Food Prep

Food prep is SUPER important! Without it, not only do you go hunting for food when you are already hungry (annoying much?) but the temptation is there to just grab some takeaway.
How do I tackle my food prep? Well, it varies according to my weekend activities, but generally, we go away in the caravan or spend time away from the house so I do my shopping and prep in the middle of the day Monday and Tuesday afternoon as those are my home times. If shopping Saturday or Sunday morning and Sunday prep works for you, do that 🙂
I do find that the supermarkets have awesome specials on meat on Tuesday around midday – so if there is anything organic or grass fed, I grab it! My freezer is always full of meat that was on special! Usually my meat comes from my local butcher or my local supermarket if they stock grass fed beef from local farmers.
Here’s how I tackle my week:
I either shop Monday or Tuesday morning and prep on Monday or Tuesday afternoon. Thursday is a mini food prep day (as I work from home on this day) and I prep food for the weekend (depending on activities).
On Tuesday, I do these things:
I stop by the butcher and Woolworths on my way back from teaching at the gym. I get whatever meat is on special  and whatever I need for my recipes from the butcher. I also head to another place where I shop at the fruit and veg market, Coles and Aldi for whatever else I may need.
When I get home, I put it all away and do the following:
  • Slice and prep what I’ve bought (eg. if I buy watermelon , I slice it up and put it in a container rather than leave it as I buy it)

 

  • Boil about 10 eggs. These make really easy snacks and we sometimes eat them for brekkie with bacon or avocado and maybe even some veggies. Charli takes one in her lunchbox most days.
  • Bake 4 sweet potatoes. I wash them and put them on a foil-lined baking tray in a 200C oven. Let them bake for about 45 min. Cool and refrigerate unpeeled. When they’re cooled and you’re ready to use them during the week, just peel the skin off and they are ready! Only do this if you have allowed for sweet potato in you way of eating.
  • Make soup from one of the recipes in my e-books or from a good source online. Soups are awesome because they are quick and easy to prep and they make great lunches. It freezes well too.
  • Cook up at least 1 kilo of meat, sometimes more. Chicken and hamburgers are great, so are sausages.You can toss this cooked meat on salads, add them to soups, or into your scrambled eggs at breakfast. There are heaps of things you can do with cooked meat!
  • Slow cook something (I have stroganoff cooking away right now!) …usually a stew or big chunk of meat (like pork shoulder or roast beef) that you can pull apart later on. I love my slow cooker and use it ALL the time – meats freeze well and can be used later, and the meals are great to grab out for lunches.
  • I always make at least one, sometimes 2 ‘sweet treat’ recipes. This week my new choc-mint slice has been requested again! So that’s setting in the fridge right now. We make fudge, muffins, cakes, slices, cheesecakes and so on – all healthy of course!
  • Depending on what my ‘stock’ looks like, I will also activate my nuts (soak them and then dehydrate them), make some beef jerky, cook up some bone broth or make up a batch of saurkraut.

 

  • Nut butter is AMAZING and works in so many recipes – make sure you always have some fresh on hand. I love macadamia, almond, raw honey, vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon. I have many many nut butter recipes that I love to use too. Costco does an organic almond butter that my best friend Momo swears by! You can also get them from the supermarket (but it’s much cheaper to make your own in the food processor!)

 

I make coconut milk, cream and butter in my Thermomix as needed.

I ALWAYS have a few bags of frozen cauliflower in the freezer for cauliflower mash, frozen berries ready for sorbet and about 10 sticks of butter also in the freezer. (excessive? Maybe – but I would DIE if we ran out! haha)
I always have cold coconut cream in the fridge ready to whip up.
My pantry is always stocked with all the oils, nuts, herbs and spices and flours that I need.
Sometimes I bake 2 quiches, a fathead pizza or make a double serve of Loaded Cauliflower. These are great to have in the fridge during the week.
A few tips on where to find certain foods (these are from Brisbane Southside, but I’m guessing it should be similar Australia-wide.
1. Nutritional Yeast Flakes /Savoury Yeast. Flannery’s or GOVITA.
2. Psyllium Husk POWDER (Woolworth Macro). This is HARD to find – it’s not the husks, it’s the POWDER.  I make my own in the Thermomix from the husks.
3. Nirvana Organics Stevia – Health food shops like Flannery’s or GoVita, or online at https://www.nirvanahealthproducts.com/product-category/nirvana-stevia/
4. Organic coconut flour, organic coconut oil, organic chia seeds, organic cacao powder, almond flour (blanched .. as in the lighter colour), cream top milk (for my kefir), grated cheeses, Havaarti cheese – COSTCO
5. Sour Cream (with no thickeners) – ALDI
6. Double Cream and pouring cream (NOT thickened cream) – Coles or Woollies (please read labels!)
7. Himalayan Rock Salt – I buy in bulk off eBay
8. Diatomaceous Earth  – I buy in bulk off eBay
9. Aliminium free organic baking soda – I buy in bulk off eBay
10. Desiccated coconut – I buy in 12 kilo lots from Flannerys (I ring in advance)
Food prep does take a while, but it saves you HOURS during the week! You can either come up with a menu plan and shop accordingly (which I sometimes do) or you can buy what’s on special and then make up your recipes from there (I do this a lot).
Just source the most natural, local product you can – and form then on, it’s easy! 🙂
Try it and let me know how you go! 🙂

1 thought on “Food Prep”

  1. Wow Miriam that is interesting. Most of the time I’m pretty organised but being by myself most of the time I cook large meals and freeze the leftovers for when I do need them.

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