Meal Planning & Food Prep Tips

Chance Favors the Prepared Mind!

To set yourself up for diet success you must start preparing foods. So on those days when you feel too worn out to cook or you simply haven’t got the time and would otherwise grab an “unhealthy” snack on the go you already have something prepared.

Technically this is content exclusive to the people on the “How to Start the Candida Right” course. But I want you to go into the Candida diet as prepared as can be this time round…. so I hope you’ll find this sneak peak into the course with my very own meal planning strategies useful ?

Tip: when you next cook — make double the amounts for freezing. This will make your life so much easier in the long run.

You’ll be really grateful when you can quickly defrost lots of small portions of stews, roast chicken, fish, mild vegetable stir-frys and bean dishes before you start with the candida diet.

You’ll have enough else on your plates than having to cook full on meals.

Aim for preparing and freezing 1-2 meals per week. That should set you up with a nice selection of back up food to eat when the actual Candida Diet starts.

Here’s Some Meal Planning & Food Preparation Inspiration from my Kitchen:

Click on the image to view it in big ?

I hope this will give you some ideas what meals you can prepare huge amounts of so you can freeze some of it for when you don’t feel like cooking: Lentil Soups, Veggie Stews, Chicken Curries & Stir Fries, Steamed Greens, Fish dishes and even pancakes! Just whip the meal out of the freezer in the morning and it will be defrosted by lunch-time, ready to be cooked. Pancakes can go straight into the toaster, et voila – ready is your healthy snack (use wholegrain spelt flour instead of wheat flour, 1 egg and rice milk, because it adds natural sweetness, yum!)

It’s always a good idea to cook triple the amount of wholegrain rice – keeps for a few days in the fridge or you can even freeze it (fine to eat re-heated if cooked through properly; and remember we’re still preparing for the Candida diet, we don’t have to go anti-carbs crazy.)

If you find it hard to sit down for breakfast in the morning, prepare ingredients for a smoothie – almond milk, rice milk or steamed spinach for instance can be frozen as ice cubes, so you can just chuck a couple into your smoothie to save on chopping time... While you are still eating fruit (and after the Candida diet) it’s also really handy to freeze slices of fruit like mango, banana or better still apples and pears as they contain less sugar. Then you don’t have to use up the whole fruit in your smoothie, just a few frozen pieces add a lovely creamy texture and subtle sweetness — infinitely healthier than a ready made sugary smoothie or fruit juice

Cooked and blanched kale also makes a fab freezer friendly food – add it to smoothies, soups or stir-fries for an extra green vitamin kick and fiber (really essential to address mineral deficiencies and curb any cravings!)

Greens, greens, greens – steam them & have them accessible to snack on. I know it sounds repulsive at first, but it will make you feel awesome. It’s worth it. Try it, just this week – go on!

It’s always handy to have a Quiche for when you don’t have the time to cook, being it just to grab a slice in the morning before you rush to work, as packed lunch or as part of your dinner. Also useful as picnic food to take with you to friends or on a journey, if you’re unsure if you’ll be able to eat anything (candida diet friendly) there .

You can even freeze herbs to add to salads, smoothies or cooked food…. and if you have a slow cooker/ crockpot, I’d encourage you to set that going to tenderize meat overnight, and to prepare nourishing broths every week.

Lastly, you can set a lot of foods going in the oven on a low temperature, so you just set your egg timer, forget about the meal and get on with your life, while the food cooks itself — bread, fish parcels, oven potatoes, root veggies, oven omelets, casserole dishes or chicken tray bakes work beautifully that way.

All I’m saying is, even with limited time for food preparation every week with a bit of planning you can have amazingly healthy and delicious meals with the minimum of fuss. There’s no need to do ALL the things I suggested here. Do what suits your lifestyle. I just want to inspire you, that’s all!

You can do this!!! Soon you’ll have more energy than you’ve had in a looong time

Have a think which of the ingredients you already have at home that you could already prepare and freeze for a rainy day and make one dish straight away.

Alternatively make a groceries list with the items that you would like to add to your arsenal.

Number one ingredient that should definitely go on your list is a big organic chicken.

Yes, big (even if it’s just you or the two of you! You want leftovers, plenty of leftovers!)

Yes, organic! Non organic meat contains growth hormones and antibiotics that impact your gut’s microbiome – the very area that we aim to rejuvenate and heal. So do yourself a favor and save money elsewhere. By not buying condiments for instance, no salad dressing, sauces, ketchup, mayo…. crackers… There you go, you already saved the difference ?

Bake your own bread (and freeze it in slices for a quick snack spread with coconut oil or butter)

Why not try my Sesame Soda Bread? It’s yeast free and much easier to digest than what you can buy in bakeries and shops, oh and it’s delicious!

Here’s the homemade bread recipe from my blog.