Six fall meals for lunch/dinner - meat/vegetarian options

[Skip below for the meal prep itself]

My boyfriend just recently started going to school again (studying 'part time') which means he's got classes every Saturday all day long. And that actually became my day of choice to meal prep for the upcoming busy week :)

I love to cook and love to be in the kitchen alone and undisturbed (except for our 4-month amstaff puppy). This week I went to a brand new zerowaste farmer's market here in Prague and then just dived into meal prepping!

Notes:

• The meal prep is intended for 6 mandays according to my Diet plan, in my case it' s 3 days for my boyfriend and I.
• my boyfriend is vegetarian, I'm not so I always provide meaty and veggie option
• I currently do not eat carbs (since I wanna lose weight) and he does, so find low-carb and regular option below too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You will need:

• pumpkin / hokkaido / squash of medium size
• 5 onions
• 2 yellow peppers
• can of diced tomatos
• medium zuchini
• garlic, ginger, chilli peppers (optional)
• coriander, cumin, thyme, bayleaves, juniper, cayen pepper
• 3 stock cubes
• handful of mushrooms
• 1 cup of cream
• glass of white wine
• can of coconut milk/cream
• milk
• plain yoghurt
• rice
• pasta of your liking
• potatos
• 300-400g sauerkraut (pickled cabage)
• Protein
  • Vegetarian
    • 1 can of chickpeas
    • 2 portions of dry soy cubes
    • 2 portions of falafel (store bought or homemade)
    • 2 portions of tofu
    • 4 eggs
  • Meat lover
    
    • 300g shrimps
    • 600g minced turkey
    • 300g chicken breast
    • 4 eggs

I usually prefer something 'heartier' for lunch (to warm me up and get me going) and a soup/salad for dinner. Also when meal prepping I try to use the same ingridient multiple times to save time :)
Here are 6 simple meal ideas in both meat-lover and vegetarian option. Each 'recipe' cooks two portions so you can either cook for two (and have meal prepped for 3 days) or cook for just yourself (and eat it twice).

Meal 1: Minestrone soup (2 portions)

The base recipe:
Chop a large onion, 2 yellow peppers and zuchini and roast it all in a pot on medium heat until it browns on the edges and softens a little (adding one by one). Add finely chopped garlic (paste/powder/fresh) and let it roast for 30s. Add one can of diced tomatoes, stock cube and app. 4 cups of water (depending on how thick you like your soup. Feel free to add spices of your liking (I use coriander, cumin, thyme) and let it boil for 10-15 minutes until all veggies are tender.
If you want to eat the soup for lunch or really filling dinner, feel free to throw in some pasta (1 handful + 1 extra cup of water per person). After done cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve 1 third of the sop for the recipe below.
Serve in a bowl with protein of your choice (below).

Meat lover's option:
To add protein to your meal, quickly roast 300g of shrimps (my favourite), dice and roast two chicken breasts (seasoned) or even use some smoked or pan fried salmon.

Vegetarian option:
To add protein to your meal, add a can of chickpeas.

Low carb tip:
There is really no major substitution, just leave out the pasta and omit the toppings :)

Other tips:
After turning it off you may add some spinich (doesnt need cooking, will wilt right away). To make the soup richer add a teaspoon of basil pesto and/or a poached egg on top.

 

Meal 2: 'Meatballs' with tomato sauce and pasta (2 portions)

The base recipe:
Take the soup put aside from the previous recipe and blitz it up in a blender until completely smooth - that will be your yummy vegetable-rich sauce. Make meat balls of your choice and serve topped with the sauce and with rpasta on side. Feel free to add a little fresh veggie salad, e.g. shredded cucumber with a little greek yoghurt and seasoning.

Meat lover's option:
Turkey meat balls are a fun, healthy and diet option for you. Take 300g minced turkey, mix with one diced onion, seasoning of your choice (mine is coriander, cumin, cayen pepprer, paprika) and salt and bake for 15 minutes at 200°C.

Vegetarian option:
Cook some soy dry cubes with a veggie stock cube ( to add flavour) or go ahead and make some Falafel (baked in the oven).

Low carb tip:
Substitute pasta with zoodles (zuchini noodles :)

Other tips:
Garnish the meal with fresh herbs or even some more pesto. Of course feel free to serve over a bowl of pasta.

