MEAL PREP HACKS!

Todays email is all about MEAL PREP! 
We've all been there when you finish work late you're soooo hungry but you absolutely can not be bothered cooking! 
The options come down to cereal for dinner (a childhood fave for me!) packet of chips, basically whatever you can find in the cupboard that takes less than 30 seconds for your hangry mits to get hold of! 

Now a way to make our life SOOOO much easier is this buzz word (or 2 words) called meal prep. We've all heard of it, maybe you've even tried it or maybe you already do it!
If you're like me who at first was super overwhelmed at the thought of meal prepping and thought it would be a super long annoying process trust me when I say that the reward in those moments of ultimate tiredness when you can't be bothered cooking and seeing your meal prep container in the fridge it makes it all worth it! 
PLUS!

This email will give you some hacks to make it an easier process for you! 

LETS PREP FOR MEAL PREP 

• Plan your meals ahead of time, look for inspiration on Pinterest, Instagram or recipe blogs for easy and tasty recipes to make
• Print off a calender for the fridge so you know what meals you're having when, even better use a whiteboard so you can rub off and re write each week! 
• Start collecting your fave recipes to re make every few weeks. Recipes you've made before are quick and easy to make because you've done the process and also you know for sure you'll love it! 
• Start small and do 3 days a time to start with. Don't overwhelm yourself otherwise the action will not be sustainable. 

LETS GET STARTED

• Choose a day you want to meal prep. A day you can allocate a few hours at least to cut up and prep your food for the upcoming meals 
• Look out for sales on your most used items where you can stock up. Things like canned legumes, oil, nuts anything long lasting you can save some dollars on getting bulk of. 
• On the day of your meal prep focus on things that take the longest first, like roasting potatoes or cooking rice, soaking beans 
• MULTI TASK! Whilst your veggies are roasting in the oven wash your greens, chop up other veggies, soak beans etc
• Decide what you are going to do fresh on the day. Depending if you're completely strapped for time and have ZERO time to make anything you'd probably prepare the whole thing but if you just want to make life easier and you still have time to prepare your dressing or add your greens on the day then you'll leave a few steps out until you eat the meal 
• *FREEZER TIP* any produce you haven't used that is leftover you can freeze! Chop it up and put in containers to add to your recipes next week! This will save waste and also give you a head start next week!

STORAGE

• Keep greens and fresh produce in the cooler section of your fridge and it'll last longer 
• Cooked meals freeze really well. You can date your containers to help you keep track of when it was prepared
• Avoid freezing foods with high water content like greens, tomatoes, and watermelon as once they thaw out will become mushy. It's okay to freeze them if you plan to keep them frozen to blend in a smoothie 
• You can freeze slightly cooked vegetables (cooking for a few minutes, steamed or fried) to use in soups, stews or stirfries. This can help save time or a great back up option to have on board when you are low on food and didn't plan properly for the week. Knowing you have some partially cooked vegetables makes it easier to throw something together!