In an earlier post we already explained the concept of meal prep and gave you tips for preparing it properly. Here you'll find out how to prep your meals in a sustainable, eco-friendly way. Because it's not just your everyday life that needs a little detox, our planet does too.
Meal prep preparation
You can minimise food waste and packaging waste right from shopping and prep. Sketch out all your meals on paper beforehand to avoid planning mistakes. That way you avoid prepping too much food that you end up throwing away. When choosing your dishes, also make sure not to plan too many different components. It's easy for too much to get prepared as the number grows, leaving leftovers that can't be reused. Always keep the three big nutrient groups in mind, protein, carbohydrates with fibre, and fats, and include them in every meal to stay full for as long as possible. For example, tofu (protein source), quinoa and vegetables (carbohydrate and fibre sources) with a peanut sauce (fat source) make a balanced, tasty meal that's also easy to prep!
How do I make eco-friendly prep meals?
You can save resources with meal prep too! The best way is to set aside enough time for one big cooking session in which you prepare several dishes at once for the days ahead. Why not invite a friend along? It makes cooking twice as much fun and you save even more energy. Because the oven and hobs are already warm, they don't have to be heated up again for every dish.
If you eat meat and fish, you can plan to ration them on purpose. The rule here: quality over quantity! For everyday life, it's ideal if you prep high-quality lean meat such as chicken or turkey once a week, and oily fish such as salmon and herring twice. That way you learn a mindful approach to animal products and, for the environment's sake, avoid overconsuming them.
Packing food sustainably
The prepared dishes now need to be packed up and stored in the fridge. Make sure to use reusable containers and dishes instead of foil and cling film. To keep things tidy, you can label your containers and dishes. This is an easy way to reduce your ecological footprint!
If you'd like to avoid plastic in your reusable containers, you can turn to containers made from sustainable materials such as wheat straw or bamboo. Got old jam jars at home? They're great for meal prep too, as long as you clean them thoroughly first. Since jars like these don't leak, they're perfect for overnight oats or yoghurt to go.
Why you should make your meal prep sustainable
Sustainable, well-planned meal prep means you don't create unnecessary packaging waste and food waste! You don't prepare excessive amounts that end up uneaten at the end of the day. You save time and energy through targeted cooking sessions and can easily sort your food with reusable containers. The environment will thank you!
But these tips will also help you enormously, as you approach meal planning in a more organised and structured way. You save time, can pack and sort your food neatly and have more fun doing it. Can't find the time to plan and cook your meals? Or do you find it hard to change your diet on your own? Then give our 5:2 intermittent fasting programme a go: on two days a week you take a break with our nutrient-rich juices and can enjoy the many positive effects of fasting on the side. For the other days, you'll find tasty, healthy recipes in the booklet we include.
So: ready, steady, prep!
In one of our earlier posts we already explained the concept of meal prep and gave you tips on preparing it properly. Here you'll find out how to prepare your meal prep sustainably and in an environmentally friendly way. Because it's not only your everyday life that needs a bit of detox, our world does too.
Meal prep preparation
Already when shopping and preparing, you can pay attention to minimising food waste and packaging waste. Sketch out all your meals on paper in advance to avoid planning mistakes. That way you avoid preparing too much food that you end up throwing away. When choosing your dishes, also make sure not to plan in too many different dish components. With a growing number, it's easy to end up preparing too much and having leftovers that can't be reused. Always orient yourself on the three big nutrient groups, protein, carbohydrates with fibre, and fats, and build them into every meal to stay full for as long as possible. For example, tofu (protein source), quinoa and vegetables (carbohydrate and fibre sources) with a peanut sauce (fat source) make a balanced and tasty meal that is also easy to prep!
How do I make eco-friendly meal prep?
You can save resources with meal prep too! Ideally, plan in enough time for one big cooking session in which you prepare several dishes at once for the coming days. Why not invite a friend along. That makes cooking twice as much fun and you save even more energy. Because the oven and hobs are already warmed up, they don't have to be reheated for every dish.
If you eat an omnivorous diet, you can plan to ration your meat and fish consumption deliberately. Here quality beats quantity! For everyday life, it's ideal to prepare high-quality lean meat such as chicken or turkey once a week and fatty fish such as salmon and herring twice. That way you learn a mindful approach to animal products and, for the environment's sake, avoid overconsuming them.
Sustainable food packaging
The prepared dishes now need to be packed and kept cool. Make sure to use reusable containers and dishes instead of aluminium and cling film. To keep things tidy, you can label the containers and dishes. This is an easy way to reduce your ecological footprint!
If you'd like to avoid plastic with reusable containers, you can use containers made from sustainable raw materials, such as wheat straw or bamboo. Got old jam jars at home? These are great for meal prep too, as long as you clean them thoroughly first. Since such jars don't leak, they are very well suited to overnight oats or yoghurt to go.
That's why you should make meal prep sustainable
Sustainable, well-planned meal prep means you don't produce unnecessary packaging waste and food waste! You don't prepare excessive amounts that go uneaten at the end of the day. You save time and energy through targeted cooking sessions and can sort your food without any problems thanks to reusable containers. The environment will thank you!
But these tips will also help you enormously, as you approach meal planning in a more organised and structured way. You save time, can pack your food neatly and sorted, and have more fun doing it. Can't find the time to plan & cook your meals? Or do you find it hard to change your diet on your own? Then give our 5:2 intermittent fasting programme a try: on two days a week you take a break with our nutrient-rich juice cleanse and can benefit from the many positive effects of fasting along the way. For the other days, you'll find tasty and healthy recipes in the booklet we include.
So: ready, prep, go!
