Meal prep like a boss
When it comes to eating well, being prepared is the key to success which is why we love #MealPrepSunday. Setting aside a few hours to plan for the week, shop, prep, and cook ensures that you stay on-track with your #EpicLife goals and that you’re ready to start the week off right. Another key element of meal prep is being flexible—if Sunday doesn’t work for you, try Saturday or Monday evening—just put it in your schedule and stick to the day and time you’ve chosen. Being accountable to your meal prep goals goes a long way and making it work for your schedule is the best way to stick to your plan. We’re going to start simple and provide tips on prepping for lunch—if you’re new to meal prep this is a great place to get practice, especially if you find yourself eating out often. You can save money and eat a nourishing meal that will keep you satiated for the rest of the day. Let’s get started!
Make a plan
Use a calendar to plan out your week. Deciding what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week can streamline your grocery shopping experience and help you meet your budget—by buying only what you need. If you have a night out planned, write it in and work around those plans. Use our handy Build Your Own Meal Plan and Grocery List to get started.
Make it approacha-bowl
One of our go-to meal prep lunches is nourish bowls, especially for meals on-the-go. They offer versatility so you don’t have to eat the same thing over-and-over again and with some prep ahead of time, you can perfectly portion them and store them in the fridge for the week. Building a perfect nourish bowl all comes down to the ingredients: grains, veggies, protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Turn on your favourite playlist or podcast and start cooking! Follow these guidelines:
Grains: think quinoa, rice, lentils, and pasta
Tip: choose two grains to prep and then alternate them through the week, for example, Monday = rice, Tuesday = lentils, Wednesday = rice, etc.
Perfect portion: 1/2 cup
Veggies: we like to use ‘sturdy’ veggies that don’t get mushy like broccoli, spinach, kale, sprouts, spiralized carrots and zucchini, cabbage, cucumbers—really, any veggies you love eating work well in nourish bowls
Tip: as soon as you get home from the store prep your veggies. If you’re using them raw, wash, cut, and store. If you’re roasting them, throw them in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper and your fave seasoning blends. Save time later, by prepping them ahead.
Perfect portion: 1 1/2 cups
Protein: make a whole chicken in your steamer, season and prep tempeh or tofu, grill salmon or tuna, bake falafels > is that a protein?
Tip: silicone steamers are your best meal prep friend! They take the time and mess out of prep—just use one dish to cook your protein and cut down on dishes
Perfect portion: 4.5 oz. fish (salmon, shrimp, tuna…), 4 oz. meat (beef, chicken, turkey…), 1 cup vegetarian (beans, peas, mashed lentils) or 2 eggs + 4 egg whites
Healthy fats: Epicure salad dressing, avocado, crumbled feta, chia seeds, nuts
Tip: make, portion and freeze guacamole in small containers. When you grab your nourish bowl in the morning to take on-the-go, simply grab a guacamole container, too. It will thaw by lunchtime and won’t go brown!
Perfect portion: 1 tbsp.
Make it your way
Dressings, dips, toppers, and condiments take flavour to the next level and help customize your bowl to suit your taste. Dollop 3 Onion or CCB on your nourish bowl, add a final sprinkle of Red Garlic or Better than Bacon, twist on Turmeric & Black Pepper and Sea Salt—the possibilities are endless with the versatility these ingredients deliver.
Once your ingredients are prepped, chopped, and cooked, it’s time to build your nourish bowl. Some people prefer to buy five of the same containers and then to layer in the ingredients, starting with grains on the bottom, then veggies, protein, healthy fats, and sauces/toppers. Once they’re ready, labelling the container by day or recipe name can help keep things straightforward on those busy weekday mornings!
And, that’s #MealPrepSunday at-a-glance! When you’re ready for more check out these Epicure nourish bowl recipes!