Need some inspiration and guidance when it comes to prepping your meals for the week? This simple meal prep guide featuring all vegan recipes, will make your life easier!
You have the best intentions all day to come home and make a healthy, homemade meal. But work ended up being crazy stressful, and you’re exhausted. So you get take out or eat chips and guac with a glass of wine for dinner.
Trust me, I know how this plays out. I don’t know how many times I’ve eaten tortilla chips and guac or eggs and toast for dinner because I was exhausted and didn’t feel like cooking.
Eating a lazy meal on occasion isn’t a big deal, but when it’s a habit you’re most likely not getting the nutrition that your body needs. This could lead to low energy, weight gain and more.
Creating a meal planning and meal prepping routine will set you up for success throughout the week, and make eating healthy easy even on busy days.
I’ve written a few blog posts about meal planning (here and here), but I got a request to share my most recent meal prep.
Everything I planned and prepped was for vegan meals. I’m not vegan, but I eat vegan a few days a week and vegetarian most of the time. This week, I just felt like going vegan. Listen to your body, and eat what your body is telling it to (and no, your body is not telling you to eat donuts every day).
I spent about an hour meal prepping for five days worth of meals.
Before creating my meal plan for the week, I always take some time to look at my schedule. If I have a busy day or I have obligations in the evening, I’ll plan on an easy dinner.
MEAL PREP:
- Make Butternut Squash Risotto
- Make Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque
- Half Brussels Sprouts
- Wash and Cut Broccoli and Cauliflower
- Chop Onions, Red Peppers and Green Peppers
- Make Kale Salad Base
- Make Chia Pudding
OPTIONAL MEAL PREP:
- Brown Rice
- Protein Pancake Batter (use a flax egg if you want to make vegan)
- Hummus
RECIPES
I used rice instead of quinoa and I cooked the rice in vegetable stock. I skipped the ricotta and almond milk. I added rosemary along with the thyme. At the end, I added fresh basil instead of spinach.
*Use recipes as inspiration and guides!
Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque
Chop one sweet potato and about two cups of butternut squash (you can buy pre-cubed butternut squash to save time). Boil in vegetable stock until tender.
Saute 1/2 an onion.
Add onion, sweet potato, butternut squash and stock to a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 tsp. black pepper, a few dashes of cayenne, salt, 1 tsp. cumin. Blend until combined.
Kale Salad
Wash and de-stem kale (or buy a bag of pre-washed, de-stemmed kale). Massage kale with olive oil or avocado oil. Chop off the ends and chop Brussels sprouts. Shave asparagus (or cut thinly cut lengthwise).
*You can add whatever vegetables you would like to your salad base. These are the vegetables I happened to have on hand.
When you’re ready to eat, place kale mixture in a bowl, add desired toppings such as pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, avocado, other vegetables, dried cranberries and/or dairy-free salad dressing.
Protein Oats (in the meal plan below)
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 scoop vanilla plant protein powder
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp. pure maple syrup
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low/medium heat. Cook until oatmeal reaches your desired consistency.
Stir in desired add ins such as chia seeds, dried blueberries, goji berries, fresh fruit, nuts, nut butter, etc.
*You can also just eat your oats cold. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and enjoy!
MEAL PLANNER
Monday
B: veggie tofu scramble + 1 piece Ezekiel toast with avocado (use onions + peppers)
S: Double Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie
L: Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque + Kale Salad
S: store-bought hummus + carrot sticks + greens drink
D: roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower + roasted chickpeas + Butternut Squash Risotto
Tuesday
B: Protein Pancakes (use a flax egg if you want to make vegan)
L: Butternut Squash Risotto + Kale Salad
S: Chia Pudding
D: store-bought black bean burger topped with avocado + Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque
Wednesday
B: protein oats
S: apple with almond butter
L: Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque + Kale Salad
S: hummus + carrot sticks + greens drink
Thursday
S: apple with cashew butter + greens drink
L: store-bought black bean burger + Butternut Squash Risotto + Kale Salad
S: Chia Pudding
D: tofu steak + lemon roasted Brussels sprouts and broccoli + Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque
Friday
B: protein oatmeal
L: Butternut Squash Risotto + Kale Salad
S: Chia Pudding + greens drink
D: leftover tofu Buddha bowl
Emotional eating can keep you stuck in the dieting cycle. Eating when you’re stressed, unhappy, sad, angry, happy, bored, or upset, then starting a restrictive diet to get back on track. When you can let go of using food to cope with your emotions, you’ll experience a huge shift in your body and your mindset. Take my new emotional eating quiz to find out if you eat emotionally and what you can do to heal your relationship with food. TAKE THE QUIZ HERE.
