Meal prep doesn’t have to mean preparing identical containers of food for the entire week. For me, it’s simply about doing some of the work in advance so that when dinner time comes around, I’m not starting completely from scratch.
As a mum of seven, I’ve found that having even a few meals prepared or partly prepared can make such a difference.
In this meal prep session I made five family meals, including a vegetarian curry, as well as a batch of banana mini muffins. Some were cooked and eaten, some went into the freezer and one was prepared ready for the following day’s dinner.
Here’s everything I made.
1. Freezer Meatballs
I had 2kg of lamb mince and decided to split it between two meals. The first kilogram became a batch of meatballs.
Ingredients
- 1kg lamb mince
- 1 onion, finely chopped or processed
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp mixed herbs
- ½ cup plain flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Method
Finely chop or process the onion and add it to a large bowl with the lamb mince.
Add the tomato purée, salt, garlic and ginger paste, paprika, mixed herbs, lemon juice, egg and flour. Mix everything thoroughly.
Shape into meatballs, using a little water on your hands if the mixture begins to stick.
Place the meatballs onto foil-lined oven racks and part bake at 200°C / 180°C fan for approximately 12 minutes.
Allow them to cool completely before transferring them to a freezer bag.
I deliberately only part bake these because they’re going into the freezer. Later they can be finished in something like spaghetti and meatballs or a kofta-style curry.
2. Homemade Lamb Lasagne
The remaining kilogram of lamb mince became a lasagne for another day.
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 1kg lamb mince
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 500g passata
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- Lasagne sheets
For the white sauce:
- 50g butter
- 50g plain flour
- 500ml whole milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp coarse black pepper
- ½ cup grated cheddar
For the top:
- 1 cup grated cheddar/mozzarella mix, or similar
Method
Cook the mince in a large pan until browned and it has released its water.
Add the finely chopped onions followed by the seasoning, salt and passata. Stir well and bring to the boil before removing from the heat.
For the white sauce, melt the butter and stir in the flour to form a paste. Gradually add the milk while stirring and slowly bring it to the boil until you have a smooth sauce.
Season with salt and black pepper before stirring in the cheese.
Layer the lasagne with meat sauce, white sauce and lasagne sheets, repeating the layers and finishing generously with white sauce and grated cheese.
I covered mine and froze it ready for another day.
3. Chicken Pilau
This was one of the meals we ate fresh from the meal prep session.
Ingredients
- 1kg whole chicken, cut into pieces
- 800g basmati rice, soaked and drained
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
- ½ cup Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp biryani mix
- 1.3 litres water
Whole spices:
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 star anise
- 4 black peppercorns
- 4 cloves
Powdered spices:
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
Method
Heat the oil and gently roast the whole spices before adding the onions.
Add the tomatoes, powdered spices, salt and biryani mix.
Add the chicken pieces and cook until the outside of the chicken has changed colour. Stir in the Greek yoghurt quickly, followed by the water.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.
Add the soaked and drained basmati rice followed by the hot water. Bring everything back to the boil, turn the heat to its lowest setting and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
4. Aubergine & Potato Curry
This simple vegetable curry was particularly satisfying because the aubergine came from a plant I’d grown myself!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 aubergine, sliced
- 500g potatoes, quartered
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste
- 500ml water
Method
Heat the oil and add the cumin and coriander seeds.
Add the onions and cook until softened, followed by the garlic and ginger paste and tomatoes.
Add the powdered spices, aubergine and potatoes.
Pour in the water, mix everything together and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the curry has reached your preferred consistency.
We served this alongside the chicken pilau.
5. Easy Marinated Chicken & Veg
This is less of a complete recipe and more of a really useful bit of dinner preparation.
Ingredients
- 1kg chicken thigh pieces
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Red, yellow and green bell peppers, sliced
- 2 red onions, sliced
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
Method
Place the chicken into a freezer or food-storage bag and add the oil, Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Massage everything together through the bag until the chicken is coated.
Prepare the peppers, onions and tomatoes separately and refrigerate until needed.
We used ours the following day to make fajitas, but this would also be lovely cooked and served with rice.
Bonus: Easy Banana Mini Muffins
Finally, I had six very ripe bananas that needed using, and meal prep is the perfect opportunity to deal with those forgotten ingredients before they end up in the bin.
I also couldn’t be bothered getting the mixer out, so everything went into the blender!
Ingredients
- 6 ripe bananas
- 300g self-raising flour
- 3 eggs
- 150g butter
- 100g caster sugar
- A little milk if needed
Method
Blend the bananas, flour, eggs, butter and sugar together until combined. If the mixture seems too thick, add a small amount of milk.
Divide between mini muffin cases and bake at 180°C / 160°C fan for approximately 12–15 minutes.
They’re lovely warm and make an easy breakfast, snack or little afternoon treat.
A Little Meal Prep Makes a Big Difference
What I like about this kind of meal prep is the variety.
I’m not preparing five identical dinners. Instead, I’ve done some of the work for several completely different meals: meatballs ready in the freezer, a whole lasagne prepared ahead, fresh chicken pilau and vegetable curry, and marinated chicken ready for a quick meal the following day.
And we got a batch of banana muffins out of it too!
You don’t necessarily need to spend an entire day meal prepping either. Even doubling a recipe, chopping tomorrow’s vegetables while you’re cooking tonight, marinating some meat or making one extra freezer meal can save time later in the week.
For me, that’s really what family meal prep is about: doing a little more when you have the time so you can do a little less when you don’t.
