Summary

The website content outlines a personal weekly meal prep routine focused on nutritious, plant-based meals with an emphasis on time and cost efficiency.

Abstract

The author shares their successful meal prep strategy, which includes overnight oats with coffee for breakfast, plant-based rice bowls for lunch, pasta with soup or sauce for dinner, and healthy snacks like popcorn and fruit. This routine is a significant improvement from the author's previous diet of instant noodles and chips, and it reflects a conscious effort to eat healthier while managing time and budget. The meals are planned to be both satisfying and adaptable, with staple ingredients bought in bulk to save money. The author also discusses the impact of emotional well-being on food preferences and the importance of non-food coping strategies.

Opinions

The author expresses a strong preference for substantial breakfasts, stating that only oatmeal or rice can satisfy their morning hunger.
There is an acknowledgment of the influence of social media on dietary choices, as documenting meals on Instagram led to a more balanced diet.
The author admits to enjoying pasta "soft and mushy," which may not align with traditional culinary standards but is a personal preference influenced by family cooking habits.
The author values mindfulness and its effect on taste, noting that healthier foods began to taste better after adopting mindful eating practices and non-food related coping mechanisms for stress.
There is a recognition that the current meal plan, while healthier than previous habits, may not be nutritionally or calorically perfect, but it is a significant step up from the author's past diet.

A meal prep routine that’s working for me

You have arrived at a sneak-peek into my weekly meal plan.

Breakfast

Overnight Oats & Coffee

Overnight Oats: oatmeal, chocolate Nesquik and water (+milk as an upgrade); +fruit as an upgrade
Coffee: pour-over coffee (+honey for sweetness; +milk as a treat)

I’m someone who gets really hungry in the morning and honestly, only oatmeal and rice for breakfast have worked to tide my appetite over until lunch. I don’t know how people function on intermittent fasting or on no breakfast.

Lunch

Rice bowls, leaning towards plant-based

Protein: roasted chickpeas; roasted lentils; stir-fried spam; sunny side up egg
Vegetables: roasted fresh veggies; roasted frozen veggies; fermented/ pickled veggies
Carbs: rice

No lie, I used to eat instant noodles every day for lunch. Once I started documenting my daily meals on insta it become too obvious (and so embarrassing) to be eating like that. So here’s me. Connecting with my roots. Eating rice with side dishes.

Dinner

Pasta + soup/sauce

Pasta sauce: ground meat, tomato sauce/ diced tomatoes; onions
Chicken soup: chicken, carrots, onions
Japanese curry: Japanese curry packet; carrots, onions, potatoes; stewed beef

The “wrong” but convenient way to make all of these: dump all into the slow cooker on high and return four hours later.

The “real” way of correctly making each of these dishes is linked above.

Finally, drop the pasta in the final 45 minutes — 1 hour. I’m the (horrendous?*) person who loves pasta soft and mushy so I leave it for 1 hour.

Snacc

Stovetop popcorn — newly unlocked achievement!!!
Tangerines
Apples

Pre-lockdown I had a huge problem with binge-eating chips, because it would be easy for me to step out whenever stressed (“for a breath of fresh air”), inevitably buy chips, and spend the evening eating the whole bag while watching a show.

I made it a priority to change this recently and to really focus on coping strategies that shift my mood that aren’t food related (e.g., grounding exercises, mindful play activities, crafts).

Once I made that change, foods (especially fruits) that “didn’t taste good to me” before began tasting flavourful. One, because my baseline flavour profile wasn’t salty carbs anymore (@ instant noodles and chips, I’m looking at you). Two, practicing mindfulness and really tuning into each sense helped me focus on the more muted flavours associated with natural and whole foods.

It’s honestly still wild to me that emotions can shift how I taste and experience food.

This structure saves me time and money

Having a structure helps me narrow down the infinite amount of time I spend on meal planning and grocery budgeting. I know that my dinner meals will always need a certain amount of pasta, carrots and onions means. My lunch meals will always need rice and certain canned goods.

This means I can safely order a few staple ingredients in bulk (read: for cheap!) knowing that I’m not subscribing to 10lbs of an ingredient I will only use once (1) in the next 2 years.

I’m so curious to hear about other people’s food/ meal prep journey so please feel free to chirp @ me with your recommendations!

*I say horrendous but honestly it’s because that’s how my grandmother made pasta to yield the greatest amount of bulk with the most frugal amount of pasta.

** I have no idea if this plan is nutritionally or calorically sufficient for me or for you. I just know that relative to my instant noodle and canned ravioli days, it is certainly healthier than that.