Meal Prep: Simple Lunch
"I don’t have time!" is one of the things I hear most in the clinic when I bring up food or meal ideas to help someone cultivate balance, like eating warm nourishing meals, for instance, or how important eating breakfast is. I get that it's extra work and can be time consuming, but at some point we can choose that which will help us live our best life and figure out how to make it happen, adjust our routine.
To cook, or not to cook, is a lifestyle choice. I'm a cooker! I am very aware of how I feel when I am eating snack foods on the fly, or eating out or getting take out a lot. I start to feel malnourished. I notice because my body is used to eating simple home cooked meals, so when it isn't getting that simplicity or love in the food from my hands gettin all up in it, I feel off. Yes, my kitchen is rarely spic and span as a result due to "time", but it's about choice! One day hopefully I will master the routine of eating as nourishing as I do, and having that spic and span kitchen.
One of the ways I make it all happen is meal prep. It is a must in my routine. I usually have on hand some meat, veggies, various grains or potatoes, and some good meal containers. I have some glass single meal containers, one of which can go into the oven. I have enough of them for around 4 days. At some point in the beginning of the week I will cook up a batch of meat and grains and veg.
For example, I will bake or broil some chicken drumsticks (then I get the bones for soup too!) Then I'll make a pot of quinoa and steam up a batch of various greens. I keep various fermented veg in the fridge to add a fun flare to the "simple". With my meal containers lined up on the counter, I first put in some cooked quinoa, usually adding some olive oil and some sort of spice depending on how I cooked the meat; it might just be some salt and pepper or some tamari. Then I add the meat and veg, and maybe some of the fermented veg on the side if it matches the flavor profile. The fermented veg can even create the flavor profile; just mix some kim chee or sauerkraut into the grain. Put them in the fridge, and I have lunch to go for a few days.
For weeks when you have less time, get a rotisserie chicken from the store and do the same as above, with the bonus of the bones to make some bone broth. An avocado is always a nice addition if in season to bring on the side and slice up on top before eating.
Other ideas for quick to cook meat that I use in addition to chicken are:
ground meat - beef or lamb are my favs
fish - cod or salmon are my favs
tofu or tempeh - non meat option
Other ideas for grain or carb. in addition to quinoa are:
rice - black, red, or brown
yams - orange or purple japanese
small whole potatoes - red, yellow or purple
millet
polenta
Other ideas for veg including steamed greens are:
steamed greens - kale, chard, collards, dandilion, beet, bok choy, mustard
sauted veg - any and all! - ex: greens, summer squashes, carrots, celery, daikon
baked winter squash - kabocha, spagetti, delicata,acorn usually I will still add something green with this
arugula - usually I will mix a good amount of this into the grain with olive oil and lemon juice, or some balsamic or apple cider vinegar