5 Tips for a Low-Food Waste Meal Prep Week
As someone who spends most of her time thinking out her weekly groceries and figuring out her next meal , I can honestly say that one of the most satisfying & gratifying moments when it comes to cooking is the feeling of having emptied (most of) your fridge before the start of a new week.
When starting out on your meal prep journey, it’s important to remind yourself that it is sometimes inevitable for food to go to waste. Don’t let it stop you from taking the healthy step of making cooking a part of your daily routine though, just know that there is always room for improvement and to do your best to help reduce it.
Here are 5 mindful ways to help reduce your food waste when meal prepping.
1.Stick to a maximum of 2-3 recipes to help you determine your weekly grocery list.
I personally get overly excited when thinking up all the possibilities of meals I can make for myself in a week. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok and Pinterest can provide us with an endless scroll of food ideas & colourful recipes, and aggressive pinning or recipe collecting is a phenomenon that I deem all too real.
Keep it simple and easy! Having the expectation towards oneself to ‘do it all’, especially on busier weeks, can quickly become a source of stress and self-defeat.
My rule of thumb: stick to no more than 2-3 new recipes per week (trust me on this one).It’s fun to give ourselves the exciting challenge to try out new recipes & cuisines, but it’s also good to leave some leeway for us to just make simple meals that require little to no effort using those same ingredients.
2.Plan some of your meals & snacks around what’s leftover in your fridge, freezer or pantry
With the steady rise in food prices, cooking more often and minimizing our grocery list are both helpful ways to keep a steady food budget all the while cutting down on our food waste.
Having things in our fridge and stocking up our freezer and pantry with goodies can come in handy for those lazier days — avoid an extensive grocery list by putting those foods to good use and try whipping up something delicious!
Getting creative in the kitchen is what makes a great home chef. Take a peak inside your fridge, freezer or pantry and get inspired!
3. Try not to overly plan the weekly menu
You never know what can go on in a week. On the one hand, you might find have no motivation to cook something elaborate for yourself, feel constrained by work deadlines and just not feel like you have the time to cook. Or perhaps, you might feel a sense of relief and excitement to finally take a break to cook yourself up something delicious & nutritious after a long day’s work on the computer.
I often get asked to create meal plans for my clients to help kickstart their journey. However the adherence to follow it may be more difficult (and frustrating) than you might think. For instance ou may have leftover yogurt that has yet to be finished and a meal plan that doesn’t include dairy, or a diet plan that includes cashews, but find that they’re too expensive.
Instead, it is better to do your best to create consistent balanced meals throughout the course of the week over sticking to a pre-planned set menu. Personally, I believe that it’s a much more realistic approach to maintaining optimal nutrition throughout the week.
4. Normalize the food prep routine (& having set meal times) as a part of your weekly and daily routine - remember: meal prep is essential!
Eating a variety of foods throughout the week requires a bit of work, skill and practice. It can be a bit tedious at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s worth it, I promise!!
Play some music, relax and enjoy the symphonies of colours, flavours and aromas upon collecting, cooking and tasting new ingredients or a freshly home cooked meal.
5. Don’t feel embarrassed of overly simple meals or of sometimes eating the same thing.
It’s important to remind yourself that here’s nothing wrong with eating the same meals on two consistent days in a given week — think of it more as just one less meal to have to cook for yourself!
Bottom line: Less is more!
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