Candied Peanuts (#litres_trial_promo)
Caramel Sauce (#litres_trial_promo)
Chocolate Buttercream (#litres_trial_promo)
Notella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (#litres_trial_promo)
Chocolate Syrup (#litres_trial_promo)
Classic Custard (#litres_trial_promo)
Quick Icing (#litres_trial_promo)
Raspberry Sauce (#litres_trial_promo)
Raspberry Syrup (#litres_trial_promo)
Soft Whipped Cream (#litres_trial_promo)
Vanilla Buttercream (#litres_trial_promo)
Plan your meals (#ulink_ba6f1b61-dc15-5edc-a8e8-6d5a534bf426)
Meal prepping is becoming increasingly common. It involves planning and cooking a few meals in advance, which saves you loads of time during the week. Some people like to cook enough food for the entire week, but we prefer to keep things as fresh as possible, so we prepare just a couple of days’ worth in advance.
We love meal planning and prepping for a number of reasons:
• It gets rid of the annoying ‘what’s for dinner?’ question, reducing the risk of you making unhealthy choices because you’re hungry on the way home.
• It helps keep food costs down and reduces waste because all your food is accounted for – and it stops you buying expensive convenience food and ready meals!
• You can take full control of your mealtimes and ensure you’re eating healthy, nutritious food.
In this book there are lots of great recipes that can be prepped entirely ahead, such as the salads, curries and pasta dishes, plus plenty more where you can prepare sauces and sides in advance, leaving you only the main meal to make on the day.
Enjoy the freedom from wondering what you are going to eat, make better choices, feel awesome and eat low-cost, high-flavour and nutritious food.
BISH, BASH, BOSH!
Here’s how to meal prep for a week, in three easy steps:
1 Plan your week
Think about your week ahead and decide which meals you’d like to make. Make a note of the recipes you’ve chosen and the days and times you plan to eat them.
Next, carefully read the recipes you want to cook and identify the areas you can prep for. Some recipes can be part-cooked – for example our pasta sauce here (#litres_trial_promo) – and you can also make dips, roast veggies, cook grains and make some dishes all the way to the end so that they can just be reheated on the day.
Plan your prep. We prefer to cook just a couple of days’ worth of food in advance, but you might like to prep for more days, or even a whole week. Make a note on your meal planner of what you need to prep for each dish – and don’t forget to work out how many people you’re cooking for each day and adjust the quantities in your recipes accordingly. Then make a shopping list of all your ingredients.
Decide which days you’ll be cooking on. We find it easier to get our ingredients online so that we can get everything delivered on the day we prep our meals.
2 Think about how to store your food
Get some airtight containers with tight-fitting lids to store your food in (we prefer glass over plastic) and make sure you have a bag that will fit the containers if you’re taking them to work. It’s also a good idea to clear some space in your fridge.
3 Cook your food
Now you’re ready to actually prep your food! Afterwards, store it in airtight containers in the fridge (make sure to let hot items cool to room temperature before you chill them). Don’t forget to label them if you think you might forget what’s in each one.
On the day, finish off the dish or reheat it – and don’t forget to take your lunch with you to work!
Check out here (#litres_trial_promo) for a two-day meal plan of delicious recipes.
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ONE-TRAY PASANDA (#ulink_eac96df0-e65e-5aa9-b004-b42143b1b0c6)
With this wonderful, Anna Jones-inspired recipe you can have a gorgeous, creamy curry on the table in minutes. Or serve it alongside some of our other curries, such as the jalfrezi (see here (#litres_trial_promo)) or our tikka masala (see here (#litres_trial_promo)). If you are cooking a few, get this one in the oven first then lower the heat as you finish off the others. Remove from the oven and stir through the yoghurt.
SERVES 4
1 head cauliflower (about 500g)
500g carrots
2 tbsp vegetable oil
a big pinch of salt
a big pinch of black pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 x 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk
50g ground almonds
2cm piece fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp chilli powder, optional