Meal Prep, short for meal preparation, is a very useful practice that allows you to prepare meals in advance throughout the week.
People often struggle to find the time to cook meals during hectic days, but this is a very useful way to organise meals in a balanced, time-saving way.
Meal Prep has several other advantages:
- helps reduce waste: by knowing exactly what you have to eat, you will not buy at random, but what you need and in the right quantities according to what you have decided
- allows you to vary your diet by choosing seasonal products more consciously, and by planning your meals, they will be more balanced and you will not run the risk of eating ‘haphazardly’
- avoids much of the anxiety of having no idea what to prepare for lunch or dinner
But in practice, how do you organise yourself?
- first by creating a list of all the dishes to be cooked (meal plan), divided into lunch and dinner, for each day of the week
- based on the meal plan, compose a shopping list with the necessary ingredients
- it is important to set one or more days and a time when you can prepare everything you need for the week
- you prepare the bases of dishes that can be used several times (e.g. cooking a soup in larger quantities so that it can be used for a couple of days in a row) or you can create bases that can be stored in the fridge or freezer (e.g. washed vegetables, pizza and piadina bases, sauces...) so that you always have something ready and can be cooked in a short time
Regarding storage, meals prepared for consumption in the next 2-3 days should be stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers to avoid contamination and to maintain freshness.
It is recommended to use hermetically sealed glass jars, tubs and tupperware as they can be used several times and stack up, optimising space.
The use of foil and aluminium foil should be limited, because of the harmful microparticles that could be released and ingested.
Food prepared to be eaten after 3 days or in the following week should be stored, always in airtight containers, in the freezer, dividing the food into several portions so that only the right amount is defrosted when needed, marking the date of preparation.
Which foods can be prepared in advance?
- legumes: legume or cereal-legume soups and preparations with legumes such as legume burger, falafel, hummus, chickpea flour piadina, porridge. Use 3 times a week or more
- vegetables: cook the vegetables that take the longest to prepare and keep one part in the fridge and one part in the freezer, perhaps already portioned, so they are ready for the following week
- meat: keep for a maximum of 3 days in the fridge, eaten 2-3 times a week
- fish: store for a maximum of 2 days in the fridge, eaten 2-3 times a week
- eggs: 3-4 medium eggs per week
Cooking: do not overcook food to preserve nutrients and flavour. To maintain freshness and avoid the risk of contamination, it is advisable to buy meat and fish on the same day that you intend to prepare them for storage.
So here are some ideas for basics to prepare:
- For breakfast or snack: pancakes, crepes (without sugar or salt, use as a neutral base with whatever you like), muffins, apple pie, plumcakes, overnight oats
- For lunch and dinner: cereals such as spelt, couscous and rice of all kinds, cooked vegetables, cutlets, legume soups, chicken salad, potato salad and smoked salmon, meat or fish balls, meat or potato croquettes.
It may seem time-consuming and tiring at first because it involves time-consuming preparation, but once you get the hang of it, everything will be quicker and easier!
(Article by Dr Giulia Daniotti)
