We all know that processed foods are not good for our health and that whole foods are the way to go. The issue most of us face is a lack of time and resources to create meals using whole foods and cooking up meals from scratch.

Here I want to bring you some very practical tips on how you can incorporate more whole foods through batch cooking and simple meal planning.

Why is 5 portions of fruit. and vegetables just the start?

For a long time 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day have been subscribed to support good health. This has recently been updated where many experts now believe that eating a variety of plants could be just as important. Specifically up to 30 different fruits & vegetables a week. Why? Because our good gut bacteria (that make up 70% of our immune system) thrive on various plants and their fibres. These guys are essential for food digestion; making available building blocks for cells to build & repair and maintain bodily functions. They help regulate blood sugar and fats, balance hormones, support the brain with clarity & focus and are partially responsible for the synthesis of certain vitamins.

The key here is 30 different vegetables and fruits a week. The reason being, that each colony (strain) of good gut bacteria supports us in various ways and feeds off of various fruits & vegetables. So if you exclude certain foods certain colonies they become weaker and your ability to digest certain foods weakens alongside them.

Now I know that 30 different vegetables and fruits can seems like a lot. The good news is, it’s not just fruits and veggies that count - grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, even coffee counts.

How can you build in those 30 vegetables and fruits into your week?

Use more herbs & spices in your everyday dishes. Adding fresh herbs to salads and sauces or onto of dishes brings freshness. Herbs like parsley & mint help supports digestion & metabolism plus they all contain added minerals and vitamins!

• Add toasted nuts or seeds to dishes (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower seeds - walnuts, slivers almonds). Toast nuts in a dry frying pan until they become fragrant & golden. Store in a glass jar up to 10 days in a dark cupboard or in the fridge.
• Incorporate vegetables as side dishes; salads, steam or roasted vegetables. Add some lemon juice over the top to increase iron absorption from green veggies such as spinach and broccoli.
• Utilise frozen foods; they are usually picked at their peak season which means they will retain their highest nutritional value, plus they are much cheaper.
• Explore the use of sea vegetables in your cooking or as a snack. It’s a totally underrated vegetable packed with minerals and fibres that good gut bacteria love.  
• To push yourself, try out seasonal foods (save money) - try local farmers veg box! Riverfords, Pipers farm, Oddbox, Abel & Co,  Everfields

How to create healthy whole food based meals for your family with limited time and resources?

One way to do this is to batch cook.

When you make meals, make more than you expect to eat. Store the “extra” (sauces, curries, cooked rice, roasted veggies) in separate containers and freeze these portions. Making a double batch of your recipe will not take any longer than a single batch! I often roast up extra vegetables so that I can turn them into a quick soup or add to a salad for lunch. It’s also useful to have a jar of miso vinaigrette, pesto (if you need recipes for these let me know!) as they can turn basic ingredients like pasta, potatoes, rice, and broccoli into an easy meal.

How do I approach meal planning?

The way I approach meal planning is to pick out 3-4 recipes a week. This allows for spontaneous creative family cooking during the weekend, and a take out or meal out for 1 day of the week. You don’t have to cook up the full meal, just components of it- this is where batch cooking comes in handy. Any components of a meal like sauces are easily made as a double batch and won’t take you longer. Freeze half and you have part of a meal ready made.

These tactics will not only save you time but also money as you will only buy ingredients that you know will be used in your weekly meal plan.

How can one meal-prepped component can make multiple dishes come together?

Baked Vegetable tray

• ‍‍Frittata
• Tomato sauce
• Soup
• Bulk up a salad
• Pasta dish
• Side dish
• On top of pizza
• Sandwich

Tomato Sauce

• Pasta sauce: veg, bolognese, sausage
• Pizza base
• Soup base
• Lasagne
• Ratatouille
• Curry base
  

Pesto

• Pasta + roast veg
• Sandwich
• Omelette
• Pizza
• Salad
• Soup
• Lasagne
• Over fish or meat
  

Vinaigrette

• Salads
• Roasted veg
• Steamed veg

I hope you found this helpful. I am a certified health coach, with a mission to help people reconnect with their body and health, through food, movement and self care. My coaching is based in principles and methods from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.

To support my mission I offer various free resources on my website, among others seasonal recipe bundles which you can find here, https://www.stephaniefairbank.com/store/resources and recipes here https://www.stephaniefairbank.com/recipes-1

I also share daily health supportive tips on Instagram, @holisticbysteph

Last but not least I offer free 30 minute consultations to anyone interspersed in exploring health coaching to help support their health & wellbeing, just send me an email to schedule a call: connect@stephaniefairbank.com