Meal prep

Meal prep for perimenopause is a key tool, my friends, to eating better all week long. In my thirties, I was a fly by the edge of my seat kind of cook. Not any more! Nothing sets me up better for a successful week than preparing ahead.

Here’s how I think about meal prep and what I can realistically achieve in 1 session on a Sunday:

1. One crockpot, Dutch oven or one pan recipe that cooks during the day
2. One crockpot recipe or Dutch oven that cooks through Sunday night
3. 2 condiments: One that works for breakfast, one for lunches or dinners. I double the recipe so there’s one for the fridge and one for the freezer for the following week.
4. 1 lunch prep recipe for a total of 4 lunch portions.
5. 2 dinner prep recipes for the family (can be including or excluding the above crockpot recipes) to cover at least 2 week nights ahead so that all I need to do is make the salad or sides.
6. 1 breakfast recipe for a total of 4 breakfast portions. (can be including or excluding the above crockpot recipes). This is usually a chia pudding recipe as they takes mere minutes.
7. 1 snack or lunchbox item.

This gives me a head start to the week and then all I do is add another overnight crockpot recipe midweek so account for the following days dinner (and sometimes lunch) and then I’m always ahead!

Here is a good starting point for a good meal prep session:

1. Braised chicken
2. Chopped antipasto salad
3. Easy bobotie recipe
4. Berry sauce without refined sugar
5. Vanilla chia pudding
6. Walnut pesto recipe