Why meal prep (almost) never works

when i used to meal prep i did this make a big batch of the same meal and portion it out into individual identical containers for the entire week the first day i was pumped the second day bored and by day three i was eating a pizza on my couch so i was stuck in this trap of wanting to eat healthy but all i really was doing was wasting time money and food but over the last few years i have developed a few processes and techniques that make it easy for me to eat varied wholesome and flavorful meals throughout the week with not that much work so instead of this very boring situation i'm eating flavor packed grain bowls wraps salads pasta soups foods i actually want to eat i'm nisha this is rainbow plant life where i teach you how to master vegan cooking at home and today i'm going to walk you through the five strategies i use to make meal prep interesting and a vegan meal plan you can make in two hours or less this weekend the first step of any meal prep should start at your desk or table not to the kitchen counter you want to be intentional about what you're making and the order in which you do it so take 10 minutes to plan out what you're going to make what you need at the grocery store versus what you already have in your pantry and when you're going to make everything i promise this is going to make the whole process move more smoothly and quickly and our meal plan today can be prepped and cooked simultaneously and there is a free pdf guide i've put together it's linked below it lays out the exact order of operations so you can be efficient with your time for instance if you're going to set something in the instant pot and forget it for like 45 minutes you can then use that 45 minutes to do other things like roast vegetables in the oven as well as make a sauce one of the most important parts of mastering vegan cooking at home is to find ways to build flavor and when you're really busy and pressed for time a great hack for adding flavor to your weekly meals is to make an everything sauce every time i meal prep i always make at least one everything sauce sometimes maybe two or three and i call it in everything sauce because you should be able to pair it with everything or at least almost everything that you make that week few weeks ago i did a video on mistakes that most new vegans make and i referenced relying on what i call building blocks to make easy meals throughout the week and everything sauce is a building block it is packed with flavor it has a decent shelf life it can be used in numerous ways to round up different kinds of meals and it can turn something really simple into a really tasty meal and one of my favorite everything sauces is a tahini based sauce and that is what we're gonna make today for our meal plan we'll start off with a half cup of a good quality tahini add that to a food processor i've included my favorite tahini brands in the pdf guide if you're interested and then we're gonna add in some freshly squeezed lemon juice a fourth of a cup about four tablespoons we also need some garlic we're adding two cloves just very roughly chopped up and now it's time to add in some fresh herbs that's gonna pack more flavor into this everything sauce i'm using basil dill and parsley today and roughly chopping them up if you don't have all three of these herbs that's totally fine you can use just one or two of them we're also going to add in a half teaspoon of ground cumin for some earthy warm notes a teaspoon and a half of dijon mustard it's going to give it a tangy sharp bite and then some kosher salt to season obviously and of course some black pepper blend that up in your food processor and once you start to see the sauce come together stream in a few tablespoons of ice water it's going to help thin it out into a pourable consistency but the ice water is also going to make the texture fluffier and creamier and we need about three to four tablespoons again depending on your desired consistency this tahini sauce is great because it's so creamy it feels indulgent but tahini is really just sesame seed paste so it's actually very wholesome and it is quite thick so if you want to thin it out you can do that with more water you could thin it out even more or add a little bit of olive oil to make it into a salad dressing you can pour this tahini sauce over a green bowl or grain salad you can use it as a pasta sauce you can even spread it on bread as an alternative to mayo or drizzle it over a wrap spread it onto a tortilla drizzle it onto roasted vegetables beans or lentils you get the point you can do a lot of things with it if you want more options for everything sauces another favorite of mine is cashew cream of course you can make a basic cashew cream but i have lots of flavor variations in my video on cashew cream so if you want to change things up that video is linked in the description box below another type of building block i usually have on hand for meal prep is some sort of a shelf stable condiment flavor booster or spice blend like this spiced seed sprinkle this seed sprinkle is really easy to make we're going to use pepitas which are shelled pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds a total of a half cup and we're also going to add some sesame seeds a tablespoon of those and a tablespoon of coriander seeds which i love but they are optional if you don't have them you want to heat up a medium frying pan over medium high heat and once the pan is hot we're going to add in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil along with all those different seeds and then we're also going to add a teaspoon of aleppo pepper a half tablespoon of sumac and a half teaspoon of flaky sea salt aleppo pepper is mild a little fruity a little earthy i really love it if you can't find it feel free to use crushed red pepper flakes use about half the amount since they are quite spicy and sumac is another ingredient i love it's bright and lemony again if you don't have it you can omit it stir this mixture continuously so it doesn't burn you need about two to three minutes or until it's golden then transfer it to a plate spread it out and allow it to cool before transferring it to a jar this heat sprinkle took like five minutes to make and it stays good in your pantry for at least a few weeks if not a month so it's something you don't even have to make every meal prep and it adds this really delightful crunch to all kinds of savory meals and that nice crunchy texture it's gonna add a lot of interest to your weekly meals and again it's gonna take minimal effort my next tip for meal prep is to make use of sheet pans i love using sheet pans because one they are pretty hands off so you don't have to babysit them the same way you would on the stove two you can cook multiple different types of food on the same sheet pan at the same time and three they're pretty easy to clean so tidying up afterwards is a cinch today we're gonna roast seven different things on sheet pans which means we're gonna get a ton of variety in our weekly meals and the first one we're gonna make is a combination of broccoli and cannellini beans for our first sheet pan i'm gonna use one can of cannellini beans they are super creamy one of my favorite beans you can of course cook beans from scratch i'll talk about that in the next tip and once you've rinsed and drained your canned beans dry them with a clean dish towel so they're not watery and for the broccoli i'm using about two crowns today the exact amount you're gonna cook is gonna depend on how many people you're cooking for and you know how often you wanna eat these meals during the week for the broccoli don't throw away these stems they're just as tasty as the florets and they roast beautifully and if any of your florids are really large just cut them through the stem and separate them out and transfer the broccoli to a baking sheet for any florets that have a flat side like this i like to arrange them flat side down because they're going to brown better that way in the oven we'll add the cannellini beans to the same tray and we're going to coat everything with a bit of oil to roast in the oven i'm using avocado oil today but i also like doing this with olive oil and of course season with some salt and pepper which is key to bringing out the flavors and vegetables and for a little subtle background heat we're going to add some crushed red pepper flakes just a little maybe a half teaspoon or less go ahead and use your hands to toss everything together i'm doing it directly on the sheet pan today to save dishes but you can also do this in a large bowl and then transfer