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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

My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of o My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of our Christmas dinner sharpening my knives. I was so grateful, but also hesitant that I would cut myself.⁠
⁠
When I started cooking with my newly-sharpened knives, I was in awe.⁠
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Sharp knives make all the difference when it comes to enjoying cooking. It's also safer if you can believe it.⁠
⁠
With a sharp knife, you're less likely to push down harder on the knife trying to get it through an onion, for example.⁠
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It just slices through with little pressure. ⁠
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Dull knives leave room for error and slicing fingers (listen, I've cut a few fingers over the years...).⁠
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If you're having trouble enjoying cooking at home, I encourage you to either get a new knife (it doesn't have to be expensive), or get someone to sharpen your knives for you (call a Steve in your area!).⁠
⁠
Take care of them with a little holder and treat them kindly. Having a sharp knife will bring you one step closer to love cooking at home.⁠
⁠
xo⁠
Steph⁠
⁠
--⁠
#kitchenskills #cookingtips #easycooking #enjoycooking #inthekitchen
Keep Meals Simple Friends! I’ve said this befor Keep Meals Simple Friends!

I’ve said this before: keep your meals simple. 

Pick meals that take fewer than 20 minutes or less to cook so you’re not scrambling during the week to make dinner and keep the elaborate meals for the weekend.

Another idea is to choose a couple of veggies to roast on Sunday that you can use for various meals during the week. 

Roasted sweet potatoes are great with chicken thighs, but also taste fantastic in a frittata or taco. 

Cook once, eat twice (or three times).

Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple and nourishing and it get easier over time.

I’m accepting new clients at @onehealthservices! DM me if you’re looking for meal planning and prep help. 

#mealprephelp #mealplanhelp #springrefresh #
Mondays are our busy nights. I have tennis (so fun Mondays are our busy nights. I have tennis (so fun!) and my son has soccer. ⁠
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That's why I make sure to make Mondays an easier night for dinner. ⁠
⁠
Enter salads and bowls!⁠
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Last Monday, I made a salad bowl with arugula, leftover rice, olives, tomatoes, chicken, and feta, and wowee it was yummers!⁠
⁠
By prepping ingredients, the kids can take what they want and leave what they don't want (eh-hem, tomatoes) and we have a meal full of elements that will keep us satisfied and nourished.⁠
⁠
Need meal prep and meal plan help?⁠
⁠
I'm currently accepting new clients @onehealthservices! DM me or visit the link in my profile here @lealoucooks to chat about custom meal plans.⁠
⁠
--⁠
#mealprep #mealplanning #health #naturopath #virtualappointments #realfood #wholefood #foodmatters #holistichealth #culinarynutrition
Do you like eating salad?

According to my hig Do you like eating salad?

According to my highly unscientific research, there are two types of people who don’t like to eat salad:

1. Those who think eating salad is boring.
2. Those who think that salad isn’t filling enough for a full meal.
3. Ok, one more… those who don’t like eating vegetables!

If you fall into one of the first two categories, I’m here to tell you that maybe… just maybe… you’ve been making salads wrong.

I know. People don’t like to be told that what they’ve been doing is wrong (I don’t like to be told that either) but I can guarantee you that salads can be fun and filling and it’s all in how we put them together.

We can do so much more to jazz up a salad and my favourite way to do this is to think of your salad bowl as a rainbow.

When you add the colours of the rainbow to your salad bowl it’s visually more appealing to eat.

The sky is the limit in terms of the colourful foods you can add to a salad.

Not only will you feel more energized by your colourful bowl (and you’ll want to eat it), you’ll be more energized because each of those colourful vegetables has its own set of nutrients that our bodies love and crave. 

Colourful produce = Energy!

If you’re looking for fun and nourishing meal ideas I’m accepting new clients with @onehealthservices. Book a session through the link in my profile here @lealoucooks

Happy Cooking!

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About Stephanie

Photo of a white woman with brown hair

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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