Lemon Basil Pasta Salad is what summer adult life tastes like to me. Back in the days, pasta salad was the dish to bring to any potluck or barbecue. Growing up, pasta salad contained spaghetti broken in half (dead sin by itself already I guess),…
When I spoon my Pumpkin Overnight Oats – Poats in the morning my mind starts to wander. Back to my childhood. Village life. Summers at the pool. Winters at the ski slope. Falls with Halloween and little other things to keep us entertained. Trick or…
Mint Overnight Oats – Moats are a creamy and healthy way to start your day. The color will leave your work collegeaus impressed on Saint Patrick’s Day and any other Day of the year.
I had recently set myself the challenge to get hubby to eat as many hidden ingredients, especially veggies, he doesn’t usually fancy. And let me tell you a secret. He didn’t spot the baby spinach in these moats. I definitely add this recipe to my list of how-to-make-clean-eating invisible.
Now, get those greens in with this deliciously creamy mint overnight oats. Inspired by Ohsheglows Vegan Peppermint Patty Slice I altered the recipe to make it breakfast-suitable without missing taste.
Banana, baby spinach, cashew butter, mint and almonds will give you healthy fats, protein and lots of long-lasting energy for a busy day ahead. And don’t you worry, the mint extract doesn’t give you the feeling as if you have swallowed your toothpaste.
Depending on where you live, you might not find the following ingredients readily available at your local store. I recommend Amazon for the following ingredients:
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #theveganprepper. I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
If there is zoats and zoodles, why not try moats? My mint overnight oats will leave you pleasantly refreshed before the day has even started. Give these "After Eights" a try even if you that makes them Before Eights.
Prep Time5mins
Resting Time4hrs
Total Time4hrs5mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American, Dairy-Free, Vegan
Keyword: mint overnight oats, moats, spinach overnight oats
Servings: 1
Equipment
mason jar
Ingredients
½cuprolled oats
¾cupunsweetened almond milktry flavoured milk such as vanilla and chocolate for some extra WOW
1pinch of salt
½baby spinachfresh or frozen will both work
2tbspcashew butteroptional
1medium-sized bananafrozen
a few drops of mint extract*
Suggested Toppings
cacao nibs
kiwi
strawberry
whatever pleases your tastebuds
Instructions
The night before
Add the oats, almond milk into a blender and blend until well combined. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. (If you will eat it the next morning, leave the mixture in the blender and refrigerator the blender with content)
On Eat Day
To the blender add the spinach, frozen banana, and cashew butter (if using). Blend on high until a smooth and creamy consistency is reached, adding more milk if the smoothie is too thick for your liking. Add a few drops of mint and blend for a couple more seconds. Take a small sip and add extra mint and/or sweetener, if desired.
Transfer it to a bowl or glass, add desired toppings, and enjoy!
Notes
*Exercise caution when adding mint extract. Start with a few drops of of mint and gradually add more to taste. Mint overpowers super fast depending on the brand of mint extract you use.
Hummus is incredibly versatile. And so are potatoes. Combining hummus and potatoes almost seems like the logical thing to do then. I recently got creative with hummus after making waaay to much for a potluck. Hummus keeps for a few days but of course one…
Vegan Prepper’s Weekly Meal Plan Here is your ultima free meal plan to get you started on meal prepping. Day Lunch Dinner Monday White Bean Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing Lentil Mushroom Walnut Balls with Hummus Mashed Potatoes Tuesday My ultimate South African Hummus with…
When it comes to comfort food, nothing beats a delicious creamy curry, right? When it’s Friday and your meal prep week is coming to an end, nothing beats a delicious creamy curry from leftovers, right?
Enjoy endless variations with the quick and easy leftover use-up curry everyone can enjoy because it is
warm and comforting
healthy
nutritious
slightly spicy
preventing food waste
full with tons of veggies
This Leftover Coconut Curry recipe requires very little equipment:
Depending on where you live, you might not find the following ingredients readily available at your local store. I recommend Amazon for the following ingredients:
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #theveganprepper. I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
An ideal quick and easy coconut curry to use-up leftover veggies. If you meal prep, THIS is your Friday dinner. Ready in less than 30-minute and loaded with veggies. A perfectly-spiced coconut milk base makes you feel like you're enjoying dinner in an Indian restaurant.
