After having Madi I found it hard to find time to make myself nutritious snacks. The easiest things to grab are the pre-packaged processed snacks. I was never into meal prepping before I had Madi; I liked cooking fresh meals and snacks when I got got home from work or at the start of my day. After having her I realized that the 15-45 minutes of peaceful cooking was now 5-15 minutes of running between Madi and the kitchen. Dinner time was easy, as my husband would be home and could get some quality time with Madi while I was cooking in the kitchen. It was the breakfast, lunch, and snacks that were the challenge.
For breakfast, I discovered again how much I love eggs. They are so delicious soft boiled with a little salt and pepper accompanied by yogurt.
For snacks I discovered what takes the most time is the chopping! At nighttime when Madi is sleeping, I take 30 minutes and cut all of the fruits and vegetables that I think I will be eating over the next 3 days. I do this while watching Netflix, and for me this is unbelievably relaxing.
My favourite fruit is watermelon and I realized that I never ate much of it after Madi was born because I never wanted to cut it up. It just took more effort than it was worth. Now I cut up a bag of carrots, a stalk of celery, peppers, a melon (watermelon, honeydew, etc.) and a few sweet potatoes. With everything pre-cut, tomorrow I can have any snack ready with a prep time under 5 minutes.
- Sweet potato fries
- Vegetables with hummus
- Freshly cut melon
- Roasted vegetable salad
For lunch, I kept it very basic. Since I was a little kid, I have always loved chicken thighs; they are so tender and in my opinion taste good in pretty much any marinade. I would make batches for 3 days and would use random sauces that I found in my fridge:
- Kimchee
- Pesto
- Hoisin sauce and soya sauce
I would cook the chicken either by pan frying with minimal olive oil or bake them on parchment paper.
To accompany the chicken, I would make a small salad with some type of greens (arugula, spring greens), cucumber, tomato, and diced avocado. For the dressing, I keep it minimal with just a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
These are my tried-and-true fast and healthy meals. I love trying new things in the kitchen, so feel free to send me YOUR recipes!