Today we're gonna do some meal prep after a long day.
I don't always want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but i still want to enjoy a wholesome, home-cooked meal.
So today, with just one hour of prep, we're gonna build the components that we need to then make five completely different meals that we can enjoy over the course of the next few days, and each of the meals serves two people, so we're actually making 10 meals all together with what we prep, and it all turned out to be pretty budget friendly as well.
For us, the groceries came out to just under 30 euros, which is about 30 us dollars, And so let me show you what we bought.
There are a whole bunch of veggies like onions zucchini tomatoes carrots avocado lemon ginger, spinach and some roasted bell peppers in a jar.
Then we've got grains, some couscous, some dry pasta, and some bread.
And then there are plant proteins.
We've got some lentils, tofu, and hummus.
Some flavor makers like vegan pesto and bouillon cubes.
And then there are pantry staples that I didn't need to buy personally because I already have them at home, and maybe you do too.
Things like soy sauce, vinegar, and some seasonings.
And if you do want to follow along, just to make it a little bit easier for you, I have created a free downloadable PDF guide.
The link for that is in the description box below.
But for now, let's turn some of these ingredients into meal components.
For the meal prep to come together in just one hour, we're going to need to multitask.
So I've outlined the steps in the order that you're going to want to complete them.
That way, while one thing is cooking, we can chop another thing, and it all just comes together at the same time.
Before I start, I also like to have a little bowl handy for scraps.
This just helps to speed things along and keeps the work surface clean.
You might also want to bring a kettle of water to boil.
And that's it.
Let's start a timer and get started.
First, we're gonna make a hearty lentil stew.
Let's heat up some oil in a large pot, and while that's heating up, we're gonna chop up three onions and then we're gonna cook them until they're lightly golden.
While that cooks, we're gonna chop up four tomatoes.
If you wanna speed this up, you can try making this with diced tinned tomatoes instead.
When the onions are golden, we're gonna add in a tablespoon of grated ginger, though you could use crushed garlic here instead, if you prefer.
And then we're gonna cook this for another minute or two before we add in the diced tomatoes two crumbled veggie bouillon cubes and two and a half cups of rinsed red lentils.
This makes for a brilliant, affordable source of plant protein.
Then lastly, we're gonna add two and a half cups of water.
Give everything a good stir, then cover the pot with a lid and let it cook for about 15 to 18 minutes.
Just be sure to give it a stir every few minutes so that it cooks evenly.
While that's simmering away, we're gonna cook up our pasta.
My Italian friends, I feel like I can already feel some of you cringing at the idea of making pasta ahead of time.
If you wanna make it fresh on the day of, please feel free to.
But I am meal prepping, so I'm gonna be also meal prepping the pasta.
So we all know how to cook pasta.
We're just gonna cook it until it's al dente, and when it is, we'll drain it, rinse it under water and then optionally, you can consider tossing it in just a little touch of oil to help prevent it from sticking together.
All right, next up, we're gonna fry up some tofu.
We're gonna slice up some firm tofu into thin strips.
We'll add it to a bowl along with some cornstarch and a little bit of salt.
Then gently massage the cornstarch into the tofu so it's well coated.
And then we can fry this up until it's golden on both sides.
Meanwhile, let's prep some couscous.
We're gonna add three quarters of a cup of dry couscous, half of a crumbled bouillon cube and three quarters of a cup of boiling water to a container, give it a quick stir and then cover it.
After about eight minutes or so, give it a fluff with a fork, and this one is done.
And by now the tofu should also be cooked.
So we're gonna pack that up and then heat up some oil in the now empty pan, because we're gonna be cooking up some zucchini next.
First, we're gonna chop up the zucchini into little cubes and add it to the pan.
We're gonna cook this for a few minutes, until it's lightly golden, before we add in a teaspoon of curry powder and a little bit of salt.
We'll cook this for another two to three minutes or so and it's done.
Next we're gonna make a dressing.
We're gonna add three roasted bell peppers to a food processor, or you could use a blender.
We'll add one and a half cups of hummus, three tablespoons of soy sauce and two and a half tablespoons of vinegar, and optionally, a little bit of black pepper.
Then we're gonna pop the lid onto it and blitz it up.
And then this one is done too.
Now last but not least, we are going to prep a few veggies so that they're grab and go ready.
We'll start by grating three carrots and then just add them to a container and cover them in plenty of water.
Adding the water keeps the carrots from going brown, and we are gonna store this in the fridge.
But you do also wanna change out this water every one to two days or so to keep it fresh.
