A very frequently asked question I receive is about what I eat! Especially if readers have seen my weekly meal prep photos, they will often ask what do I do with the food I prep to turn them into meals for my breakfasts, lunches and snacks. So in this post, I am sharing what my day on a plate currently looks like and here is the necessary disclaimer – this post is for entertainment purposes only and in no way constitutes nutritional advice. I have sought advice from nutrition experts before and if you are looking to make changes to your diet, I would highly recommend seeing one to help you with this process. (You can read more about my diet changes here.)
Part of a standard weekly meal prep session would have me making food like you see in the photo below. It varies each week but I endeavour to make sure I have foods from each macronutrient group made up like in the example below:
- Proteins – bolognaise sauce and minced chicken with spices
- Carbs – starchy carbs = sweet potato and white potato, other veggies = broccolini, carrot, capsicum and cucumber
- Fats – homemade dukkah
Each meal I have across the day, I aim for it to include a decent amount of starchy carbs, a bigger amount of veggies, a moderate amount of protein and a small amount of good fats. If I do this, I know that I fuel well and my body will also get most of the micronutrients it needs.
I don’t have any allergies or intolerances to dairy or gluten, but I just feel better when I don’t eat them, so don’t include them as part of my normal diet. I also avoid refined sugars and processed foods, preferring to take a whole food approach to my diet.
So what do my meals look like?
Breakfast
Most mornings I will have a green smoothie. I make the same each time and it is made up of protein powder, frozen banana, greens powder, two large handfuls of baby spinach and small amount of almonds. It is super delicious!
Lunch
I used to make up my lunches in my glass containers at the start of the week, but I prefer not to do that now. I like having the ability to mix and match the proteins, starchy carbs and veggies I will have at each the meal. Going outside to sit in the sunshine and eat my lunch is one of my favourite things to do and I find it really gives me a great break from work. I go back inside well fed and recharged to tackle my next task. This meal was sweet potato, broccolini, chicken and fresh salsa.
Dinner
My aim is to always only cook one meal at dinner time. The rest of the family still eats pasta and other grain based foods, so one of the reasons I prep a large amount of starchy carbs on the weekend is so I can make substitutions for my evening meals. When the family has spaghetti bolognaise for example, I will sub out the pasta and add in white potato for my carbs. I also added some of my homemade kimchi to this meal too – kimchi is delicious and so good for you!
Snacks
If it has been a day where I have exercised twice, then I will have something in the afternoon when the kids have afternoon tea. What I have depends on how I am feeling. If I am feeling quite hungry, I may have some sweet potato or a banana, or if I feel like I need just a little something, I will eat from the shared plate I make for the kids.
Drinks
I make my own kombucha which I love and am currently obsessed with a peppermint greens flavour that I make. I also adore tea and would have a couple of green teas a day and a herbal tea or two through out the day. I do still drink alcohol occasionally, maybe once a month, but it is almost always when I am out and don’t drink regularly at home. I find even small amounts of alcohol disrupts my sleep.
Prepping my food
Undertaking a weekend meal prep session has been the key to ensuring that I eat well, eat enough and eat a whole food based diet. Prepping the food in advance means I don’t have to think about what I am going to eat – I have made the decision earlier and prepped foods that I know will fuel me well.
If I was to have to cook up food for each meal as it happened, I know there would be many times when I would think it is too hard and resort to something easier but less nutritious. Having the food prepped in advance sets me up for success and it saves me time! Food prepping is an example of batching a task.
Batching is one of my favourite ways to make the most efficient use of my time. Batching is where you do like tasks in bulk. Batching saves you time because you are focused on one thing, are less distracted and don’t have to repeat yourself as much.
For example I deliberately plan evening meals on the weekends which can be made in bulk (when I have more time), so as to have food left over for lunches for not only myself but my husband as well. When I am cutting up veggies for the weekend meals, I will cut up additional veggies to have some prepared for the next week. Meal prepping doesn’t have to be complicated or take up a lot of time if you take a strategic planned approach to it. I detail my approach to meal prep step by step with templates and shopping lists you can use in my new e-course Meal Prep Primer.
Meal Prep Primer shows you how to effectively plan your time in the kitchen over the weekend, and prep food that will make your week days easier. Follow the easy step by step guides so you will have food for the kids’ school lunch boxes, for your lunches and advance prep for evening meals during the week.
In my Meal Prep Primer course I will teach you the process I have developed over these years and it will help you:
- save you time
- save you money
- save you stress through the week days
- ensure your family eats well
- allow you to enjoy meal time more with the family
You can read more and sign up for the short course here.