Whole Food Prep Under $40

One of the hardest things for me to get real about when it came to taking my health into my own hands was food prep. I did not want to spend the precious hours of my weekend that were not spent on schooling, and household chores preparing and cooking food. Especially as I am trying to build in time for more fun – Yes, you heard that right, I prioritize FUN and you should too! But, back to fuuuuuugging food prep.

As I learn more about holistic healing and health, one thing is clear, food is medicine, and whole, organic foods are KING.

I’ve been kicking and screaming for 15+ years as my body rejects gluten, dairy, and 20+ other foods (You can read more about my ridiculous health history here.) The ease of processed foods were my saving grace in my busy life and especially during the last 14 months or so of this Pandemic when I was trying to only go to the store once a week and stock up on nonperishables. But my body finally said- No bitch!

So I am here to share with you two of my go-to food preps for snack and lunch/dinner “sides”. These are quick vegan meal prep options, that you can make ahead and have ready for the whole week. You can pull these out and easily pair with fish or other meats as well as whole grains or any other food of choice. Hopefully its a whole food though 😉

Combined, these cost me less than $40 and I spent about an hour prepping this food. I prepped half of the food at my lunch time, and the other half while I was also cooking dinner. I love me some efficiencies.

What to buy:

• 1 bunch Celery
• 2 Cucumber
• 1 lbs of Sugar Snap Peas
• 2 bunches of Radish
• 1/2 lb Rainbow Carrots
• 1 head of Cauliflower
• 3 Broccoli Crowns
• 4 Ears of Corn

Perfection is the enemy of progress so if getting bagged food, or non-organic food is all that you are able to get, GET IT! Whole food is better than non-whole food 🙂

If you have the opportunity to purchase organic, Awesome. Local organic? even better! And if at all possible try and shop at member owned co-ops, farmers markets or farm stands. Eating local organic food is the best possible option but that is not always accessible or affordable for everyone. There are a lot of options depending on your situation and where you live, so if you have questions let me know and I can share more information.

Another KEY element to quick and easy food prep is containers! Tupperware, Mason Jars, Plastic bags, whatever you have access to. Ideally- reusable non plastics but again, don’t let some idea of perfection get in your way of progress.

For my lunch time snack food prep, I take the celery, cucumber, radish, carrots and peas and divide them up between 5-7 containers. This little prep sheesh takes about 10mins – Woohoo!

For my lunch/dinner “side” prep I pre-heat my oven to 425 ( oven temp and cooking time may vary) and get two pots of water on the stove to a boil.

I chop the broccoli crowns from the stems and set aside, then I cut the cauliflower in large slices. I line a baking sheet with foil and spray with avocado oil spray, then I lay the cauliflower on the baking sheet, spray with more avocado oil and season with a salt blend and black pepper. Once the oven is pre-heated put the cauliflower in the oven for 15-25 minutes. Husk the corn and add salt and a pinch of sugar to the pot of water. Once the pots of water are boiling, add the corn to the salted/sugar water, and add the broccoli crowns to the other pot of water. We are going to blanch the broccoli – to blanch, I like to boil for 5-10 minutes and then drain and put into cold water for 5-10 minuets. Then at 15-20 the corn should be ready, I strain and then add back to the pot with a little vegan butter, salt, black pepper and dill. When you cauliflower is done, pull from the oven.

Now you have some veggies to use for dinner, and can use more Tupperware (or container of choice) to divide up and store your cooked veggies. This dinner/veggie prep took about 45 minutes.

Food prep can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to take up a whole day. Starting small is the best way that I have found to get me going in the right direction. These are just partial meals, but you can split out your food prep across multiple days, or start by prepping sides and snacks like this blog. Small changes overtime add up.

Do you have a favorite food prep strategy?

What challenges do you have when it comes to food prep?

Let me know in the comments.

If you are interested in a complimentary health history session check this link out for more info 🤗