your menu f or t he w eek a head
Like the saying suggests, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
How To:
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Use a menu plan te mplate and / or an App such as ‘Mealime Meal Plans & Recipes’ to plan out your meals for the week ahead. -
Identify your busiest days – late nights, early mornings, social commitments and plan your meals accordingly. -
Create nutritionally balanced meals by b uild ing each meal around the three key macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates and fat. An example of this may include overnight oats, with oats as the carbohydrate, Clean Lean Protein as the protein and peanut butter as the fat. -
Remember, just because you are meal prepping, doesn’t mean your meals should be boring! Sit down with yourself, your partner or your family and choose meals that you enjoy! This will encourage successful meal preparation.
Prepar e m eals a head o f t ime
Allocate three hours on the weekend to shop, cook and portion out meals. -
Batch cook ing is an effective method that can be used to prepare multiple meals at once. When preparing some of your favourite recipes, try doubling the quantities so that you increa se the number of serves. -
Wash, cut, cook and store food in advance. V egetables can be roast ed o n large trays, and grains such as rice and quinoa can be cooked and stored in the fridge to be added to meals throughout the week. -
P lan and portion out healthy snacks. Cut up fruit at the start of the week and store in the fridge. This can be consumed with nuts for a perfectly balanced snack. -
To ensure your meals last, store additional serves in air - tight containers in the freezer. It is worth investing in good q uality airtight, food storage containers as this will guarantee your foods freshness.
Variety is key
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To avoid monotony , come up with three to four core recipes that can be rotated throughout the week. Some great core recipe ideas include vegetable casseroles, lentil curries and pasta bakes. Adding vegetables that are in season ensures diversity. -
The addition of herbs, spices and condiments are also a fantastic way to create interest and variety!