This week served as a great reminder to me of why George and I meal prep. We were out of town over the weekend, so I planned to eat leftovers from the end of last week as well as the last of our freezer stash to carry me through dinner on Tuesday.
As it turned out, the freezer item wasn’t what I thought, which left me unsure about just how long it had been in there. I contemplated eating it anyway as I was on the verge of hanger, but ultimately I decided it wasn’t worth toying with food poisoning.
We keep very little processed food in our home. Though, we do still have a few remaining frozen meals from pregnancy. I gave in and microwaved one as my level of hunger was not conducive to washing, chopping or cooking of any kind. It wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t as tasty, satisfying or nutritious as our typical homemade meals.
George and I tend to stick with plant-based meals during the week. For one, we love our veggies, beans and grains. They also come with the added bonuses of longer shelf/fridge-life and lower cost compared to meat. Also, a plant-based diet is one of the hallmarks of the Blue Zones – more on this in another post. On the weekends, we do typically enjoy a nice piece of wild caught fish for one or two meals.
I don’t routinely prep breakfast in advance, as I absolutely love a big bowl of oatmeal. It’s like a warm hug from within to start the day. I could prepare a large quantity for the week, but I prefer to make it fresh.
In order to limit time spent waiting for the oatmeal to be ready, I’ve been cooking it before Ellie and I head out the door for a walk or run-walk so it’s ready for me when we return. I prefer a ratio of 1:3 of oats to water. I also add ~1 tablespoon of chia seeds for extra nutrition. I simmer the oats and chia seeds covered on low which frees me up to do other things while it cooks without it boiling over. When it’s finished cooking I turn it off and leave it covered. Right before digging in, I heat it back up briefly on the stovetop and add in fruit, nuts, spices, etc.
On this particular day, I had frozen cherries, cinnamon, ginger, almond butter and blackstrap molasses. Other toppings I love are berries of any sort, banana, nuts and nut butters of all kinds, ground flaxseeds, cacao powder and cacao nibs.
Here’s a peek at the lunch and dinner I came up with for this week. George and I typically don’t follow recipes, but we do sometimes turn to recipes for inspiration. These were just dishes thrown together with what we had on hand as I had shopped earlier in the week with no specific meals planned out.
Lunch – Beans and veggies served over teff and topped with avocado.
First thing in the morning, I combined a 1 lb bag of dried pinto beans, 2 bay leaves and boiling water (enough to cover the beans by ~1 inch) in the crockpot on low. After breakfast, I added in 2 chopped onions, an 8 oz container of fresh mushrooms quartered, ~5 garlic cloves roughly chopped, 1 can of diced tomatoes and ~1 teaspoon of dried thyme. The beans cooked for a total of ~5 hours. The other ingredients were added about half way through simply because that was when I had time to wash and prepare them. Upon turning off the crockpot, I added spinach and salt & pepper to taste. I served it over teff, which I cooked during the window of time when I was preparing the other ingredients to add in with the beans. I also had half an avocado for a dose of healthy fat.
Dinner – Salad with hemp hearts and baked sweet potato.
As sweet potatoes baked in the oven, I chopped up a simple salad of spinach, onion, red pepper, tomatoes, olives, carrots, celery and raisins. While plating up my salad, I added hemp hearts for protein and healthy fat. The dressing is super simple and provides additional heart healthy fat and some protein from tahini which I mixed with equal parts fresh lemon juice and coconut aminos. I also added dulse for flavor and minerals…and to help with our quest to pare down our pantry for our fast-approaching move into a 5th wheel – more on that later, too.
Aside from breakfast, lunch and dinner are ready to go for the next few days. I tend to have a few snacks a day to keep me going and ensure I’m getting enough fuel for both myself and Ellie as a breastfeeding mom. We always keep fruit (dried and fresh) and nuts on hand for quick and nutritious snacks. Dates and nuts are my go-to fuel prior to hitting the pavement in the mornings. I’ll typically have fruit of some sort in the afternoons and either make up a trail mix or a homemade dessert prior to bed. This week, my favorite combination before bed has been dried apricots, pistachios and dark chocolate chunks.
With a little planning, homemade meals can save time and money in the long run. Not to mention be packed with much more nutrition and flavor than mass-produced processed foods or takeout.