Prep Time5mins
Cook Time20mins
Total Time25mins
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine: gluten-free, Indian, Vegan
Keyword: 30 minutes or less, asian, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, elaborate vegan panzanella, gluten-free, indian, lunch, refined sugar-free, savory, spring
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Curry
1tbspolive oil
1small oniondiced
3cloves garlicminced
1tbspdried grated ginger
3cupleftover, pre-cooked or roasted veggies of your choice
2tbspcurry powder
1pinch of cayenne
1cancoconut milk
1cupvegetable broth
¼cupdiced tomatoes
1pinch of pepper
1pinch of salt
1tspcinnamon
1tspcumin
1tspgaram masala
1tspturmeric
For Serving
cooked yasmin or basmati ricesub: millet/quinoa
fresh lemon juice
microgreens such as cilantro/parsley/mint
red pepper flake
Instructions
In a large saucepan heat olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and any still raw veggies (if using). Sauté for about 5 minutes (until softened).
Add curry powder, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, garam masala and veggie broth, another healthy pinch of salt and stir. If using pre-cooked veggies skip to step 3. If using raw veggies bring to a simmer then reduce heat slightly and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk and all your other veggies and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve with rice or gluten free options and garnish with fresh lemon juice and microgreens.
Works with arugula instead of kale just as nicely. I like eating food when it’s in season. With kale being a winter veggie, arugula does the trick in Summer. This White Bean Kale Salad recipe requires very little equipment: Measuring cups such as Klee Utensils 10-Piece…
If been vegetarian for a longer time in my life than I hadn’t. Never missed meat, never went for like-meat convenience food. Needless to say, that when I went vegan, I didn’t need any of v-meat, vöner kebap, vausage and whatever it’s called. Although we…
This post today is to specifically walk you through what I do each week on Sunday, step by step.
Why Sunday? Because it’s the day hubby and the little one sleep in and get out to house early to spend some quality time together just the two of them. I have the house and more importantly the kitchen to myself and can get a lot done before lunchtime. Trust me – that doesn’t happen very often with a toddler. Meal prepping actually helps my mind set for the week ahead. Knowing that meals for everyone are one thing less to worry about is such a great feeling. Although for me Sundays works best, you can certainly do this on any day that suits for needs and schedule
Let me get one thing straight before you get started meal prepping for the first time :
There is no right or wrong when it comes to meal prepping – anything you do is better than nothing at all. That applies to meal prep and virtually anything else in life (just a little philosophy on the side)!Alternatively, stick to my already outlines meal plans which you can find here: Meal Plans provided by Vegan Meal Prepper
STEP 1. MAKE A MEAL PLAN
Having a rather rough or more detailed idea of what you want to eat during the week will make your life a lot easier. You can use my Vegan Meal Prepper Meal Plans or draft some on your own. When you go with your own plans, it pays of to have a handful of tried-and-true, family favorite meal prep ideas. No need to reinvent the wheel each week, which would lead to decision fatigue no one really wants. Also if you have followed my Vegan Meal Prepper Meal Plans for a few weeks you will load up on a bunch of new and easy to follow recipes – I’m sure!
Back in the day when I was a student I used to make more elaborate recipes each night because cooking is my passion. But that was before a job with insane working hours and having a child. So, now time is scarce but living a healthy life myself and teaching that to my child make vegan meal prepping the ideal way to work around busy schedules and crowded grocery store checkout lines. Vegan Meal Preppers keeps the meals pretty protein and veggie-centric. Rather than having elaborate meals every day, meals are often composed of leftovers from previous meals or ingredients that are very versatile. A legumbre that is known for its versatility is the chickpea for example easily turning into hummus, falafel and salad component – and so much more. Another hack is that seasonings, spices, herbs, and simple toppings really go a long way in amping up flavors in simple meals in a healthful way! For the kids, the topic of feeding kids is kind of its own whole Q and A, so I’m not going to address those specifics here, but I’ll just leave it simply at the kids are served the same things as us, and I try to pick meals that they will like and the more mashed together things are the less likely certain ingredients can be identified and picked out. I assume the parents out there will know what I’m talking about.
EASY MEAL PREP IDEAS :
A few of our favorite meal prep sides dishes on constant rotation include :
MAIN MEAL PREP DISHES
Bowls, bowls, bowls: Throw together a carb base such as quinoa, rice or millot and add any veggies (sautéed, roasted, fried, grilled or raw) top with a dressing and you’re good to go
Mexican tacos, lettuce wraps, or quesadillas using a store-bought shell and filling it with veggies, salad, plant-based protein such as tofu or tempeh and topping it with salsa
vegan bolognese or marinara sauce either on pasta, spaghetti squash, zucchini or carrot noodles (see recipe for Zoodles here)
freezer-friendly food that you can prep on a rainy Saturday night with your favorite show running in the background such as vegan meatballs, bread-free stuffing balls or falafel.
