Cooking every day – no chance? With meal prep, you only need time to cook once every few days – and still eat healthy, home-cooked meals every day. We explain how it works. And how Oviva nutritional advice can help you with that too.
What is meal prep?
Do you have little time to cook or prepare meals every day , but still want to take control of your diet? With meal prep, you become independent of unhealthy fast food, questionable ready meals and expensive delivery services !
Meal prep – short for meal preparation – is the time-saving preparation of meals for several days in advance. Meal prepping is the perfect way to start a more relaxed week: well-packaged, portioned ready meals are waiting in the fridge that you only need to heat up or pack. Or – this is called food prep – prepared meal components that can be used to put together different dishes with minimal effort.
The benefits of meal prep
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch at the office, a snack or dinner at home: With meal prep (or food prep) it’s much easier to eat healthily and balanced, even on stressful days. Of course, it takes planning. And the preparation takes a bit of work. But you’ll be rewarded twice and three times over:
- You save time: you only cook once – instead of, say, five times.
- You save a lot of money: Cooking yourself is cheaper than eating out, taking out, or delivering. b) You shop less often and more carefully (and buy cheaper bulk packs). And c) You’ll probably throw away a lot less food.
You have perfect control over your portion sizes . And there is no leftover in the pot that would be a shame.
How exactly does meal prep work?
Meal prep can work in a variety of ways. Choose the method that works best for you – or incorporate them all into your meal prep repertoire!
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- The stew principle : Of course, soups and stews can be cooked in advance. But pan-fried dishes and casseroles are also “stews” in the broader sense. Whether goulash, paella, curry or risotto, whether one-pot pasta, vegetable stir-fry or lasagne – simply make several meals out of it!
- The principle of ready meals: Classic meals consist of a portion of vegetables, a carbohydrate source, and a protein source, which are prepared separately and served together on a plate. Many dishes can easily be prepared days in advance.
- The Food Prep Principle: Food prep brings more variety into your week. You prepare individual components of meals that you can combine in different ways over the coming days.
Which foods are suitable for meal prep?
- Cereal products: rice, pasta, couscous, quinoa, buckwheat etc.
- Starchy tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes
- Firm vegetables: carrots, corn, peppers, beets, green beans, asparagus, etc.
- Leafy vegetables and cabbage: spinach, chard, rocket, kale, red cabbage, white cabbage, Chinese cabbage, etc.
- Legumes: chickpeas, peas, lentils, kidney beans
- Lean protein: eggs, cottage cheese, grilled cheese, tofu, chicken, turkey, beef, pork