Spring is in the air, can you taste it!! It’s my absolute favourite time of year because it’s like a clean slate. Nature goes through a rebirth, flowers and trees start to bloom, the air is fresh and sparkling with new opportunities.
This year, my only New Year’s resolution was to have more time. For everything. My children, husband, friends, family, but also myself. So my first step toward achieving this goal was to become super organized, especially in the kitchen. One thing that has helped me tremendously is my once a week meal prep. Let’s face it, life can get pretty hectic these days! So to avoid putting health on the back-burner during especially busy and stressful times, I take 2-3 hours out of my day (usually Sunday) and prepare as much as I can for the following week.
15 ways you can meal prep for the week ahead:
- 1 big green salad
- Prep greens and herbs (wash them and put the ends into water)
- 1 bottle of homemade salad dressing
- 1 big dip or pesto – usually protein based for easy snacking and salad topping
- 2 servings of nut or coconut milk
- 1 container of fresh veggie sticks (a mix of carrots, celery, radishes, bell peppers, etc)
- 1 container of cut up fresh fruit
- 1-2 shredded veggies – while I have that food processor out! I use these in salads, omelettes, muffins, soups, etc (carrots, cabbage, sweet potato)
- 1 batch of healthy muffins
- 1 batch of power snack balls (I usually use the nut milk pulp for these)
- Smoothie packs – a mix of greens, protein powder, fruit, chia or flaxseeds in a ziplock bag in the freezer. In the morning I place it in the blender along with some liquid and powerfoods like maca, bee pollen, or raw cacao, depending on my needs for that day.
- 1-2 freezer meals – I pull these out the night before so I have an awesome meal waiting for me in for dinner the next day. Try my 10 Minute Salmon Buddha Bowl for dinner
- Pancakes – I don’t do this every week, but a couple of times a moth I make a double batch and freeze the leftovers. In the morning I pop them in the oven and voila! Pancakes on a busy weekday morning!
- 1-2 Cooked veggies – I either roast a big squash and incorporate it into meals (veggie burgers, smoothies, muffins, pancakes, or ridiculously amazing brownies) or I cut up veggies to be roasted, like sweet potato or rutabaga
- Make a batch of granola or muesli
Trust me, making this a habit and preparing even some of the things on the list will help to keep you on the right track throughout the week when life gets crazy! Staying focused in the kitchen for a couple of hours, while you blast your favourite tunes and shake your booty will save you so much time and stress!
This pesto was part of my meal prep last weekend and I was able to use it for a snack as well as a sauce for my zucchini noodles! It’s loaded with antioxidants, fibre, protein and healthy fats. It’s spring inspired with lots of fresh basil (high in flavonoids that protect against radiation and nutrients that protect the heart) and roasting the tomatoes and garlic helps to give a really beautiful sweet taste to the pesto. YUM
Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto with Hemp and Camelina
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp camelina oil (or olive oil)
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp + dash sea salt
How to make:
Preheat oven to 375F
Place cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves (in their skin) on a baking sheet, sprinkle with 1 Tbsp oil and dash of sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes.
Remove any tough stems from basil.
Once the tomatoes are roasted, add to food processor along with hemp seeds, 1/4 tsp sea salt, peeled garlic cloves, basil and lemon juice. Start to blend on high, while drizzling in 1/4 cup of oil.
Enjoy with your favourite veggies and crackers or use it as a pesto sauce for vegetable or pasta noodles.
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