Things We Love: Meal Prep Made Easy + Natural, Healthy & Delicious Meals with our friends at Side Door Nutrition!

Hello folks! How is fall meal prep going for everyone out there?

It’s a busy time of year, that’s for sure, so I was curious to hear more about what some of your biggest road blocks are. Is it finding time to plan and come up with new recipe ideas? Finding easy, quick and simple meal solutions that actually taste good? Finding time to do a big grocery run for all the ingredients you need? Or does it all come down to scrambling to find enough time to actually be able to cook meals in bulk?

For me, the biggest struggle is actually finding the time to be organized enough to actually buy the ingredients I need before the weekend. If I have a plan laid out and all the necessary ingredients within an arms reach – I’m good to go! However, if I’m not ready in time for the weekend, then I end up spending time when I could be cooking on picking up the groceries with my kids, which typically ends up taking three times as long – let’s be real. 

I’m slowly working it down to a science, but here are a few tips that I find help me prepare for the week ahead:

1. Make a list of what you already have in your kitchen. You will be shocked by what you already have and then you will have a starting point. This helps to eliminate the issue of purchasing doubles and also inspires you to make meals that require minimal ingredients.

2. Try not to experiment too much or too fast. Stick to what works for your family and consider adding one new recipe each week. If it ends up working out – great! Then you can add it to the rotation.

3. Double up on your recipes. That way, you’ll always have leftovers for lunches or a meal in the fridge if some sort of unplanned hiccup throws you off your game (and if you have kids, let’s be real… this is basically every week). 

4. The fourth and final tip is this: when you have a crazy week ahead – be honest with yourself and get some help. I can promise you that it’ll be more than worth it. Maybe you need to spend the weekend preparing yourself mentally and physically for the week ahead? If so, I totally get it! You don’t always have the time to meal plan. In those cases, do yourself and your wallet a favour and plan to ask for help.

There are some amazing and affordable food prep/meal plan services out there that ensure that you are fuelling your body with healthy, nutritious meals that support you during even the craziest of weeks. You can order five meals in advance. You can take one with you to work or have it home waiting for you at the end of the day. Either way – you know it’s done and that you’re taken care of. Set yourself up for success, friends. It’s so worth it!

This leads into our next point. One of our favourite meal plan services here in Nova Scotia is… Side Door Nutrition!

First of all, they are a dedicated gluten-free kitchen. No gluten in any of their meals… period. Amazing, right?

Plus, they are extremely accommodating when it comes to other common allergies and various food preferences. Their marvellous menu offerings are designed and crafted by the incredible Janice Smith; a registered holistic nutritional consultant, CrossFit athlete and chef. They offer a large selection of gluten-free, high-protein and low-carb meals; healthy, energy-packed snacks, guilt-free desserts, and organic cold-pressed juices. Bam! They have it all. Everything is fresh, nutritionally formulated, packed with flavour and handcrafted with love.

I recently had the pleasure of ordering and trying out their weekly set menu. I’m not exaggerating when I say – it was unbelievable! First of all, we only paid $54.58 for five meals. Perfect portion sizes and I found myself with leftovers. $54.58 for five meals, folks – seriously! I mean, that’s a meal for two in an average restaurant or for one night of take-out. When you boil it down, this is a fantastic solution. You just have to remember to order it and take care of your body. Easy peasy!

So far, I’ve tasted the Thai Burgers, Butter Chicken, Tacos and Bibimbap (one tofu and one beef). All of these dishes were flavourful, filling, and provided everything I was looking for in delicious, nutritious meal solutions. I highly recommend you give Side Door Nutrition a try. You won’t regret it!

Here’s a peek at what their menu looks like for next week:

• Eggroll in a bowl
• Chicken Shawarma
• Italian Harvest Soup
• Chicken Adobo
• Chia Donuts

We’re pretty much drooling over here. On that note, Aidan and I have one of our busiest weeks ahead as we prepare all of the Schoolhouse products for Thanksgiving. I’m going to do us both a favour and order us the weekly set menu right now!

Curious to give it a go but looking for more information? Reach out to the team – they’d be happy to help. Otherwise, you can check them out on Facebook, Instagram or swing by their website. They are located at the Crossfit Basinview, 9 Symonds Road in Bedford, Nova Scotia. 

Questions for the team?
Email: hello@sidedoornutrition.com
Or give them a call: 902.407.5580