Think about your needs. Consider things like your schedule, whether you are always on the go, your food preferences, (do you have a sweet tooth, do you like to snack etc)… This can help you figure out which step you can take to make a healthy dietary choices more effective and less stressful. This can also help save on time and make your experience in the kitchen more relaxing!

Some things you can do:

• Pre-wash and chop your fruits and vegetables
• Prepare your snacks in advance!
• Make it easier for yourself to have quickly accessible, healthy snacks ready to go! You can fill up some Ziplocs or Tupperware – whatever fits you.

Here are some healthy snack options on the go and/or at home!

Have a sweet tooth? Try these!

• Coconut Chia pudding
• Nuts and dried fruit with dark chocolate
• Energy balls or Granola Bars
• Frozen Yoghurt Covered Berries
• Fruit with nut butter
• Apple sauce

Prefer something salty? Let’s check out the savoury snacks!

• Baked spiced chickpeas
• Veggies and hummus
• Garlic & Feta Spread with Crackers
• Zucchini Fritters with Yoghurt Sauce
• Cauliflower Bites
• Homemade Popcorn with dark chocolate

When you prepare your snacks, remember serving sizes – you can use the “handy” serving size guide (see portion size section), or use measuring tools, such as measuring cups and spoons!

Tips and Tricks

• Have some staple recipes. When you are pressed for time, but still want a warm, healthy meal, having some recipes ready to go that don’t need a lot of prep, and can be made from your pantry staples are great. Try including a staple meal 2-3 times during the week such as a pasta dish, a soup etc.
• Try a meatless Monday! A great way to try new vegetarian/vegan recipes, get a more fibre-rich meal – and to let plant foods enjoy the spotlight!
• Have a “leftovers” day. Choose one (or more) days a week in which you create your meals from your leftovers. You could use your leftover ingredients for things like stews, frittatas etc.

Meal Prep

What comes to mind when you hear “meal prep”?

You may picture slaving away in a kitchen on a Sunday, preparing meals for the whole week – but don’t despair! Meal prep does not need to be a pain. It should be the opposite, and save you precious time! You can pick and choose which element of meal prep you would like to implement into your life – don’t let people fool you, you don’t need to follow predetermined rules to be able to do meal prep.

Here are some tips you can test out!

A good place to start with meal prep is to ask yourself what actually takes up the most time for you.

• What does your week look like? This can help you plan ahead for days/times you are especially busy.
• When do you have time to prepare the food/go grocery shopping etc.?
• Which types of meals you cook often (and like to eat!), and what goes into their preparation process. Try to vary your recipes, so you get a variety of nutrients (and don’t get bored!)
• Use recipes that have an overlap in ingredients, and start with recipes with few ingredients.
• Prepare a grocery list.
• How long can the foods you prepare last (i.e., need for refrigeration, spoilage etc.)?

Some general steps to get you started…

1. Make a plan. Do you have a specific day you’d like to plan your meal prep, go grocery shopping, and cook on? Choosing and setting aside a specific time to do these things can help you navigate your tasks and keep you accountable.
2. Which meal prep method will you use? This depends entirely on your schedule, if you have any specific lifestyle and nutrition goals… You can of course also combine different methods!
3. Choose your recipes! Keep in mind here the different preparation requirements for each meal. It can be easier in the beginning to choose recipes you are familiar with, until you get the hang of meal prep! Here you can also consider how many meals you want to prepare (i.e. if you are eating out some meals etc.).
4. Save time in the kitchen: Check which of the recipes you are preparing has the longest cook time, so you can choose the order you want to cook your meals in from there.
5. Plan for storage: Check how much room you have, and how you are supposed to store the foods (think which containers, refrigerating or freezing, and labeling your foods with the date you cooked them on…)

…And some different types of meal prep!

• Prepping Ingredients: You can prep ingredients in advance, to cut down on prep time when cooking. Think pre-peeling garlic, chopping up and cooking onions…
• Batch Cooking: This involves making large batches of a certain recipe, dividing it into portions in containers and then freezing them to enjoy for weeks or months (depending on what you have made) to come the portions for a quick, warm meal! This works especially well with soups and stews.
• Making a meal: You could make individual, smaller meals (i.e. sandwiches etc.) that are individually portioned and refrigerated, so you can just grab-and-go when you need them over the next few days. You can make a full meal ahead of time, and refrigerate this and reheat when the time for dining has come.