We're also gonna be needing about six cups of fresh spinach, and we'll chop up one tomato to store as well.
With everything packed up in airtight containers, your prep day is done.
And look at that, just about one hour.
All right, now it's mealtime.
When you're ready to enjoy the meals.
They should come together really quickly because we've already prepped everything.
And my intention was that they should come together in about five minutes.
If you can also start with making the recipes that use up the freshest ingredients first, that would be best.
And that's why we're gonna start with making the hummus pasta salad.
We'll grab a large bowl and add to it half of the cooked pasta, half of the cooked zucchini, a third of the grated carrot, a handful of spinach, all of the chopped tomato and some optional fresh parsley.
Then we're gonna add a generous just over half portion of the dressing to the bowl and then stir it all together and this lunch or dinner is ready.
It's fresh, wholesome, saucy, and honestly, the sauce is the best part.
The flavors just work so well together.
All right, next is a loaded roasted bell pepper pesto sandwich, perfect for lunch.
First, we're gonna heat up some oil in a pan.
Then we're just gonna grab our bread and toast it up.
Then we can layer on some store-bought hummus and pesto.
If you can't snatch up a store-bought vegan pesto, you can always make it yourself from scratch.
And we do have a homemade recipe that's really quick and easy on our website.
I'll link it for you below.
All right, now we can start building.
We're going to add a handful of spinach to each toast.
Add a roasted bell pepper as well, or half of a bell pepper if you think that might be too much.
We'll add half of the cooked tofu.
And lastly, some sliced up avocado.
Optionally, you can crack some black pepper over it and squeeze over a little bit of lemon juice and call it a day.
It's a simple sandwich with a beautiful mix of textures and flavors.
For the third meal, we're serving up a lentil harvest bowl.
Here's how we're gonna bring it all together.
We'll divvy up the couscous between the two bowls and add about one cup of the prepared stew, along with half of the remaining carrots, the remaining half of the cooked zucchini and all of the remaining tofu.
We're gonna drizzle over the remaining dressing, but feel free to serve some of it on the side as well.
And then you can enjoy this one either cold, or pop it in the microwave to heat it up, whatever suits your mood.
Next on the menu is a lentil bolognese.
For this recipe and for the next one, we're gonna be heating up some of what we've prepped.
So it makes it a great recipe to enjoy after we've eaten some of the previous fresher meals.
So we're gonna start with adding some oil to a pot.
We'll add in about two cups of the lentil stew, the remaining carrots, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, half a teaspoon of garlic powder and some salt.
If you feel that you need to, you can rehydrate with a little bit more water to loosen up the lentils, and then we'll just let this all heat through.
When it's heated through, we can then add in the cooked pasta half of a cup of store-bought pesto and two cups of spinach.
When everything is heated up again, we're just gonna dish it out, and that's all there is to it.
And you can also enjoy it with some optional chili flakes on top if you like a little bit of heat.
It's a simple pasta, but it's very hearty and filling.
Last but not least, let's dish up a cozy curried lentil soup.
We're gonna add the remaining three cups or so of this lentil stew to a large pot, but if you've got more or less stew than that, it's all good.
Just add whatever's left.
Then we'll add in half of a bouillon cube two teaspoons of curry powder, a roasted bell pepper and two cups of water.
And then just let everything heat through before you puree it with an immersion blender.
If you wanna skip the blending step, you definitely can, but in that case just chop up the bell pepper before you add it to the soup, and then you'll have a more textured soup, but you can skip this.
Then we'll add two cups of spinach, and when it's wilted, we can serve this up in some bowls.
I like to enjoy it with some toasted bread on the side.
I add some optional chili flakes for heat, and a squeeze of lemon juice is non-negotiable for this one.
It just gives it a beautiful, bright finish.
I think if I could sum up all of these recipes in three words, they'd be wholesome, hearty and comforting.
And the soup is no exception.
So there you have it friends, 10 meals that come together from just one hour of meal prepping.
Not bad.
Everything you're gonna need is in the PDF.
The link for that is in the description box below.
I hope this whole meal prepping thing makes your weeknights a little bit more manageable and a lot more delicious.
But if you do wanna make just one of the recipes in isolation too, you can find it on our website and in our app.
So have fun exploring and thanks for hanging with me today.
I really appreciate it.
Pickle Blime signing off and I'll see you in the next video.
This makes for an unbrilliant hummus pasta salad.
And look, two servings all together.
So we'll be making ten meals in total with the things that we've prepped.
