Healthy meals you can make with minimal effort

With growing trend of working couples, the stress to cook and trend to order in is growing too. We have all seen the Instagram posts of beautifully organised fridges.

The ones stocked with prepared meals and piles of produce. But what if you don't have every Sunday to dedicate to hours of meal prep? Are you destined to be the takeout queen/king forever? Now that we have sufficiently scared you into wanting to cook, here are strategies (and recipes!) that will make meal prep a breeze.

Pick two days to cook and assemble per week. That way, you're not doing all of the work on one day, and you can switch things up mid-week so your taste buds don't get bored. Our recommendation: Sunday afternoons and Wednesday nights.

Breakfast

The most important meal of the day, and arguably the one skipped the most. For all the fellow morning haters, getting up 10 minutes early to eat breakfast sounds terrible. Instead of skipping breakfast, try going to bed 10 minutes earlier, or making a grab and go, option the night before to eat at your desk.

If your office has a well-equipped kitchen, you could leave food at the office for a quick assembly breakfast before your first meeting. Or if all else fails, keep a stash of homemade granola bars in your desk and grab a banana from the office kitchen. Voila, breakfast!
Recipe to try: Original mixed Berry

When we think of a Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, we think of Mixed Berry. I’m pretty sure this is the most common combo, but for good reason. Raspberries, blueberries, granola, and lightly sweetened yogurt layered snugly in a mason jar. Got no time for breakfast in the morning? Here’s your solution.

Lunch

LunchWe all have those days where you look up and its 12:50PM. You're borderline hungry and your next meeting starts in 10 mins. You don't have time to run out to grab something, so what do you do? Wouldn't it be nice if you had a packed option waiting for you in the fridge? Next week, try bringing your lunch to work for three days.

With your chopped salad addiction down to only two days, it will feel more like a treat. Prep a big batch of your favorite hearty soup over the weekend and store in individual containers. Or, make a big batch of your favorite grain, roast two or three different kinds of vegetables and mix and match them.

Recipe to try: Italian pasta salad

You will need good, spicy salami, cheese, tomatoes or some other very friendly non-threatening vegetable, greens of some sort – even if it’s just fresh parsley and you are good to go. Olives and red onions and a tangy Italian dressing, that you can make at home and store it for over a week. Use pasta with good solid texture and shape to absorb all the sauce.

Snacks

The Reward No 3 PM slump is complete without a good snack (or caffeine, for that matter). If your office isn't stocked with snacks, bring some homemade trail mix or a few energy bars to hold you over until dinner.

Set a goal for yourself. Maybe it's to bring lunch every day for a week. Or to meal prep on Sundays. When you hit your goal, reward yourself! Take the money you saved by cooking and buy your favorite extravagant coffee drink tomorrow morning, or stash the saved cash and use it to buy something you really want, not just another average meal. A little prep can go a long way. Start with these simple and delicious recipes, and we bet you'll be inspired to keep cooking.

Dinner

Coming home after 8+ hours at the office and sitting in traffic does not make for an ideal cooking mindset. To beat the urge to pull out your phone and hit order on Swiggy or Zomato, set yourself up for success. If you ate out at lunch, commit to cooking dinner, but make something that will take less than 30 minutes. Remember to give yourself some grace, If you ate in all week, and are craving the Friday pizza, order it. It's about balance rather than a rigid structure.

Another pro tip. Pack a "way home" apple or equally healthy snack in your bag. That way, you'll be less hungry and less likely to hit the order button or grab an unhealthy option. It will also hold you over until you can finish cooking.

Recipe to try: Summer Garden Pasta

Combine the cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for about 4 hours. Just before you're ready to serve, bring a large pot of water with a splash of olive oil and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil and add the pasta.

Cook al dente according to the directions on the package (be careful - it only takes 2 to 3 minutes!). Drain the pasta well and add to the bowl with the cherry tomatoes. Add the cheese and some extra fresh basil leaves and toss well. Serve in big bowls with extra cheese on each serving.