Weekend food preparations

Time flies….

During the first part of my Master studies I noticed I was so occupied working for school that I forgot to take care of myself by doing things that make me happy, like spending time in the kitchen creating things. An activity that both nourishes my physical and mental health. Very paradoxical considering I’m studying nutrition and health…

I learned, and I’m still learning, that putting myself as a priority is not a selfish but a necessary act. The key is to be aware of yourself, your choices and possibilities in the things you do. Being aware of yourself creates confidence and trust which will reflect in how you approach every situation.

But in all efforts to take care of myself, I also became aware that’s it’s about finding a balance and not forcing myself to finish a list of things I need to do because they are supposed to be good for me and make me happy.

When chasing deadlines and rushing through days, priorities seem to change. I’m still learning to zoom out and see the big picture of life, to find out what the most important parts are.

…But food does not.

Inspired by The Green Kitchen Stories and my flat mate’s batch cooking , I started to do weekend food preparations after my weekly market visit on Saturday. To prepare myself for the busy school, I started cooking large portions of grains, like quinoa, couscous, rice,… and making a big batch of hummus. I already tried to make multiple variations (beetroot, pea, pumpkin, herbs, black bean…). It’s a nice way to use leftovers vegetables and herbs by simply mixing them through the hummus. Hummus is my favourite spread on bread and it adds more dimensions to salads

Roasted vegs are also a weekend prep habit. Varying with/without different types of oil and spices, roasted vegetables will never get dull. They will stay good for about 5 days in the fridge. Just take them out when you need them and they are ready to use. I use them to top salads and bread or I use them in other recipes later during the week to safe time. Leftovers are also good in sauces and soups. One of my favourites is pumpkin. I really like the texture and sweetness. Just cut a butternut longitudinal into 2 pieces and remove the seeds. Roast until soft, when you can easily put a fork in the pumpkin ‘flesh’. Also roast the seeds (with spices). The seeds can serve as a healthy snack or to top your salads (mind that they need less time than the pumpkin). I put roasted pumpkin on put on bread (I like the combination with cottage cheese and salt or with spinach and tahini), in hummus, curries, salads and use pumpkin in falafel. I both tried Pumpkin quinoa falafel (vegan) as well as chickpea falafel with pumpkin, in which I was added peanut butter instead of tahini. Pumpkin is also a nice addition in sweet dishes like pumpkin cashew ‘cheesecake’.

Another regular are roasted eggplants. I just cut them longitudinal and make diagonal cuts in them. That way they get more easily infused by added spices and oil and they will need a shorter cooking time. I usually give them a quick rub with olive or sesame oil, but also go very well with miso paste or roast the eggplant with garlic and a lot of oil to make baba ganoush, another of my favourite spreads. Just blend them after roasting with salt and tahini. Other nice vegs to roast are bell peppers, parsnip, Brussels sprouts and basically everything you can come up with 🙂

Boiling beetroots is also a weekly habit. I like that you can use them in many different ways and their beautiful colour. You can easily keep them in the fridge for the rest of the week after cooking them.

Microwaved sweet potatoes are also a winner. Just stick holes in them using a fork and microwave them for about 5 minutes, depending on the size. I like the many possibilities their texture give. For salads, sweet dishes (Try to make sweet potato bread of brownies). My ultimate comfort dish is: microwaved sweet potato, green pea mash and tahini! 😀 Easy, quick, comforty and delicious!

Peeling pomegranate is an elaborate work, especially when you don’t seem to have time. Peel them in the weekend and keep in the fridge to top your avocado toast, breakfast oats… Roasted eggplant with tahini and pomegranate is also one of my all time favourites.

Apart from all the preparations that there are also many vegs that er ready-to-use like cucumber, tomatoes, carrot, salad and avocados. Minimal prep time, maximal effect. Avocados are a super easy and delicious food that I can eat for breakfast, lunch and diner! On bread with egg, cottage cheese or hummus or to top my breakfast oatmeal 🙂 Nice combination with dates, berries, banana and mango… Another ready-to-use ingredient is cottage cheese. High in protein, low in fat and refreshing.

It’s also nice to have some standard-freezer-foods in case if emergencies. Frozen peas and blueberries are always represented in my freezer, as well as leftovers of soup and sauces.

Another thing I do is healthy snack prepping to treat myself and at the same reduce my cravings for sugary rich foods. I’m still experimenting with things like banana (and sweet potato) bread, black bean brownies and aquafaba chocolate mousse. However I noticed baking is a more precise science compared to cooking and therefore finding the best balance between the ingredients is more crucial to get a good result. Just making yourself a nice bowl of yoghurt with fruits, nuts, nut butter, cacao nibs or dried fruits is also a easy satisfying treat . My favourites are medjoul dates!

When you don’t feel like making breakfast the day itself, do some prepping the evening before and make overnight oats or make a batch of home-made Chocolate granola. Super delicious and easy. Just take a bowl in the morning and add yoghurt + fruit + granola. Super simple, super good!

Lately I’m very much into combining all my prepped food in different combinations to create easy quick, healthy and colourful salads. So to finish this post, I want to give you some tips on how to put together your own easy salad:

1. Choose a base of greens: herbs, salad, spinach, cabbage or a combination.
2. Add some nice whole wheat carbs: cooked grains, bread,…
3. Add good fats: nuts, tahini, peanut butter, seeds, fatty fish, goat cheese, halloumi,…
4. Don’t miss out on a source of proteins like cottage cheese, egg, yoghurt, beans, hummus, tempeh or tofu.
5. And of course some more vegs to add different textures, colours and nutritious value to your salad: root vegs, roasted eggplant, pepper, courgette, broccoli, cauli, asparagus and all other vegetables you can imagine!
6. (Dried) fruits is an nice option to add extra sweetness to your salad.

I think batch cooking makes ideal leftovers and stimulates your creativity!