Recently I made red lentil dahl and with it, I made a batch of quinoa. One cup of dry quinoa results in about three cups of cooked quinoa. We didn’t eat all of it, in fact, there was quite a bit leftover so I packed it in a container and stored it in the fridge.
The next morning I wanted to eggs for breakfast so I heated up the quinoa and threw a couple of fried eggs on top.
For lunch a couple of days later, I had the leftover red lentil dahl with more quinoa.
What’s my point? If you cook something like quinoa once, you can get a lot of mileage out of it during the week and you have to think less about what you want to eat.
This is great if you don’t really like to meal plan. Just cook a bunch of food and eat it together in different forms during the week.
Here are six foods you can prep on Sunday in larger batches to eat all week.
1. Oats and other grains
My daughter likes oatmeal so I’ll either make her a bigger batch of plain oatmeal (I try to hide cinnamon and chia in it!) that she can eat all week.
Oatmeal will keep for longer than you think so make a big batch and if you don’t think you’ll eat it, freeze it.
Eat it with:
- berries
- nuts
- seeds like hemp, sunflower, and pumpkin
- real maple syrup
In terms of other grains, it’s super easy to make a big batch and store it all week. Do this with quinoa as I mentioned, rice, buckwheat, and millet.
Once it’s done, you just have to heat and serve!
2. Greens
When you get home from the grocery store, wash your greens and store them in a container with a paper towel or tea towel. When they’re washed you’re more likely to eat them before they get green and slimy and the paper towel helps them stay fresh for longer.
It’s easy to take handfuls of greens at a time to use as you need them.
Eat them with:
- smoothies
- salads
- on top of grains
- as a side dish to your meals
- eggs
- soups
3. Roasted veggies
Roast a bunch of veggies like sweet potatoes, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and butternut squash and eat them in different ways all week. Once they’re cooked they will hold their flavour in the fridge and they’re easy to heat up.
Eat them with:
- eggs
- salads
- tacos
- fish
- chicken
4. Granola
Making your own granola isn’t as hard as you might think! The benefit is that it’s cheaper and you can control the ingredients and the sugar content. Make a big batch on the weekend to enjoy all week!
Eat it with:
- yogurt
- milk
- fruit
- as a snack on the go
5. Cut veggies and prepped fruit
Prepping produce all at once is the best use of your time. Cut carrots and celery and store them in water.
You don’t have to make pretty and even sticks! I just make sure they are washed, trim the ends and store them whole in water. Easy peasy. Change out the water once a week and they’ll last a long time. A few weeks!
In terms of fruit, wash strawberries and blueberries and store them in a lined container. I’ve been storing strawberries uncovered in the fridge and they last perfectly fine for the week. I cover the blueberries and they also last the week if not longer.
This has been a game-changer for me. We eat them more often and they never go bad anymore.
Eat them with:
- smoothies
- cereal/granola
- yogurt
- milk and nuts
- on their own
- with hummus and guac (the veggies!)
- stirfrys
- salads
- stews
Just prepping these five things on the weekend will make your life easier during the week I promise you! Try it and let me know how it works for you.
