7 Healthy Food Ideas for the Week Ahead

What to cook for the week ahead, or for the day ahead even. It can be tricky to juggle all our daily tasks and responsibilities in a limited amount of time – as well as finding time to exercise, to look after family, see friends and all the rest of it. So when do we do the food shopping? Well, like any task we want to be successful at, planning is key. According to The Body Coach, Joe Wicks, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Prepping your meals is absolutely essential for burning fat and reaching your health and fitness goals”.

So why not spend a few hours this weekend preparing a batch of healthy food for the week ahead, so you’ve got the basics covered in advance – whether you’re cooking for your family, or for yourself, it’s always good to be prepared.

We’ve put together a plan for healthy food prep and summed it up in 3 steps for you to follow. We’ve also dropped in 7 recipes favoured by well-known foodies in the region:

Ready

• First you have to fill your kitchen with key ingredients that you can mix and match with different recipes. Remember we want to cover every food group, so make sure that you have a good range of food types, including vegetables, carbs, proteins and healthy fats.
• Buy all your basic salad ingredients, cut and distribute in into your Tupperware pots so you have it all at the ready.
• Pre-cook the meat and divide into small portions. You’ll need a lot of Tupperware to keep your prepping operation nice and organised.
• Prepare the sauces – keep them simple, so you have your bases for easy meals like pizza, spaghetti and pesto sauces. Store them in glass jars so you have a nice selection when you open the fridge and have everything on hand for speedy meal prep.

Set

• Now that your fridge is all stocked with ingredients, you’ve got what you need for the week ahead.
• Try to eat red meat only once or twice a week and focus more on poultry, grains and fish in particular as this will provide a good dose of Omega 3.
• Make cooking fun and get the family involved! You can prep a healthy food menu for the week ahead according to what you have in the fridge.

Cook

You’re back from work and you’ve got 30 minutes on the clock to get dinner on the table and lunch prepared for the next day. Well, luckily for you, you’ve got everything prepped, so all you have to do is turn the oven on and add a dash of salt and pepper over your prepared meal and you’re all set.

Check out these 7 meal ideas from a range of top healthy food bloggers in the region and feel free to mix it up according to your taste – and what you’ve got handy in the fridge of course.

1- Meat Thareed

Since Noor Al-Qahtani moved to Saudi, she has enjoyed the experience of trying new types of food, leading her to found her Ya Salam Cooking blog that celebrates the delicious cuisines of the Gulf region. Thareed consists mainly of lamb, bread, potato, carrots, onions and green beans with tomato paste and spices.

2- One pot roast chicken and vegetables

With her passion for cooking and entertaining, Zahra Abdalla proves in her cookingwithzahra series that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be quick and simple, without having to compromise on taste and nutritional value. Simply surround the chicken with vegetables and sauce and pop it straight in the oven. Easy!

3- Hearty protein pasta soup

Joe Wicks combines salad, protein and carbs in this super bowl. It’s a simple meal packed with all your nutritional essentials, making it light on the stomach and packed with plenty of health benefits.

4- Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Salad

Elena discovered her love for cooking when she moved to Bahrain. In her apple pie blog she shares recipes for easy-to-cook, delicious meals. Her taco recipe is all about colours and spices, so don’t worry too much about the specifics, just create a spice mix with your favourite flavours and make a delicious spicy marinade for those shrimps. Delicious!

5- Paneer chili garlic kebab

Umme Kulsum, an Indian expat who was born and raised in Kuwait, describes her Journey Kitchen as “The marriage of modern and traditional Indian cuisine”. In this chicken kebab recipe you’ll see an interesting combination of Indian-Chinese food in this sweet, salty, garlicky paste, infused with oil and soy flavours. Served with your already prepared salad!

6- Pumpkin, spinach and feta fritatta

Chloe Moir Nutrition is an online community all about inspiring, educating and motivating you to take control of your health and fitness. Chloe’s ‘waste not, want not’ attitude is all about using those leftover ingredients to make a nutritious meal filled with vitamins and proteins.

7- Take a break, it’s the weekend!

Don’t cook on Friday! Switch to weekend mode and enjoy whatever you want to eat in a cosy restaurant or have a picnic in the park. You deserve a bit of a break before you start again with next week’s menu.

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