My Weekly Meal Prep Routine

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! 

1. 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.
2. Get any 8×10 frame you like.
3. Insert the printable into the frame
4. 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!

Meal Prep Containers FAQ’s

A RECAP OF MY SUNDAY VEGAN MEAL PREP ROUTINE :

1. 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.
2. Go in with a plan. Display it if possible, and shop with a list.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.  

Happy planning and prepping!

xo

Natalie