Staple prepping is batch prepping larger amounts of food to have ready to go and easy to grab throughout the week. For me, in order to get all my veggies in and get enough protein, I typically staple prep 1-2 veggies, and 1-2 proteins for the week. For example, almost every week, I will oven roast a mix of vegetables. I find that a lot of veggies go very well together and roast well together, so the mix of my roasted veggies varies from week to week, but often looks something like this. This week I added potatoes to count as a whole grain as well. In this mix I have one head of cauliflower, four red potatoes, four large carrots, one large onion, and one pound of Brussel sprouts.
After washing the vegetables, I chop the veggies so that they are all similar in size, leaving my veggies that brown quickly (I’m talking to you, potato family) till last.
As I chop, I place the veggies in a large bowl. I then add some olive oil, seasonings, and grated parmesan and mix it all up.
I place the veggies in a single layer on a tinfoil covered baking sheet and roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 min. This amount of vegetables required two baking sheets, and I baked both at the same time.
Twenty minutes later, they are delicious, and ready to be eaten throughout the week. We had the vegetables once as a family for dinner, and the remainder I’ve packed for my lunches all week long.
Protein is another staple that I will prep to use throughout the week. Browning some hamburger or ground turkey, and cooking some chicken, allows me to have a protein option ready to be added quickly to a meal when I get home from work.
There are lots of ways to staple prep to be able to make good choices through the week. Other ideas include:
- Cutting vegetables and having them ready to snack on or use in other recipes.
- Batch cooking rice, quinoa, wheat/legume pasta or other grains.
- Cutting up a rotisserie chicken.
- Cooking lentils or beans.
- Boiling eggs.
- Cutting up fruit, or portioning it into serving sizes for quick grab and go.
How can I learn more?
I am by no means the expert in staple prepping, but have had really positive results with it. If you want to learn more, or find more recipes check out any of these four blogs for some amazing knowledge, and delicious food!
https://www.asweetpeachef.com/healthy-chicken-fajitas-meal-prep
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