Hello, I hope you had a successful start to the year! Today I wrote down some tips for you on how to plan your meals in advance and use the seasonal ingredients that we have now at the end of winter/beginning of spring. No, don't worry, you won't be spending hours in the kitchen, quite the opposite! I will advise you on how to quickly prepare the individual ingredients, which you can then combine in different ways, and it will save you time during a busy work week. Let's do it together!
A. Plan your meals ahead
At the beginning, I would like to motivate you to plan your meals in advance. I know very well that sometimes can be quite annoying. But this time, however, I have prepared 3 simple steps for you that you can do with the whole family within 30 minutes and it's done. Once you write them down, you can change them freely according to your time options or your desire to try new recipes.
List of meals: Make a list of your favorite meals that you cook at home. Then note also approximately how much time it will take to prepare it and whose favorite meals it is. Then with older children you can arrange that they can help you prepare their favorite food. You will see that it will motivate them more :-)
List of ingredients: For each meal write down a list of ingredients needed to prepare them and go through your supplies at home. Then prepare a shopping list accordingly. You can also add the place where you most often buy them and what their price is. This kind of information can be useful even when you ask your husband to buy or when you want to have a better overview of the family budget.
Your weekly schedule: Then take a look at your weekly schedule, depending on the time available, try to write down the meals for each day. Note also day where you for example order food from your favorite restaurant, when you have more time to try maybe a new recipe or when you are so busy that you will have your favorite pasta. It's completely okay to have days like this. But if you plan them in advance, you will avoid having, for example, pizza or pasta every night because you simply didn't have time to prepare anything else.
B. Prepare the individual ingredients
On Sunday afternoons, I try to find an hour of time to prepare the individual ingredients, which I can then combine in different ways at the beginning of the week or add others ingredients that don't take up so much time. Let's divide them into 4 basic groups. Which also help you put together a nutritionally balanced meal :-)
Vegetables:Â Vegetables should be the basis of our diet and it should make up 1/2 of our plate. If you don't manage to eat it regularly, prepare it in advance and you will have it in the fridge. Try this option for example. One pan roasted vegetable on ghee - sweet potatoes, beetroot, zucchini and cauliflower and it will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Then you can have peas or broccoli in the freezer, or fresh carrots or lettuce and try vary them.
Protein: Â Proteins should take approximately 1/4 of our plate. One day prepare, for example, roasted chicken breast, then tofu, Burrata or Halloumi cheese, and sometimes replace it with pulses in the form of beans, lentils or chickpeas.
Carbs/cereal grains: The remaining 1/4 of our plate is made up of carbs. You can prepare, for example, couscous, pasta, bulgur or a gluten-free version in the form of quinoa. These ingredients will also last several days in the fridge.
Quality fats: And last but not least, we must not forget the source of quality fats. For roasting vegetables or meat, use ghee that can withstand high temperatures. Then always have high-quality cold-pressed olive oil, seeds such as flax or hemp and nuts on hand. Add quality fats to every meal, they will help us absorb the necessary nutrients, for example, fat-soluble vitamins from vegetables.
C. 1 ingredient in 3 different meals
Now we will look at 3 different dishes that we can prepare from our roasted vegetables over the course of several days. So you won't be eating the same food over and over again and it will save you a lot of time.
Veggie Omelet - Mix the vegetables with 2 eggs and make an omelet. Add salt, pepper and spices to taste. You can have this omelet for Sunday brunch, for example, or cut it into pieces, add nuts and you have a great snack for children at school.
Chicken Quinoa Salad - When you mix roasted vegetables with fried chicken pieces and quinoa add olive oil and seeds and you have a delicious gluten-free lunch that you can take with you to work the next day for you and your husband.
Burrata Bowl - Do you have leftover pasta and don't know what to do with it? Add the rest of the roasted vegetables and Burrata cheese and voila you have a light dinner or lunch ready in 5 minutes.
So what do you say, will you try any of these tips? :-) Also check out my Instagram, where I have prepared step-by-step videos for you for this article. I will be very happy if you let me know what has worked for you or perhaps your ideas on how to save time in the kitchen and prepare a delicious meal with your loved ones. Enjoy!
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