Most people would agree that they need more time in a day. As our lives get busier, finding the time to prepare healthy meals for the week can be difficult. We often talk about preparing meals in bulk and freezing, but having to defrost the same meal over and over can become boring and lose its appeal.

To overcome this meal time monotony I like to freeze ‘meal bases’ that I then present in a variety of ways to create different meals.

These ‘meal bases’ are protein based making them perfect for managing meals post weight loss surgery. Below are three options I love to have on hand in the freezer.

Option One: Bolognaise Sauce

Make a large batch of your favourite bolognaise sauce (don’t forget to grate in a few vegetables to boost nutrition) and freeze in individual or family size portions.

• Serve with a small portion of pasta (try risoni if you find pasta hard to tolerate).
  
• Serve over couscous with a small side salad.
  
• Pour over a baked potato and top with grated cheese and Greek yoghurt.
  
• Pop in a wrap with shredded salad and cheese.
  
• Serve on a grainy slice of toast – Burgen is a great option at approximately 4-5g protein per slice (depending on the variety).
  

Option Two: Mexican Style Chicken Mince

Cook onion, garlic and grated carrot with ground cumin and coriander. Add lean chicken mince and brown. Add one drained can of five bean mix and pour over a jar of your favourite salsa. You can add spinach, peas, mushrooms or any other of your favourite vegetables. Don’t be afraid to add some extra salsa if you need a little more moisture.

• Place mixture into halved red capsicums and bake – top with avocado, Greek yoghurt and chilli flakes if you enjoy a little spice.
  
• Serve in a taco shell with shredded/diced salad.
  
• Serve in soft tortillas with shredded/diced salad.
  
• Serve over ‘zucchini pasta’ (using a vegetable spiralizer).
  

Option Three: Tandoori Chicken

Marinate chicken tenderloins or chicken thigh fillet in a mixture of tandoori paste and Greek yoghurt.

• Serve in wraps with raita, cucumber, carrot, coriander and chilli.
  
• Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.
  
• Top pizza base with mango chutney, add cooked chicken, red onion, spinach, chopped raisins, cashew nuts and cheese. Bake in the oven, then sprinkle with fresh coriander and extra Greek yoghurt.
  
• Add to a salad of cucumber, carrot, coriander, mint and cashews. Dress with a mixture of Greek yoghurt, mango chutney and lemon juice and top with microwaved pappadams.
  

Happy cooking!

Thanks for your article and advice – right on point! It is always great to have delicious and healthy recipes that you can re-use in different ways!

It’s also easy to add spinach to bolognaise sauce. You can layer it with eggplant and/or zucchini slices. I also like to use it as a dressing for salad sometimes. For the Mexican style mince – sounds great! Another Pasta substitute is spaghetti squash or even shirataki noodles.

Great ideas here – it’s always easier to motivate yourself to cook if you know it’ll be easy, healthy, and reusable. Thanks for your article!