4 Easy Tips to Make Meal Prep More Effortless

Life seems to be getting faster these days and finding the time to prepare and cook healthy meals or snacks can be a challenge. You might find yourself saying, ‘I’m too busy to eat healthy food, it’s just too much effort’ or even ‘I don’t want to prepare and cook that tonight, it sounds too hard’.

I really believe that eating healthy can be as easy or as hard as you choose to make it, as Henry Ford says “Whether you believe you can or you can’t you’re right!” 

I understand that making wise food choices can be challenging for many people, especially when you feel stressed with a busy schedule and life events and/or you suffer from the mid-morning and/or afternoon food cravings. However there are many things you can do to make it easier for yourself and for your family to consistently make healthier food choices and trust me, this does get easier with practice.

Cooking and preparing nourishing food from scratch for me and my loved ones is a top priority in my life. So I thought I would provide you with some of my top tips and recipe ideas that save me the most time in the kitchen;

Tip #1
Make big batches of condiments at the start of each week

You can make your meals as simple or as complicated as you like. Eating a real food diet is exciting when you can spruce up any meal with a dollop or two of a tasty, delicious and extra nourishing condiment. There are many foods that you can add your condiment to, some of my favourites are :- salads, fritters, roasted vegetables, meat, frittata, seafood and eggs. Below are some of my absolute favourite condiments that are really easy to make. I make big batches of condiments and freeze the ones that I can

• Easy Olive Oil Mayonnaise
• Pesto
• Tomato Sauce
• Beetroot Hummus
• Easy Guacamole
• Red, green or yellow Curry Paste (freeze in ice-cubes – grab from freezer when needed)
• Cashew Cheese
• Salsa
• Coconut Yoghurt (which can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes)
• Chimichurri
• Sauerkraut or Mixed Cultured Veggies

Tip #2
Make a double batch of bread

Every time you make a batch of bread, try to double it. However, I recommend preparing the recipe one batch at a time as this will lower the risk of an unsuccessful attempt. because sometimes a recipe isn’t as simple as doubling the amount of ingredients. Try to do your calculations before you start to cook as it can be tricky and time consuming.

Another tip is; if you do make 2x batches of bread, rarely will the cook time be twice that of the original recipe. Check that the loaves of bread are ready at the recommended time of 1 loaf of bread, and if it still needs longer check them every 5 minutes until they’re cooked and ready.

The below recipes are freezer friendly, so you can slice up the bread and put 2x slices into zip-lock bags and place them in the freezer. When you’re in a hurry and looking for something that’s quick, healthy and nutritious to eat, you can grab them from the freezer and defrost them. Place them in the oven or a toaster and top with avocado, eggs, or a butter.

• GF Choc Banana Bread
• Pepita Coconut Paleo Bread
• Easy GF Coconut Bread
• Emmerwheat Sourdough Bread
• Pumpkin Emmer Wheat Bread 

Tip #3
Make easy slow cooker meals

Most days my slow cooker gets a great workout. Before I leave for work I’ll either put on a chicken soup, meat and veggie stew, some type of slow cooked meat or even a bone broth to cook all day while I’m at work. Cooking this way always allows me to have leftovers for the next day’s lunch and it requires minimal effort and prep. Here are some easy, healthy, nutritious meals you can easily cook in your slow cooker;

• Easy Turmeric & Chicken Curry
• Chicken Soup with Pumpkin, Ginger & Turmeric
• Roasted Pumpkin & Onion Veggie Soup
• Tomato Lamb Curry
• Bone Broth
• Lamb Harira Soup by Pete Evans
• Osso Bucco

Tip #4
Make savoury snacks and treats that you can freeze

When you make extra snacks and treats you can freeze them for later. This saves you time and sanity knowing you always have healthy options on hand for those times where you’re running late, in a rush, forgot to pack your lunch, need a quick snack immediately or just couldn’t be bothered cooking something up. Here are some healthy options;

• Chocolate & Cinnamon Coconut Rough – I make this weekly! I chop it up into squares, keep it in the freezer and grab one when I need a healthy snack
• Homemade Meatballs
• Herb & Garlic Rissoles with Hidden Veggies
• Bacon & Garlic Pate – I make this every fortnight and disperse it into small containers. I keep it in the freezer so I always have some on hand for an energy boosting snack with cucumbers and carrots, I’ll mix it through meatballs or rissoles or add it to spaghetti/ mince sauce
• Frozen cheesecakes, ice-blocks, bliss balls, muffins, muesli bar/slice, homemade biscuits or crackers and cakes can also be kept in the freezer

I believe we can all learn and share real food meal preparation tips with each other to make life easier. If you have any amazing time saving tips or incredible recipes you love that you would like to share with us and others, please comment below.