What’s great about a Vegan Meal Prep?
Vegan meal prep is a useful way to prepare your weekly food in batches ahead of time. It is a fantastic way to stay healthy and save some time in our busy lives. In this post, I will provide some vegan meal prep tips, so whether you are a full-time worker, student, parent on the go, or simply prefer to cook in batches and minimise extra effort later in the week. Look no further and check out the list below to find out additional benefits of having vegan meal prep.
- Save your money by preparing your meals in advance and avoid eating out
- Manage your budgets by pre-planning your grocery list and streamline your shopping experience
- It’s a great way to maintain a balanced and healthy diet. And stick to it!
- Reduce food waste and manage your portions
- Avoid the long decision-making process of what to eat. Especially with a vegan diet, it can be hard to think of different nutritious recipes.
Now that you know all the great benefits of a vegan meal prep, let’s get started! Here are a few vegan meal prep tips that will be useful to consider before you start your vegan meal prep journey!
1 ) Kitchen Inventory
Check all the food available in your kitchen and make a note of anything you want to use before starting to plan your vegan meal prep. This will help reduce waste and double buying.
2) Get Organised
Make room in your fridge or freezer for all your containers. Prepare your kitchen and ensure you have all the equipment needed for cooking. This will make it easier when finding a system that works for you.
3) Plan Ahead
Make some time in your weekly diary to schedule cooking time. Remember to leave enough time to cook in large bulks and pre-portion your vegan meals. Another vegan meal prep tip to have in mind is planning a balanced plant-based diet before preparing your meals. As a result, this will ensure that you are getting the maximum nutrition, vitamins and health benefits from your food throughout the week.
4) Prepare a Shopping List
Avoid going to the grocery store on a hungry stomach and remember to bring your shopping list for the purpose of staying on budget and avoid time-wasting. Also, don’t forget to bring your own bag!
5) Buy in Bulks
Keep a well-stocked pantry to make cooking a variety of dishes in large batches much easier. Here are a few healthy and flexible foods to keep in stock:
- Whole grains: brown rice, quinoa, oats, bulgur, whole-wheat pasta, polenta
- Legumes: canned black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, lentils, kidney beans
- Canned goods: tomatoes, tomato sauce, artichokes, olives, corn
- Herbs and Spices of your choosing
- Other: Potatoes, mixed nuts and dried fruits
6) Prepare your food in Glass Containers
Glass containers are the most sustainable and safe option for storing your meals. According to Dr Russ Hauser, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, plastic releases more chemicals when heated and ‘‘even though single exposures to a specific chemical are small, if they occur repeatedly over long periods of time, their effects may add up, leading to a variety of adverse health outcomes down the road”.
With that said, it would be highly beneficial to invest in glass containers and avoid harmful chemicals such as BPA, Petroleum, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), polystyrene, polycarbonate that can be found in plastic containers. Additionally there are numerous reasons for opting to store your meal prep in glass containers, for example:
- They are airtight and leak-proof which is advantageous when taking your meal prep on the go
- It will keep your food fresh for longer
- It is much more durable than plastic and can last a lifetime. Talk about money well spent!
- Glass containers are recyclable and therefore it is eco-friendly
- They are microwave and freezer proof which make it suitable for any of your vegan meal preparations!
We have also found a great sustainable cutlery set that will be useful when eating on the go!
7) Save your Recipes
In order to find vegan recipes easily, create a folder and save any vegan meal prep recipes you find. As a matter of fact, you can access easy vegan recipes on our Pinterest page. Find inspiration for your vegan meals and pin your favourite vegan recipes!
For some more inspiration why not try one of our vegan recipes or try making our b12 energising smoothie to pair your meals with!
We’d love to see your vegan meal preps. Share your meals with us on Instagram #AOveganmealprep and let us know if you have any additional vegan meal prep tips!
Photo by Ella Olsson from Pexels
Written by,
Nicola San Lorenzo
