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Five Things to Meal Prep to Make Your Week Easier.

by Stephanie

Five Things to Meal Prep to Make Your Week Easier.

Do you ever wonder what you could do to make meals a bit easier to handle during your busy weeks?

I’m here to tell you there is! You can meal prep a few foods on the weekend to ease up your time.

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 five foods to meal 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!) or baked oatmeal 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. Store herbs like cilantro and parsley in the fridge in mason jars filled with water and covered with plastic bags.

When greens are washed you’re more likely to eat them before they get brown 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’ll last for at least 4 days 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 in water. Easy peasy.

Change out the water once a week and they’ll last a couple of weeks in the fridge!

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.

Blueberries last the week if not longer when they’re washed and covered with a lid.

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

Meal prep these five things on the weekend it’ll make your life easier during the week I promise you! Try it and let me know how it works for you.


Need meal planning help? I’m accepting custom meal plan clients through my partnership with One Health Services. Book here!


P.S.: Follow me on Instagram to get weekly tips and tricks!

P.P.S.: Get other kitchen tips here!


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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

From what I’ve heard so far, our property used t From what I’ve heard so far, our property used to be an apple orchard called Hope Farms in the 1800s. That’s all I really know (oh and that there’s a ghost we’ve yet to experience).

I was so excited to learn there were still 3 apple trees. But when we moved here no apples came.

The former owners must have trimmed them because truthfully they can be a bit of a pain when they fall and the animals and bugs get at them.

This year we started to see apples and then more apples and now all three trees are full of them. 

Many of them are wonky or blemished but they taste good! 

I picked this one today. It looks like I bought it from a store. 

‘Is that from *our* tree?’ The kids asked.

How cool and rewarding it is to pick food from your own yard. ❤️🍎🍏
Fun garden stuff! 🌱I picked some bush beans! M Fun garden stuff!

🌱I picked some bush beans! Most of them didn’t take. I think I have a furry little muncher eating the leaves…

🌱I harvested my garlic! I planted 16 cloves in November and now I have 16 bulbs! Pretty sweet return right there.

🌱My cauliflower is coming along! Almost there. 

🌱Not pictured are my mini watermelons! They’re so cute!

I’m learning lots and already thinking of what I’d do differently next summer.
Well, guess what? Our wellness retreat was cance Well, guess what? 

Our wellness retreat was canceled on June 24 because it was calling for thunderstorms all day - we had to make a call and guess what else? It barely rained! 

Such is life!

We managed to move most of the attendees to Sunday, July 16 and we'd love to open it up one more time to see if you would like to attend with them.

We'd love to see you!

As a reminder, here is the plan for the day:

❤️Welcome Circle
❤️Yoga + Group Reiki Class with Sonya Brar
❤️Cooking Class with me!
❤️Lunch together
❤️Meditation
❤️Closing Circle

I'm finalizing the yummy recipes we'll be cooking and eating. Fresh and local ingredients as much as possible. 

I'm also keeping the recipes simple because you're coming to recharge right? 

Join us on July 16! Link is in my bio @lealoucooks 
—-
@soar_wellness
Eat the rainbow(ish). 🌈 I find kids (and adult Eat the rainbow(ish). 🌈

I find kids (and adults) are more likely to eat veggies when we offer them like this. 

Sounds simple, but I find my kids eat more like this than when I put them in lunches or directly on their plates at dinner. 

Plus, it’s pretty on the table! 

I’m serving this with pulled chicken sandwiches for dinner tonight! 

Soccer night! ⚽️

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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