Plant-Based Prep School

With the New Year comes new health goals. For some, this could mean getting more sleep or meeting your 30 minutes of daily exercise target, while others may want to adjust their diet by cooking nourishing meat-free meals at home. Healthy cooking for the body and planet starts by inching toward a more plant-based, vegan diet on a more regular basis. This can take the form of one fully meatless meal per day or per week—it’s not an all-or-nothing endeavour. And achieving this is far easier and much more enjoyable when the prep is done in advance, meaning you’ll stick with it beyond January. Often, vegan cuisine gets labelled as time consuming, but it’s not too much more so than other types of diets. Planning ahead is the crux of any successful diet from omnivorous to wholly plant based. With tricks, tips, and balanced make-ahead dishes, your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between are covered. And don’t feel the need to stick to these recipes as prescribed. If there’s a grain, herb, fruit, vegetable, or protein that you’d like to add to either use up or spice up leftovers, employ that instead or in addition. The easy-breezy nature of the meal plan takes the fuss and precision out of the vegan diet. Take one afternoon per week to cook, and the rest of the week is all about assembling. Vegan meal-prep is affordable, healthy, and, when you get into the groove of it all, even a little bit fun.