it to the pan we're also gonna do something similar with chickpeas and cauliflower two of my favorite foods but with a bit more seasoning this time i'm starting this off by heating a small frying pan medium heat we're gonna toast whole coriander seeds cumin seeds and caraway seeds to make a quick and easy spice blend for the cauliflower and chickpeas i love using whole spices where i can because their flavor is a lot more intense and fresher than pre-ground spices and it's actually a lot simpler than it sounds and we'll toast these for about three minutes move the pan around frequently so they don't burn until everything is uniformly browned and just really really fragrant while the spices are cooling we're going to drain and rinse our canned chickpeas same thing we did with the white beans pat them dry with a towel and now we'll cut our cauliflower into florets to cut the cauliflower start by cutting off all those leaves at the bottom of the cauliflower then take a sharp knife that can be a chef's knife or a paring knife and cut it around the base of the cauliflower moving your knife in a circular fashion that's going to help loosen that really thick bottom stem once you can pluck that stem off with your hands it's going to be pretty easy to pull apart the florets with your hands again if you have any big florets cut them in half from the bottom stem for cleaner cuts instead of cutting them from the top and for all of those leftover cauliflower leaves and stems i like to freeze those and save them for vegetable broth or for soups once the spices have cooled we'll grind them up i'm using a spice grinder like this i think it's an incredible kitchen tool to have you can also use a mortar and pestle and we want the spices to be mostly ground but still some texture to remain because that's going to add more interest to the final dish spread the cauliflower and chickpeas out onto another baking sheet and we're going to add some olive oil or avocado oil and then sprinkle it with our homemade spice blend and season generously with some salt and pepper the exact measurements for everything we're making today is in that free pdf guide again you can find that linked down below toss everything together and then we'll roast this pan and the pan with the broccoli and white beans in the oven 425 degrees fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes tossing at the 15 minute mark the vegetables are done when the broccoli is charred in spots and the white beans should be blistered and crispy the cauliflower sometimes needs a little longer than the broccoli and it should also be nicely browned and for our last sheet pan we're going to do something a little fun and different we're going to roast together on the same sheet pan some store-bought gnocchi vegan sausage grape tomatoes onions and garlic and when it gets roasted the gnocchi gets a little crispy but still stays plump and chewy which i absolutely love if you have a large oven and three sheet pans you could actually roast this at the same time as the broccoli and cauliflower because we use the same cook time and temperature first we'll roughly chop up one yellow onion keep the chunks pretty large so that they don't burn in the oven and we're also going to use four whole garlic cloves we're going to add one 16 ounce package of store-bought gnocchi to a sheet pan make sure the gnocchi doesn't have any eggs in there there are lots of varieties that come shelf stable refrigerated or frozen that are vegan friendly you just need to read the labels to the gnocchi we'll add one pint of grape tomatoes and we're also going to add the chopped onion and garlic cloves now you're going to crumble some vegan sausage right on top of everything i'm using beyond meat sausage because that's our favorite but if the vegan sauce of dubai doesn't crumble you can always slice it into rounds drizzle this whole mixture with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper toss everything together with your hands to ensure it's well oiled and seasoned if you have some fresh herbs like thyme or oregano go ahead and add a few sprigs now and we'll bake this in the oven at 425 degrees fahrenheit for 25 to 27 minutes or until the gnocchi is a little plump the tomatoes are bursting and the vegan sausage is nicely browned this is the finished gnocchi situation it's actually a great sheet pan dinner that you can have on its own or you can kind of portion things out for the rest of the week and add it to other meals when i meal prep i always like to batch cook some sort of whole grain as well because if i don't i know i'm just gonna eat bread with everything which it's not the worst thing in the world but if you want something a little more wholesome it helps to have a whole grain sitting in your fridge that you can use whenever you want it and i usually batch cook my whole grains in my instant pot but i know a lot of you don't have one so we're gonna make it on the stove today this week i'm making faro which is probably my favorite whole grain it's chewy and has this great nutty bite if you're gluten free though you can try brown rice wild rice quinoa or millet we'll boil about two and a half cups of water and season it with salt and once the water is boiling we'll add in the one cup of farro though you can certainly make a bigger batch and i like to infuse my grains with a little bit of flavor so today i'm going to add in two bay leaves as well as a chopped shallot for farro you want to simmer it for 15 to 25 minutes depending on whether your farro is the pearled variety or semi-pearl variety and the faro is al dente and chewy once the faro is cooked drain it and if you have another sheet pan free or just a large plate spread the farro out to help dry it out and to stop it from continuing to steam otherwise it can get a little mushy to be efficient i usually cook my whole grains while other stuff is roasting in the oven you can also batch cooked beans and lentils at this time and i have lots of resources on how to do that i've linked those down below and once you have your batch of grains cooked you can use it in several different ways of course plain as a side dish but you can also turn it into say a breakfast porridge or you can use it as the base for grain bowls but you can also turn it into a grain salad just add in some fresh herbs toasted seeds or nuts dried fruit and some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar there's this weird perception that vegans have to make everything from scratch you have to milk your own cashews and oats and you have to grow your own lettuce and tomatoes if you have the time and space to do those things more power to you but most of us don't and that is where convenience items come in because they're going to help you build out a lot more variety and options into your weekly meals to me a convenience item is something that comes in a package it can be a single ingredient like this or it can be a processed food like this and it really makes it easy for you to get more home-cooked meals on the table a box of pre-chopped salad greens for instance is going to make it a lot easier for you to incorporate greens into your meals a package of tortillas will make it simple for you to make wraps and burritos using the ingredients you've already prepped and a box of pasta and a good marinara sauce go a long way as do fresh herbs all right everything is now cooked it smells really good now i'm going to show you how to combine everything we've prepped with a few convenience items and pantry staples to create delicious meals throughout the week with the gnocchi sausage sheet pan meal we're going to combine that all together you can have it as is add a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or add some marinara sauce and voila you have a complete meal but you could also take some of the blistered tomatoes and sausage add them to cooked pasta maybe some of that roasted broccoli too and finish it with some marinara sauce with the farro we're going to make a green bowl add some of the roasted broccoli and white beans on top add in some salad greens pour that tahini everything sauce on top and finish with our spiced seed sprinkle and with the chickpeas and cauliflower we're going to stuff them into a wrap with the tahini sauce add some salad greens and that is what i call a two-minute lunch i've got even more ideas on how to combine these ingredients as well as step-by-step instructions in that free pdf guide so be sure to click on the link in the description box below to download that and if you make this meal prep of course tag me on instagram i'll see you guys later bye

