So, meal planning is one of the things that is one of my own personal non-negotiables and has been a huge factor in my own weight loss and subsequent maintenance journey for over ten years and it’s something that I know helps all of my clients with their own successes too. However, there are times in life when a lot more flexibility is needed and whether that’s you are simply really busy and time to cook and prepare food is really limited or routine is completely out of the window and you’re not sure whether you’re coming or going – we all face these challenges at some points in our life.
It would be really easy to slip into old habits and allow your focus on your healthy eating and weight loss to slip during these times – your time may be limited, your focus may be elsewhere or you may just be simply knackered and can’t be bothered cooking your normal meals from scratch – all of which could lead to weight gains and fuel a drop in your motivation.
It’s important that you learn how to cope through these times without falling spectacularly off your weight loss plan waggon – and for me, the ‘FRIDGE BUFFET’ is one of the ways in which I get through these times without losing sight of my long term goals but recognising my time for planning / cooking / preparation is very different than normal.
So, what's a fridge buffet?
In essence, a fridge buffet is lots of prepared individual ingredients or dishes that you can literally stick on the table for everyone to concoct their own meal from. The only real preparation may be heating a few things up in the microwave or throwing some pre-prepared salad in a bowl but basically, it takes a matter of minutes to dish up and requires no thinking time whatsoever. Leftovers are going to come into their own here as well and you are going to need a good stash of tupperware!
Pulling stuff out of your fridge and a quick reheat in the microwave is a lot quicker, healthier and cheaper than reaching for your phone and a food delivery app!
We’ve been relying on ‘fridge buffets’ for most lunches and quite a few dinners over the past couple of weeks – life has just been really busy and we’ve got family staying with us which is absolutely lovely but also means that our normal routine has gone out of the window completely and plans can change very last minute so I’ve had to really adjust my normal food shopping, preparation and cooking schedules and there’s a lot more ‘go with the flow’ situations than normal so I’ve had to work our normal healthy eating into a different format.
How to create a fridge buffet 'stash'?
1) leftovers are absolutely key to any fridge buffet. When I do have the time to cook an evening meal, I’m doubling up or even trebling up and boxing up all leftovers to keep in the fridge. This can be simply jacket potatoes, extra portions of meat / fish / veggie sausages, pasta, rice, cous cous – anything that can be dished out the next day to build a lunch or a dinner from.
2) Prepping extra of everything! Salad is a prime example of this – I’m making it simple by using prepacked bags where possible but when I have the chance to chop up other ingredients such as peppers, onions, cucumber, radish etc, I’m chopping enough to last several days worth of salad and every meal will always have a big bowl of salad on the table to ensure that everyone’s getting enough veggies and salad items each day (they’re essential to both weight loss and health).
Boiled eggs are another one that I will bulk prep when I have a spare 15 mins – they last a good few days in the fridge so serving some of those at each buffet means there’s a vital protein source at each meal.
3) Homemade soups – another great way to get your veggies and if you are the owner of a soup maker, it’s a very quick and easy thing to prepare and keep in the fridge to make sure you’re getting your quota of the good stuff each day.
4) Prepared stuff / packaged items – instead of making my own, I’ve been buying things like reduced fat hummus, packets of grains, pouches of rice from the supermarket. I normally would make these myself but having them in the fridge or cupboard means that it’s a lot easier and quicker to heat in the microwave if needed or just serve straight from the fridge for those who want them.
5) Make use of the time you do have – for example, I cooked a big pease pudding quiche at the start of the week when I had a spare hour to have for lunches throughout the week (here’s a how to video I posted on instagram).
Some of this week's fridge buffets
Pre-packed veggie kebab meat quickly pan fried, served with leftover potatoes, boiled eggs and salad
Veggie soup with a leftover portion of mushroom risotto from the previous night’s dinner
Pastry-less quiche, pre-packed grains, salad and shop bought hummus
Veggie soup, salad and a mackerel fillet cooked the night before
Pastry-less quiche, pre-packed grains, salad, leftover salmon, potatoes and roast broccoli from a previous night’s dinner
I won’t lie, I’ve eaten some really odd combinations of food over the past couple of weeks and certainly not things I’d have put on my meal plan in advance but everything is healthy, I’m keeping us all fed and full up and my fridge is full of more tupperware boxes than anything else right now and I’m not losing sight of my bigger goals in terms of my weight and health.
When life settles down and a bit more structure is reestablished, our meals will return to normal but for right now, this system is working perfectly.
As a weight loss coach, I love helping people discover the best ways to reach their individual goals – from working on their mindsets and habits to help with nutrition and healthy eating advice and recipes. If you would like to find out more about my programmes or how I can help you, please do get in touch.
Email me or phone/message: 07834 442607
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These are great ideas and I love you little plates ! The good looks colourful and nutritious. Thanks
They are real lifesavers and take away a lot of the stress of thinking ‘what’s for lunch / dinner’ when your head is full of other stuff you have going on!