Dishes to use up leftovers
Curries
Chilli sin Carne
Lentil Soup
I personally also love to simply get the food containers out on the table and everybody picks the leftovers the like to most stashing them on their plate and letting the microwave to the rest.
For lunches, I take a lot of the ingredients and mains/sides above and either make extra or use it as a component to become a lunch. Nonetheless in my meal plans I avoid eating the same dish twice because work life is oftentimes plain enough that you don’t need a plain and repetitive lunch. But of course you can always skip some of the lunch ideas on Vegan Meal Prepper Meal Plans and eat last night’s dinner again.
STEP 2. FIND MEAL PREPPING RECIPES FOR INSPIRATION
I came up with the idea for this blog because I couldn’t find any vegan meal prep plans that worked for me. The few I found would either eat basically the same all the time or eat the same for lunch and dinner or eat last night’s dinner on bread as a sandwich. While I don’t doubt that this approach will cut it for some people, it’s just not for me. I want to keep those tastebuds guessing, my culinary skills fresh, and my kid trying new foods regularly. When I look for inspiration I head to three places : Instagram, Pinterest, and my favorite blogs.
Some of my favorite blogs are @OhSheglows and @minimalistbaker
For Pinterest, I keep them subcategorized so each board reads “FOOD : Salads,” “FOOD: Veg/Vegan,” etc. and I’m not scrolling through a giant, unorganized list. Pinterest can be touch and go because there’s just so much and you sometimes don’t know the source of where the recipes are from. That being said, it’s a great place for every type of recipe imaginable. I also have a board for meal prep that’s just freezer-friendly snacks.
I’ll usually try new meal prep recipes on the weekend outside my meal prep routine to see if I like it and how long it takes to make it, then if it passes and the family approves, I’ll add it to my list of dishes to make again.
STEP 3. MAKE YOUR KITCHEN READY FOR MEAL PREPPING
As outlined under step 1 a meal plan is key. Whether you use old-fashioned pencil and paper, your smartphone or a whiteboard hung up in your kitchen is entirely up to you. The big advantage of having your menu visible to all family members is that it makes it official. Now I know it sounds a little over the top and overly official but it affects the way we ate, the way we shop, the way we plan, and the way we spent our money on food. It gives out accountability food-wise. Our meals are healthier, we waste less, and we knew what we were having for dinner every night – a consistency that naturally led to more time at the dinner table together as a family and less time running around the kitchen and inspecting the pantry as to what meal our provisions could be used for. So every Sunday, I write up a menu on my Vegan Meal Prepper’s 5-Day Meal Plan and I stick to it. Even if you write “Leftover day” for e.g. Friday night or “probably getting food at the after work event”, then that is the plan or a planned flexibility if you will.
So every Sunday, I write up a menu and I stick to it.
I DIY’d a weekly menu board.
Here’s how you can, too!
Download your Vegan Meal Prepper Meal Plans and adjust the printing options according to the size you want to hang up. I used 8×10.
Use a dry erase marker and write your weekly menu right on the glass. Tada!
STEP 4. CREATE A VEGAN MEAL PREP SHOPPING LIST
Again, if you use Vegan Meal Prepper’s meal plans as are you can simply add the number of people you’re cooking, press enter and have a shopping list ready.
If not, you will have to find pen and paper and write down what you need and in what quantities you need it. Maybe you find an app that has a reliable shopping list feature that might even come in the format of a clickable checklist for all ingredients. Whatever you do, DO NOT go grocery shopping without a shopping list. Unless you have a photographic memory, I guarantee you, you will forget essential ingredients and will have to run back there to get same. Shopping Lists save so much time at the store – AND money, because you tend to stick to the list if you have it, rather than if I go with blindly or with a vague idea of what you need to get.
STEP 5. GO SHOPPING FOR YOUR VEGAN MEAL PREP
I prefer going grocery shopping alone because if you have ever gone grocery shopping with a toddler, you know why…
I spare you with where I like to shop because I know my audience is from different countries and I don’t want to bore you. However, for fresh produce I love the local farmer’s market because it’s organic and fresh and already looks a lot more appealing than fruit & veg at my go-to supermarket.
STEP 5. BEGIN VEGAN MEAL PREPPING FOR THE WEEK!
After I get home from the store(s) adn market, I clear the decks and it’s time to meal prep for the week!
Get ride of all the clutter on your workspace because you will be needing quite a bit of space. You don’t want to be poking around a flower vase and empty soda cans. Or maybe that is just a problem in our house and you’re totally tidy. In this case of course skip this step.