Channel: Rainbow Plant Life

Views: 1,182,029

Keywords: vegan meal prep ideas, vegan meal prep, beginner meal prep, vegan meal prep guide, beginner meal prep guide

Id: JCbDYulk28U

Length: 14min 2sec (842 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 30 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Make several different meals, label and freeze them. Some days eat fresh, other times use the freezer stuff. Less likely to get bored. Also make burritos.

[u/dadadirladada]

She takes 10 seconds to say why it doesn't work (because you get bored with the food) and the rest of the video presents vegan recipes.

The recipes seem alright and she's talented, but the title is not accurate.

[u/NullableThought]

Well I'm glad I can eat the same things every day for weeks on end...

[u/packie12]

I mean it works for me so

[u/Shenaniganz08]

The constant smirk is so annoying

[u/ChaplnGrillSgt]

Usually I make enough of a meal for 2 servings. Every Sunday I make a total of 3 meals, 6 servings. I eat one for dinner on Sunday, leaving 5 for the week. I work 4 days so I take a serving each day, deciding what I want in the morning. That leaves me 1 extra meal that I either eat on my day off or on Saturday.

[u/enolafaye]

I wish I could hire her to meal peep for me.

[u/novofongo]

Just what I want to watch while eating haha

[u/Renkie]

Video starts with the premise that you can't eat eat the same food for multiple days in a row. Meanwhile during my 5 month engineering internship I'd cook a giant batch of pasta, noodles or something else on Sunday and then eat that all the way through the workweek until I ran out around Thursday or Friday.

Just east the food you prepared and it works.