How I prep a few proper dishes for the week without spending hours in the kitchen. Eight small habits that make the whole thing quicker, calmer and easier to stick to.
Sanaa Vahed4 min read
Why do we meal prep?
Meal prep can look different for everyone. You might want every meal sorted for the week, or you might just want enough food to make the first few busy days easier.If you’re working towards calorie or macro goals, having those meals ready also makes it much easier to stay consistent when work gets busy. Here’s what helps me get it done quicker.
For me, three dishes is the happy medium. It gives you variety and takes the pressure off until at least Thursday.
Sanaa
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Tip 1: Choose one protein for two dishes
If I’m making two chicken recipes, I’ll chop all the chicken at once and weigh out what I need for each. That saves me prepping chicken for one dish and then starting all over again with lamb for another.
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Tip 2: Keep a lentil or chickpea dish going on the side
Yellow daal, green lentil curry or chana are perfect for this. I can get a pot going and leave it to simmer while I make something else.
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Tip 3: Prep once, use twice
Making shepherd’s pie and akni? Chop your carrots together, get the peas out of the freezer and divide them between both dishes. Do all your onions at the same time too. One round of peeling, one round of mess.Akni
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Tip 4: Chop your vegetables before your meat
It keeps the prep flowing and saves you getting another chopping board out. Give everything a proper wash once you’ve finished handling the raw meat.
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Tip 5: Think about your hob and pans before you start
We all have that one hob ring that cooks faster than the others. Put the dish that needs it most there. I’ll also think about whether I can cook a quick dish, move it to a Pyrex dish, then use the same pot for another recipe with similar flavours.
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Tip 6: Don’t pick three complicated recipes
I usually go for a saucy curry, a dry curry and one different dish. Curries are lovely for meal prep because once everything is in the pot, they mostly take care of themselves. You can have the same curry with rice one day and chapatti the next, so it doesn’t feel like the exact same meal again.Soup with chapattis
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Tip 7: Wash up in the little gaps
While something is simmering, wash a knife, wipe the counter or get your containers out. You don’t need to stand watching a curry cook, and future you will be grateful when the kitchen isn’t a disaster at the end.
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Tip 8: Store it well
Once the food is cooked, I split it into containers so it cools quicker, then pop it in the fridge. I freeze the portions I’m saving for later in the week. If you’ve made rice, cool and fridge it promptly, and use it the next day.
That’s really it
A bit of thought, a much easier week.
A little planning before you start saves so much time during the week, and you still get to eat proper, satisfying meals that fit your goals.
Sanaa