I lay the ingredients out first. The floor provides for extra space when the counter of my rather small kitchen is already filled.
And then I get right on it: I channel my inner chef and spend a couple hours cleaning, cutting, cooking, frying, roasting, sautéeing and generally acting like a sous chef creating a “mis en place” situation (if you watch Top Chef you know what I mean.) Turn up your favorite beat, throw some old cloths on that don’t mind a few more stains and don’t worry about making a mess in the kitchen. It’s one messy day and you will have to clean up after meal prep Sunday anyway.
Preparing as much as possible ahead of time is the key for staying on track with the week’s menu. There is no need to male full-on meals on Sundays. With regard to some ingredients, prepping to much to early is even a bad idea. E.g. some grains like rice or quinoa go bad rather quickly. For those, rather cook a small amount if you eat some of it at the beginning of the week and cook another batch later that week. I mostly clean and prep all the ingredients and cook things as much as possible so that they are as ready to go for me just to put together a quick dinner each night. Some recipes I use require a little more action on cook day. In this case, I mix together dry ingredients already to have them on hand when it’s time. Knowing I don’t have to chop or boil something especially on those busy weeknights is SUCH a lifesaver.
STEP 6 . MAKE SUNDAY VEGAN MEAL PREPPING FUN
Put on a good podcast, turn on music or a TV show for some background entertainment, and use this time to get things done but also just ENJOY the process and time by yourself in the kitchen. I’m not a person who can listen to a podcast passively. so I always go with my favorite tunes. But it’s your time and it’s all up to you.
STEP 7. PACK IT UP AND ORGANIZE THE FRIDGE
While prepping, put things in container. Every time you complete a step as outlined in Vegan Meal Preppers Weekly Plans find an airtight food container of a suitable size and put it in the fridge wherever it fits. The fridge tetris game will take place later on. Once you’re done with the dirty-handed prep work, wash your hands and organize your fridge. You want to establish a system that helps you find what you need, quickly and easily. This is all about making things easy for your everyday of the week.
I like to create zones in our fridge : The later the weekday we will eat the specific dish, the lower in the fridge and the more in the back. The simply reason for doing so is that it’s cooler in these areas and you want to keep your Thursday and Friday food fresh. So, basically I stack the fridge backwards starting at the bottom with Friday’s food and work myself up until I’ve put away Monday’s food.
Also, I found that organizing your fridge e.g. with bins and stacks helps to keep a messy appearance at bay.
As far as various family members are concerned, you might want to try food containers in different color assigning a certain color to each family member. We all eat the same, so it doesn’t matter but if allergies or picky eaters are an issue in your family, you can give that a shot.
As far as containers, I linked my favorites below!
A RECAP OF MY SUNDAY VEGAN MEAL PREP ROUTINE :
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel each week with your menus. Use Vegan Meal Preppers Weekly Plans or get inspired on your own but make your life easier by sticking to the same, balanced, favorite staples for your family.
Go in with a plan. Display it if possible, and shop with a list.
Prep, prep, prep. Meal prep can be creating pre-made, family style or portioned out meals for the week ahead or getting all the ingredients ready so that lunches and dinners comes together really fast on a hectic days and busy weeknights. Or both.
Invest in a bit of kitchen equipment and appliances to make your life easier: matching glass containers and versatile jars, juicer, high speed blender, slow cooker, rice cooker, garlic peeler, lemon juicer, Ziplock bags, freezer containers, silicone baking mats, good knives, and a “garbage” bowl.
Organize your fridge. This lets you see all the items you worked hard to prepare so you know what you have. Makes you feel like superman every time you open the fridge.
Make the prep more enjoyable. Turn up the music and dance while stirring sauce. It’s quality you-time. Or do it with your significant other to create an opportunity for good laughs and licking of sauce splashes from each others’ faces.
Do I have weeks that I can’t get to my Sunday meal prep? Of course! Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. We spend a lot of times in the outdoors or go camping for a weekend. But on those weeks where I haven’t prepped, I usually have some “lifesaver preps” in the freezer like home made falafel or vegan meatballs that can be eaten with bread and store-bought marinara sauce.
In these cases I encourage myself to catch up on a bit of prepping later that week to keep the multiple runs to the grocery store and pantry browsing time to a minimum.
The homemade vegan bean-based meatballs are surprisingly tender, flavorful and require few ingredients. Fresh herbs, tomato paste, and spices ensure big flavor. These perfect meatless meatballs will make your pasta, sandwich as so much more a true delight. This bean-based vegan meatballs recipe requires very…
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