The Ultimate Vegan Meal Prep Guide

Meal preparation is important no matter what your diet, however, for vegans it is extra important, as you need to ensure you are getting all the nutrition you need from plant-based foods. Sure you could get a meal delivery service, however, this still does not guarantee peak nutrition.

Really, it is better to do it all yourself, however, if you do this, you need to prepare your meals with careful forethought.

Most people love meal prep as a concept, however, the concept can be totally overwhelming.  

Today, we will go over everything you need to know about meal prep as a vegan.

 

The Basics 

Meal prep is just the making of some, most, or all of the food you plan on eating for the week ahead, in advance. The advantage of this is that you free up a lot of time. Most of us are tired and exhausted during the week and the last thing we want to do is cook after a stressful day.

We are more likely to mess up recipes, be less considerate about nutrition, and the food may even taste bland or wrong. When you are rushed or stressed you do not enjoy cooking, and when you do not enjoy it, you end up with a half-effort meal that may not be nutritious or tasty. 

By prepping your meals in advance you also allow for variety and diversity. Variety in your meals means you also get a more diverse intake of nutrition, which is very important.

As another benefit, when you have a plan for your meal prep for the coming week, you also spend less money as you are intentionally shopping, so you do not end up with any impulse purchases.

 

Planning Ahead

As you plan ahead, you should consider how much you will need for the week ahead. You should think about your meals per day, and then how many days you will be preparing for.

You should also consider the nutritional needs of each day. If your breakfasts and lunches are lower in protein, you know your dinner will need to make up for that.  

You can also make use of simplicity, just 2 recipes, with each making 4 servings can give you 5 whole days of dinners and lunches.

Of course, you also need to choose the recipes you will use, sometimes you can just make whatever you have a craving for, other times you could work around produce that is in season and therefore cheaper, or you could use cookbooks.  

If you have other health considerations to make, this will also influence your choices.

Part of meal prep is also preparing for unexpected times, you should choose food items to keep in the fridge and pantry for the week just in case. Things such as fresh fruit, vegetables, sandwich ingredients, snack foods, frozen goods, etc.

Once you know what you want to have in the house and what you need for prep, make a grocery list, and then pop to the store.

Cooking for a whole week will take up a lot of your time, however, it is more efficient when you have a plan, and it will save you time later on in the week.

Of course, after this, you will need to store it all.

 

Reheating & Storage 

Meal prepared portions of most food types will need to be stored in airtight containers and can be refrigerated for 4–5 days, however, you should be mindful of taste and smell with any food stored for a longer period of time. Some things may only be good for 3 days in the fridge.

If you are unsure, it is better to freeze.

Reheating is the next part, you want your food to reach a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit all the way through. It is best to get a probe thermometer for this.

 

Freezing & Defrosting Food

Most food can be frozen, and if you are making a meal for the last day of the week, it will likely need to be frozen. Most food can be frozen for 6 to 8 weights, however.

The best way to defrost is in the fridge, or at room temperature. However, some food can be microwaved from frozen, but this is if your microwave has a defrost setting.

 

Overall 

Meal prep for vegans is much like any other meal prep. However, you do not need to worry about the issues that come with the long-term storage of meat and dairy. But, you should still be careful and cautious as there are plenty of problematic foods out there.

Nonetheless, meal prep is sure to save you time and money!

 

 

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