Meal 3: 'Meatballs' with mushroom sauce and potatoes (2 portions)

The base recipe:
When baking the meat balls, make sure to save the gravy. Start by sweating a finely chpped onion in the skillet with a tsp of oil. As soon as they turn translucent, add sliced mushrooms (chessnut m. is my preference) and fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. When soft, add a little flour (enough to absorb all the oil but not more). Fry the flour off for 30s and start slowly adding the gravy and half a cup of stock. Keep whisking to avoid lumps. After all stock is absorbed, add a cup of cream. Adjust seasoning (add salt, pepper, thyme, 2 bay laves and a pinch of dried juniper) and let it cook for 10 minutes or until thickened. Serve poured over the meatballs with baked potatoes on side.

Meat lover's option:
Turkey meat balls are a fun, healthy and diet option for you. Take 300g minced turkey, mix with one diced onion, seasoning of your choice (mine is coriander, cumin, cayen pepprer, paprika) and salt and bake for 15 minutes at 200°C.

Vegetarian option:
Cook some soy dry cubes with a veggie stock cube ( to add flavour). Or alternatively may be served also over a hard boiled egg. Leave the gravy out of the sauce.

Low carb tip:
Substitute potatos with cauliflower rice and go ahead and substitute the cream in the sauce for milk.

Other tips:
Garnish the meal with cranberry jelly or serve with potatoes instead of rice.

Meal 4: Pumpkin curry with rice (2 portions)

The base recipe:
Roast thinly sliced pumpkin with salt and cayen pepper in 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes. In a pan, sweat finely chopped onion until translucent, add finely chopped garlic, ginger (may be powdered) and chilli pepper (if you like it spicy). Season it with salt and fry for 60s until fragrant. Add a small can of cocunut milk and half of the roasted pumpkin (save the other half for recipe below). Let it cook for 10 minutes (you can also add some additional spices you like), trasfer to a blender and mix until perfectly smooth. Serve over protein of your choice and rice.

Meat lover's option:
Chop two chicken breasts into cubes, season with salt and cayen pepper and roast in the pan for 4-5 minutes, flipping occassionaly.

Vegetarian option:
Cut tofu of your preference (e.g. plain or smoked) into inch thinck cubes, season with salt and cayen pepper and fry on high heat.

Low carb tip:
Substitute regular rice with cauliflower rice. You could substitute the coconut milk with stock but it would dramaticly change the taste and consistency. Try having a nice walk after dinner instead :)

Other tips:
Garnish the meal with some plain yoghurt and fresh herbs.

Meal 5: Pumpkin soup (2 portions)

The base recipe:
Roast thinly sliced pumpkin with salt, cayen pepper and honey in 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes. In a pan, sweat finely chopped onion until translucent, add the pumpkin and a glass of dry white wine. After major part of the wine evaporates add stock to your desired consistency (2-4 cups) and cook for 10 minutes. Blend it up with emersion blender until all smooth.

Meat lover's option:
Add a poached egg on top of the bowl. If you really insist on meat, I would suggest some white fish meat, but I never tried it :)

Vegetarian option:
Add a poached egg or two on top of the soup bowl.

Low carb tip:
There is really no substitution. If you really wanted to, you can omit the wine in the recipe (and just drink it instead :D).

Other tips:
You could also add some carrot or other root vegetables (celery, parsley) to the base of the soup. Also add some plain yoghurt and roasted pumpkin seed to the top or even try some spicy dry tomato pesto :)

Meal 6: 'Sourkraut soup' (2 portions)

The base recipe:
A fall/winter favourite to boost our metabolism AND immune system. Find the recipe already on my blog.

Meat lover's option:
Add a poached egg on top of the bowl. If you really insist on meat, I would suggest a nice piece of sausage thickly sliced.

Vegetarian option:
Add a poached egg or two on top of the soup bowl.

Low carb tip:
Omit the potatoes to keep it on the lighter side.

Other tips:
If you fancy, add some chpped dill on the top.

 

Process

I myself have started by baking the pumpkin and cooking the minestrone. Followed by cooking the side dishes and baking the meatballs.
Then you can either finish it all the very same day or cook every dish on the day you want to serve it, since it then only requires throwing ingredients in one pot , assembling on the plate and serving. Up to you :)

 

What are your thoughts? Should I do a post on meal prep breakfast/snacks ideas?