A Little Prep and a Few Clever Purchases Go a Long Way
Getting your day off to a healthy start is not always easy, especially when you’re trying to get the kids off to one as well. There’s a real convience in convenience foods when you’re pressed for time. But convenience foods don't support your efforts very well if you’re trying to eat less processed foods and spend less money at the grocery store.
Here are some great ways to load up your fridge, freezer and pantry with your own convenience foods. They make short work of quick breakfasts, packed lunches and snacks and ensure you can pull together quick and healthful meals in minutes each day.
Stock the Fridge
Hard Boiled Eggs
Eggs are my kitchen’s superfood. Every one of my kids can cook eggs. It’s the first kitchen skill I taught them. Eggs are affordable, nutritious, versatile and quick. In short - If you have eggs, you’ll never go hungry.
Keep a dozen hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. They can be eaten as is, sliced for breakfast wraps and sandwiches (they don’t leave a soggy mess like scrambled eggs do). A hard-boiled egg is a great addition to salad for lunch too.
Cut Veggies
We all want to get more vegetables into our diet, but they are hard work. Carrots aren’t as quick as a granola bar - unless you make them that quick.
Set aside 30 minutes at the beginning of the week to prepare a bin of fresh-cut veggies. Peel and cut carrots, celery, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, or other family favourites.
Store cut veggies in a large reusable container. You do not need to cover the vegetables with water to keep them fresh.
Pack them snuggly to minimize the space for air, and repackage them into ever smaller containers as they dwindle down throughout the week.
Use up what's left at the end of the week for stir-fries and soups.
Always start a fresh container of vegetables for the week; do not just top up the bin you have going.
Dips and Spreads
Hummus, bruschetta, babaganoush, tzatziki, and salsa are great additions to salads, make great dips for veggies and are perfect on toast paired with one of those hard-boiled eggs. Most dips and spreads are easy (and cheap) to make at home. If buying prepared dips, be sure to read the ingredients label so you’re getting as close to additive-free as possible.
Plain yogurt and alternatives
Plain yogurt (with live culture - read the label) is perfect for morning smoothies and for whipping up a quick dressing or dip. Add in some honey or maple syrup and some frozen berries, top with a sprinkling of nuts and/or seeds, and you have a great little morning starter or mid-day snack.
There are some great vegan alternatives to yogurt on the market these days as well.
Overnight Oats and Chia Puddings
You can make plain batches of these two time-saving breakfast superfoods and keep them in the fridge for 4-5 days. Scoop and top for a quick breakfast or snack to go! Make them with traditional dairy or use dairy alternatives. Either way, they are a delicious change to the usual yogurt.
Here’s a recipe for Chia Pudding that was a favourite in the cafe:
Mix together 2 cups of coconut milk, 1 tbs maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp salt, ¾ cup chia seeds.
Stir again after 15 minutes.
Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
If the pudding is too thin after 3 hours, add more chia (start with 1 tbs). If the pudding is too thick, you can thin it with a little additional milk.
Briny Things
Olives, pickles, pickled vegetables and marinated vegetables like mushrooms and artichokes, fermented kimchi and sauerkraut are perfect little nibbles on the side, great additions to salad and take sandwiches to the next level. They are also great for your gut health!
Vinaigrette
Homemade vinaigrettes are so easy to make. The internet is packed with recipes. Making your own allows you to customize flavours and easily control the amount/type of fat and sugar. Homemade is much easier on your wallet, too. I make double batches when I need dressing for a salad. I use half for the meal on deck and store the remaining half in a mason jar in the fridge.
Use vinaigrettes for salad, but also use them to marinate meats and flavour vegetables before roasting.
Mix a little vinaigrette with some mayo for a perfect tangy sandwich spread or dip for french fries.
Be sure to label the jar or container, so you’re not guessing what the flavour is inside or when you made it. Homemade vinagrettes keep for a week in the fridge as a general rule.
Cooked Meats
Cook extra portions of chicken, beef, bacon, and ham while making dinner throughout the week. Dice and store for quick additions to salads and sandwiches.
Cheeses
Feta, parmesan, aged cheddar, fresh mozzarella, bocconcini, and goat cheese (I should probably do a series on cheese; I love it so much) should always be available to add to salads and sandwiches.
Cheese is a great flavour foundation. You can build an entire meal around a cheese’s flavour profile, but there is a trick - you must buy good quality cheese, the best you can afford. You need less to be satisfied if you buy better quality, more flavourful cheese - and you’ll save money in the long run, benefit from incredible flavour and consume less cheese - which is better for your health. It doesn’t take more than a couple of tablespoonfuls of crumbled feta to kick up a salad for dinner. Good quality parmesan packs a flavourful punch when freshly shaved over hot pasta. A few thin slices of aged cheddar make a sandwich, and adding mozzarella to a pizza is a game-changer. A little smattering of goat cheese on toast with some fresh greens, olive oil, salt and pepper is a meal on its own that won’t disappoint.
