If there’s one thing that we KNOW works wonders for staying focused on your healthy eating plan – it’s preparation.
Spending time during the week doing some big batch cooking and getting ahead with your meal preparation can literally save you hours later on.
Set aside a few hours (we love the idea of a big Sunday cook up – but do it whenever works for you) and you will find that meal times become less stressful as you won’t be starting from scratch every day.
We were so inspired by the post on our Facebook support group by Rosanna Hayward on our plans that we just had to share her photo.
In one afternoon (as well as being under the weather and having an overtired toddler on her hands) she managed to prepare the following:
- 6x spaghetti bolognese
- 4x zucchini soup
- 24x pumpkin scones
- 24x sticky pumpkin muffins
- 3x tofu & noodle salad
- 6x vegie snack bags with spring onion dip
- 6x air popped popcorn
- 6x brown rice
- 12x choc peanut balls
- 12x coconut balls
- 12x cookie dough balls
- 6x chobani, strawberries & seeds
- 2x family sized nacho meat
- 2x family sized bolognese
- 10x single serves of Cajun crumbed chicken to add to salad/wraps
- 6x pad Thai
- Not all pictured, wouldn’t fit!
If you like the idea of being as super organised as this, follow our tips below which will help make healthy eating even easier.
1. Make your meal plan
The first thing to do is to sit down and work out your meal plan for the week. This is simple if you are following the 28 Day Challenge as you can just do it all online and print your shopping list.
If you’re not a member yet, just work out some meals that you would like to have for the week (check the fridge, freezer and pantry too and see what you already have that you can use up). See our top budget friendly 10 tips for meal planning here.
Write out your shopping list and get everything that you need on hand. Check out some of Healthy Mummy founder Rhian’s pantry cupboard staples here.
2. Chop chop chop
When you get home with all of your lovely fresh produce, don’t just pack it away. Pre chop your fruit and veg and store them in plastic tubs in the fridge.
This way when you want to prepare something like this Teryaki Stir Fry, you’ve just got to go to the fridge and grab the pre-chopped veggies that you want to use – saving you valuable time and washing up.
It also means Healthy Mummy Smoothie making is a breeze, as you can just grab some chopped fruit and pop it in the blender. If it looks like it’s not going to last much longer in the fridge just put it in some zip lock bags in the freezer and use these in your smoothies. Read our top tips for faster smoothie making here.
Do this with your meat too – say if you have bought 1kg of mince, split it into two bags before you freeze it so that you have the perfect amount for your family. You could even portion some of the mince up into burgers to freeze (just add a finely chopped onion and leafy herbs to the mince in a bowl and use damp hands to form into patties).
3. Make a few meals
Instead of making a big mess in the kitchen every night, why not make one big mess on the one day and pre-cook a few meals for the week?
You can either make and freeze, or make and store in the fridge so that they are ready to go. Here are some of our favourite meals that freeze really well and are perfect for busy nights.
When you are meal planning, consider what leftovers you can use during the week. For instance Bolognese one night and then another night you could use the leftovers for a topping for jacket potatoes with a side salad.
Make the most of your whole kitchen – so while you are cooking a curry on the stove top you could have a tray of roast veggies in the oven for salads, and the slow cooker could be ticking away with a lovely soup for your lunch for the week.
4. Cook some healthy protein
If you enjoy using shredded chicken or pulled beef in your salads or sandwiches for lunch, add this to your cook up too. Roast or poach some chicken, slow cook some beef or pork, and then shred it all up.
Freeze in single size portions that you can easily grab to use in a wrap, roll, salad or to enjoy with some leftover veggies. You could also try making a Mason Jar Salad. This saves you loads of time cooking meat from scratch every time you want to use it.
5. Prepare your snacks for the week
Ever noticed that the moment when you are really hungry is the hardest to say no to temptation?
We have found time and again that having your healthy snacks ready to go in the fridge or freezer means you don’t even have to think twice about what you are going to have for morning or afternoon tea.
Make a double or triple batch of muffins, slice or bliss balls and divide up into single portions to store in the freezer. Take them out in the morning and they should be ready to eat for morning tea.
This is also a great way to control your portion sizes as you’re much more likely to eat more than one muffin if they are stored in a tin altogether rather than separately.
Prepare a couple of healthy dips that you can store in the fridge to enjoy with carrot and celery sticks.
Pot up some Greek yoghurt with fresh berries and LSA into single serve portions.
6. Cook and freeze your grains
If you love having brown rice or quinoa as a side dish or in your salads, it’s a great idea to make this in advance. Simply make a double or triple batch, then portion it up into single serve or family size portions.
Once cooled, freeze. Then when you want to use it just defrost in the microwave and then reheat until steaming.
7. Get breakfast started
So many mums say that breakfast is a crazy time of day (and according to our recent survey almost half of you have been known to skip it altogether.
So here are 5 great pre-made breakfast recipes that you can make in advance so that breakfast becomes a breeze.
By implementing some of these time saving tips you will be well on your way to enjoying a less stressful mealtime while you lose pregnancy weight.
It can also really help to get prepared for your weekly exercise too and we have 6 great tips to help you prep for your for exercise.
