WomensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex & Love
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss
  • Women In Sport
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Video
WomensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex & Love
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss
  • Women In Sport
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Video
This Simple, Effective Ab Workout Will Shred Your Six-Pack
Watch 0:23

This Simple, Effective Ab Workout Will Shred Your Six-Pack

{headline}

{headline}

These 80c Kmart Containers Are A Meal Prep Saviour

These 80c Kmart Containers Are A Meal Prep Saviour

This Food Is Way More Likely Than Any Other To Make You Sick

This Food Is Way More Likely Than Any Other To Make You Sick

Jennifer Garner Swears By These Healthy Snacks To Fuel Her Insane Workouts

Jennifer Garner Swears By These Healthy Snacks To Fuel Her Insane Workouts

Study Finds Cooked Veggies Are Better For Your Gut Health Than Eating Them Raw

Study Finds Cooked Veggies Are Better For Your Gut Health Than Eating Them Raw

{headline}

{headline}

Healthy Hacks: Simple Superfood Salad

Healthy Hacks: Simple Superfood Salad

5 Genius Tips To Totally Transform Your Leftovers

5 Genius Tips To Totally Transform Your Leftovers

‘What I Learned From Losing 50 Kilograms'

‘What I Learned From Losing 50 Kilograms'

{headline}

{headline}

PSA: Your Favourite Woolworths Items Are Half Price Right Now

PSA: Your Favourite Woolworths Items Are Half Price Right Now

Eating At This Time Raises Your Risk Of Heart Attacks And Diabetes

Eating At This Time Raises Your Risk Of Heart Attacks And Diabetes

This Is One Of The Best Activities You Can Do To Improve Your Mental Health

This Is One Of The Best Activities You Can Do To Improve Your Mental Health

Here’s How Long Meal-Prepped Foods Will Actually Last

Here’s How Long Meal-Prepped Foods Will Actually Last

7 Healthy Ingredients You Should Have In Your Fridge At All Times

7 Healthy Ingredients You Should Have In Your Fridge At All Times

Jessica Sepel's Top 5 Tips For Meal Prepping Like A Pro

Jessica Sepel's Top 5 Tips For Meal Prepping Like A Pro

The Ultimate Guide For Easy Meal Prepping

The Ultimate Guide For Easy Meal Prepping

  1. Home
  2. Food

9 Shortcuts That Will Make Meal Prep So Much Easier

Simple steps to fill your fridge for the week. - by Sally O'Neil
  • 08 Jan 2020
9 Shortcuts That Will Make Meal Prep So Much Easier

In a perfect world, we’d all have plenty of time to make our own nut milks, salad dressings and fish stock from scratch. Reality check: unless I dedicate a whole day to meal prep, this isn’t going to happen. If you need to make shortcuts to save even more time, these are some smart choices.

1. Grains

Microwaveable rice or quinoa sachets are fine if you’re in a hurry.

2. Nut milk

Buy UHT nut milk. Making your own is kind of a bind if you don’t have a total love for it. Avoid brands with added carrageen, oils and sugar.

3. Spice mixes

These are easy to pick up in most stores. Check the ingredients to ensure there’s no added sugar: it’s lurking everywhere.

4. Sauces and dressings

You can absolutely keep it simple, if making a dressing from scratch is in your too-hard basket. You definitely have the energy to pinch your fingers together and squeeze a wedge of lemon or lime – a great alternative to an elaborate dressing, as is a drizzle of olive or avocado oil.

RELATED:10 Best Foods To Prep On Sunday So Your Meals Are A Breeze All Week

thefitfoodieblog View Profile
326 likes - View Post on Instagram
🌿🌿Whilst I'm spending my last morning in Colombia before heading to Peru, I'm making a quick run to the 'Plaza Minorista' to check out the underground local farmers market and grab fresh fruit and snacks for the flight to Peru this evening. 🌟🍉🍓🍋There's legit nothing better to me than eating all the local goodies when travelling. 🌍 Grabbing fresh stuff also keeps me away from the crappy chips and pretzels 🥨 on the plane ✈️ 🤩 PS. this spicy shrimp Mexican 🦐 salady bowl is in my book MEAL PREP PLAN - that teaches you how to prep different elements of a healthy meal and construct them effortlessly throughout the week to save you time and money. OH YESSSS ✌🏽✌🏽

5. Trail mix

Can’t be bothered to make your own? WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE? Jokes. Just make sure there are no added oils or lots of sugar – they’re often hiding.