I love that most grocery store chains have two cheese sections - one stored on shelves with the milk and yogurt and one displayed near the deli. The cheese section near the deli is the one you really want to shop from if you’re looking for good cheese that will go a long way.
A few notes about storing cheese.
Buy small quantities - which you likely will anyway, given the cost of good cheese. Enough for 3-5 days is ideal.
As a general rule - the harder the cheese, the longer the shelf life, but we want to ensure we get every last day out of our cheese’s lifespan. Wrapping your cheese in plastic wrap is the fastest way to shorten the shelf life. Instead, wrap cheese in parchment paper, cheese paper or waxed paper and pop the blocks into a storage container with the lid loose.
Blue cheese should be tucked into its own container to keep its strong flavour to itself.
If you have a ‘snack drawer’ in your fridge, this is the place to keep cheese. If you don’t, then tuck the container into a crisper drawer.
Soft cheeses (think feta and fresh mozzarella) that come packed in water or brine should have their liquid replaced every couple of days.
Is it bad?
You can cut any mouldy bits from hard cheese, replace the wrap and consume the rest with confidence so long as it tastes okay.
Very hard cheese, like parmesan, becomes dotted with little white specks and crunchy crystalized bits. These are good traits for your super firm cheese, not a sign of spoilage. Super firm cheese stored properly can last well over a year in your fridge, although I doubt you’ll have it that long.
Soft cheeses like brie are a little more concerning; they have a short shelf life once the original packaging is opened. Plan to use what you have within 2-3 days once the bloom or rind is breached. Usually, by the time mould sets in, they are unfit to consume. They won’t taste very good anyway, even if you remove the icky bits.
Blue cheese keeps getting bluer, and eventually, the flavour becomes undesirable. The best blue cheese is eaten within a couple of days of purchase.
Store Treasure in the Freezer
Frozen Fruit and Veggies
Frozen fruit is perfect for topping cereal, mixing smoothies, and adding to yogurt. Frozen vegetables like corn and peas are a quick addition to salads. Freeze leftover cooked squash, cauliflower, broccoli and beans and add them to a bowl of rice with some seasoning or your favourite vinaigrette for a quick heat-and-heat lunch.
Keep a small stash of wraps and pitas. They thaw quickly and can be used for breakfast wraps, sandwiches and rolls up for snacking (think peanut butter and banana stuffed into your kid’s hand as they fly out the door to soccer practice).
Quick Add Pantry Gems
Nuts and Seeds
I always keep nuts and seeds in my pantry. Jars of walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, pinenuts, pecans and cashews are always front and centre, providing excellent inspiration. These items are great to eat as is or to add to salads and cereals. Add nuts and seeds to muffins, pancakes and quickbreads. Sprinkle them on toast or add some to your smoothie. You can eat both nuts and seeds raw - you can also toast them and candy them.
Nuts and seeds are filling and nutritious. Many people steer clear of them because they have heard that these items are high in calories and fat. It’s true. Fortunately, these fats are usually the healthy kind, and generally speaking, a little goes a long way when it comes to nuts and seeds, so you don’t have to consume handfuls to reap the flavour and nutritional benefits.
A little goes a long way when purchasing nuts and seeds as well. Buy small, unsalted, raw quantities of and store them in clear, air-tight containers like mason jars.
Purchasing unsalted and raw is healthier and provides more versatility. You can always roast and salt at home if need be.
Remember that the oils in nuts and seeds spoil, so if you need to store them longer than a few weeks after opening, storing them in the freezer is best to prolong their shelf life.
Well Stocked and Ready is the Key to Quick Meals in Minutes
It's easy to assemble breakfast in seconds or pack a salad or sandwich on the fly with a few great staples like those outlined above. And I promise you will hear, “There’s nothing to eat.” a lot less often from the brigade of snackers in our home. Unless said snackers are teenagers, there’s no hack for that. - sorry.
Yes, stocking the fridge and pantry takes a little forethought and some prep work on a Sunday afternoon, but the money and time-saving rewards later in the week and improved nutrition are worth the upfront effort.
Stocking is a habit like any other - it takes practice and persistence to incorporate new processes seamlessly into your life. It helps to treat Sunday like a New Year that happens once a week. Start fresh, forget if you fell flat last week, recover and try again.
I'm pretty routine with prepping, and sometimes, I don't get to everything on the list. But when I know there is a jam-packed schedule for the week ahead, you can bet that I'm in the kitchen sometime over the weekend prepping the heck out of my fridge and pantry so I don't have to waste any time to eat healthfully in the chaos. It helps, and future me is always grateful for the extra effort.
Once adopted, prepping will be a habit you’ll be happy you took the time to master.
What is your favourite item to keep in stock and ready to use?
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