If you look down at what’s happening in your grocery cart, are the same items appearing in there week after week?
Do you have the same 5 or 6 meals on repeat, thinking it’s probably time to switch it up but instead, you fall back, time again, into your chicken & potato comfort zone?
(Or into the takeout lineup😉)
I hear you!
Listen up, You: the time has come to can the boring-old-same-same and sub in some new and exciting menu items.
Expand your repertoire, excite your taste buds, and whip your health into shape too!
It happens to us all.
We lose steam, get stuck in a rut, or we find ourselves far too busy with all of life’s other challenges to pull off nightly miracles in the kitchen.
I get it.
And I’m here for you 😊
Here are some of my favourite “get-that-food-inspiration-going” tips to light that flame under your cute & tired creative Chef buns!
Cooking Inspiration Rescues
ORGANIZATIONAL TOOLS THAT ALL THE PROS USE 😉
BATCH COOKING: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve supported my clients and class participants towards a steady rhythm of regular Batch Cooks. This style of cooking is an absolute LIFESAVER when it comes to busy Moms/Dads/People and hungry kiddos/teens/humans of all kinds! Some ideas that I will often suggest to get on the Batch Train:
Start Small: Try to simply pull off 2 One-Pot Meals on the weekend that will each supply 2 meals (4 meals total). This might look like a Batch of Chile and a Batch of your favourite Soup/Stew. Then once you’ve nailed those, up your ante to 2 main meals + a batch of muffins/cookies, and so on.
Go with Variety: To keep things interesting and to also support good food diversity in the diet, do what you can to keep rotating meals and incorporating new recipes. I heard there are some great recipes HERE!
Always Include a Salad Dressing: I have found that if there is a delicious salad dressing hanging about, the tendency to eat more salad increases greatly!! Also, most salad dressings can work as a veggie dip as well ☺️
An Ideal Batch Session: What I consider an “ideal” Batch Session (usually a Sunday) goes something like this:
2 Mains (Soup, Stew, Curry, Casserole, Pasta Sauce, etc.)
+ 1 Healthy Goodie (Energy Balls/Cookies, Healthy Muffins, Homemade Granola Bars, etc.)
+ 1 Amazing Salad Dressing
+ 1 Lunch Salad (Pasta Salad, Rice Salad, Quinoa Salad, Roasted Veggie Salad, etc.)Try my Batch Cooking Classes: If you need further inspiration or simply want some company & direction around Batch Cooking, join one of my seasonal Batch Classes where we make an incredible amount of meals and snacks for your fridge and freezer that will last you weeks to come!
A STOCKED PANTRY/FREEZER: If you don’t have meal making ingredients hanging around, you will have a lot of difficulty pulling off regular meals and may find yourself reaching for grab’n go or restaurant meal more often. I always recommend having a stocked & organized pantry/freezer so that you can easily pull off 5 or 6 different meals without having to make an extra run to the store.
Some Pantry Staples Ideas: lentils, beans, pasta, pasta sauce, canned tomatoes, rice, quinoa, oats, coconut milk
Some Freezer Staples Ideas: pesto, salmon/tuna/chicken, frozen soups/stews/curries/chile, veggie burgers, tofu, pasta sauce
CSA BOXES: Available now year round in many areas, CSA boxes are a beautiful way to support your local farms AND inspire you towards creativity in the kitchen. Whether you know what’s coming each week or not, a CSA box is a beautiful way to include fresh, local ingredients in your weekly meals.
A WEEKLY ROTATION: Here’s a great way to keep your weekly meal variety alive while also supporting you in keeping a good weekly meal rhythm. A weekly rotation looks like finding 5 themes to utilize for each night of the week, ie. Monday - Mexi Night, Tuesday - Soup + Salad, Wednesday - Curry Night, Thursday - Fish/Chicken Night, Friday - Dad’s Choice, etc. Learn more about this weekly rotation & lunch inspiration HERE.
2. REVAMP Your Weekly Same-Same
Try Vegan: The majority of the absorbable powerhouse nutrients are living amongst the vegan menu. Introducing more vegan menu items into your everyday routine has no down side. Vegan eating generally consists of a high quantity of fresh vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains, with yet another advantage of leaving the body feeling satiated, not weighed down or sluggish. Find More Vegan Inspiration HERE.
Use Squash: You have forgotten about squash, haven’t you? Well it’s time to bring back these babies with new flare. Squashes are nutrient superheroes: high in Vitamins A & C, beta-carotene, potassium, fibre, magnesium & iron. Squash can replenish your energy stores easily, providing loads of low-glycemic carbohydrates without the heavy burden of extra calories. Try my latest squash recipe!
Make Soup: Soup nights are my favourite! Nourishing & calming to the digestive system, soups are an ideal way to get loads of vegetables into your family without too much fuss. Another upside: generally, a pot of soup will provide 2-3 meals and leftovers usually taste better! Find Soup Inspiration HERE!
Use New Vegetables: Try planning a meal around a new vegetable that you haven’t used in a while (cauliflower, yams, squash, eggplant, etc.). Find something in season, like beets for instance, and create your meal around it: vegan borscht, roasted beet salad, or chilled beet soup (ever tried chocolate beet cake? no, no not for dinner!).
Eat The Rainbow: Eating all colours of the rainbow regularly ensures you are getting the entire variety of nutrients within the colour spectrum. For instance, reds provide potent phytochemicals to protect against cancer and reduce risk of diabetes, oranges & yellows provide your carotenoids which protect your skin, improve immune function and support eye health, greens are potent antioxidants and aid in detoxification, and blues & purples protect longevity and boost memory with their high concentrations of resveratrol.
3. Weeknight Meals You’ll Love
ALL NEW Sesame Ginger Salmon Bowls: An easy to pull off bowl of yum that you can modify and substitute as your heart desires or your fridge allows!
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup: Vegan, delicious, and filling enough to serve at dinnertime, this soup is a hit every time.
YUM Green Curry Soup with Sesame Tofu: This soup is crazy satisfying, full flavoured, and enhanced with the protein punch of seasoned tofu!
Easy Mushroom Bean Burgers: While these may not sound crazy delicious, they ARE! Got a few mushrooms and a can of beans handy?
Nourishing Pumpkin Curry: If you were enticed by my mention of squash above, this curry is sure to support your squash loving inspiration!
Butternut Squash Black Bean Enchiladas: When was the last time you had Mexican night at your house? These are crazy good and fairly simple too.
Buddha Bowl: A mix of beautifully coloured veggies, some cooked beans or squash, a grain, some leafy greens, and a tantalizing sauce, and you have yourself a Buddha Bowl!
Coconut Cauliflower Curry with Ramen: A big bowl of warming curry is soothing to the senses and warming right down to the soul. Veggie based curries are a lovely way to incorporate all the goodness of the curry spices, loads of veggie nutrient-density, and are easier to digest without the meat.