6. Spiralised veggies

If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon and smugly bought a cheapo spiraliser on the internet, you’re allowed to buy ready-made spiralised veggies from the shops. Or, if you DID jump on the bandwagon and then realised that said cheapo spiraliser was totally rubbish because it was so badly made, you’re also allowed to buy ready-made spiralised veggies. We’ve all been there.

I would add that pre-chopped veggies such as pumpkin and broccoli are a good option, but if you really don’t have time to push a knife through some veg, you probably don’t have time to be reading this book, either.

7. Stock

In all honesty, making my own stock or even just remembering to reserve the cooking liquid is sometimes beyond my capacity. I keep a carton of liquid stock in my cupboard for emergencies. Stock cubes do the trick too. No judgement. Keep your eye on the sodium content though – many are super salty.

8. Frozen cooked prawns

I have a stash of these in my freezer and I ain’t ashamed to say it. I can defrost a handful in 10 minutes by sticking them in a colander and running room-temp water over them. When I’m feeling super lazy, they’re a tasty lean protein option that requires zero cooking. 

9. Vegetable rice

Replacing carb-laden rice with finely chopped veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower adds an extra serve of veg and reduces carbs in one go. Don’t have a blender? Just hate washing the veg? That’s totally fair. Save yourself 10 minutes and just buy the ready-made stuff.

Microwave myth buster... Think microwaves nuke your food? Microwave technology channels radio waves to excite the molecules in the food, causing them to vibrate and build thermal energy (heat). It’s true that some nutrients such as vitamin C are affected by heat, however cooking food faster in a microwave can mean less heat exposure than other cooking methods such as boiling. It makes sense, then, that vitamin C and other water soluble nutrients are actually better preserved when using a microwave to cook food. Who knew?

Meal prep Plan

Images and text from The Fit Foodie Meal Prep Plan by Sally O’Neil. Photography and styling by Sally O’Neil. Murdoch Books RRP $35.00.

  • Food
  • Meal Prep
Sally O'Neil
Sally O'Neil
Sally O'Neil is on a mission to prove that healthy and nutritious doesn’t have to be boring – and that even while staying in shape you can have your cake and eat it too. After losing 14kg from adopting a healthier lifestyle, she shares her journey with others on the fit foodie blog.

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

This Simple, Effective Ab Workout Will Shred Your Six-Pack
Watch 0:23

This Simple, Effective Ab Workout Will Shred Your Six-Pack

{headline}

{headline}

These 80c Kmart Containers Are A Meal Prep Saviour

These 80c Kmart Containers Are A Meal Prep Saviour

This Food Is Way More Likely Than Any Other To Make You Sick

This Food Is Way More Likely Than Any Other To Make You Sick

Jennifer Garner Swears By These Healthy Snacks To Fuel Her Insane Workouts

Jennifer Garner Swears By These Healthy Snacks To Fuel Her Insane Workouts

Study Finds Cooked Veggies Are Better For Your Gut Health Than Eating Them Raw

Study Finds Cooked Veggies Are Better For Your Gut Health Than Eating Them Raw

{headline}

{headline}

Healthy Hacks: Simple Superfood Salad

Healthy Hacks: Simple Superfood Salad

5 Genius Tips To Totally Transform Your Leftovers

5 Genius Tips To Totally Transform Your Leftovers

‘What I Learned From Losing 50 Kilograms'

‘What I Learned From Losing 50 Kilograms'

{headline}

{headline}

PSA: Your Favourite Woolworths Items Are Half Price Right Now

PSA: Your Favourite Woolworths Items Are Half Price Right Now

Eating At This Time Raises Your Risk Of Heart Attacks And Diabetes

Eating At This Time Raises Your Risk Of Heart Attacks And Diabetes

This Is One Of The Best Activities You Can Do To Improve Your Mental Health

This Is One Of The Best Activities You Can Do To Improve Your Mental Health

Here’s How Long Meal-Prepped Foods Will Actually Last

Here’s How Long Meal-Prepped Foods Will Actually Last

7 Healthy Ingredients You Should Have In Your Fridge At All Times

7 Healthy Ingredients You Should Have In Your Fridge At All Times

Jessica Sepel's Top 5 Tips For Meal Prepping Like A Pro

Jessica Sepel's Top 5 Tips For Meal Prepping Like A Pro

The Ultimate Guide For Easy Meal Prepping

The Ultimate Guide For Easy Meal Prepping

WomensHealth
  • Contact Us
  • About Paragon Media
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • Contact Paragon Media
  • Contact Us
  • About Paragon Media
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • Contact Paragon Media

Brands

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
  • Men’s Health
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now