The staple foods Jess likes to stock up on…
You don’t need to look at many of my blog or social media posts to know that I’m a big advocate for meal planning.
Here’s why:
- It allows you to enjoy fresh and healthy meals throughout the week.
- There’s minimal food waste because everything you’ve bought for that week is part of a recipe.
- It saves you money because you’re organised – no last-minute pizza orders due to an empty fridge.
Meal planning is something that we do in our house, too – I practise what I preach!
But while 95% of the time I’m fairly organised for the week ahead, I’m certainly not perfect.
Sometimes an unexpected catch up with a friend means we have dinner out that night instead. Sometimes I get really busy and the food shop is delayed to the next day. Sometimes my husband and I actually plan a takeaway meal into our week so we don’t have to cook that night! (We do generally limit it to one takeaway meal per week, though)
In other words: life happens – and that’s OK!
However, I do know for myself and a lot of my clients that being somewhat prepared for the week ahead really does help me have balanced meals which incorporate plenty of vegetables and nutritious snacks
So how does a dietitian plan meals?
Here’s how I plan my week ahead:
I make a list through the week on my phone of ingredients that I need to buy for my next food shop.
These ingredients are either for recipes that I want to try, or for meals which are favourites in our house.
At the very least, I aim to always have some lean protein, wholegrain carbohydrate and fresh vegetables in the fridge (plus frozen ones in the freezer).
This means that no matter what, I can put together a nutritious meal without too much effort.
(Note: I really enjoy cooking, but even if you don’t it’s still easy to combine ingredients to make a healthy meal. Eggs, toast, mushrooms and wilted spinach is simple to make but can be nice and healthy)
Staple protein sources you’ll find in my kitchen:
- Eggs
- Meat/ chicken
- Frozen fish in the freezer / tinned tuna
- Variety of nuts and seeds
Some great ideas for carbohydrates:
- Quinoa
- Wholemeal pasta
- Brown and white rice
- Wholegrain/sourdough bread/wraps
- Rolled oats
Some great ideas for vegetables:
- Frozen vegetables in the freezer
- Cherry tomatoes (OK, this is a fruit!)
- Pumpkin
- Zucchini
- Broccoli
- Green beans
- Capsicum
- Spinach leaves
- Avocado
When my kitchen’s topped up with these staples I can easily make something like a egg and avocado on toast for brekkie, a toasted tuna salad wrap for lunch and a simple stir fry or roast with vegetables for dinner.
As I mentioned, I love cooking and trying new recipes, but when we’re organised and have food like the above in stock up we can always be sure of a healthy meal.
I hope this helps you!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Jess might be a dietitian but she – like Babette and Natalie – likes to have everything in moderation! Along with these staples you’ll often find salt and vinegar chips and Lindt dark chocolate in her cupboard for a start… 😉
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