Fall is upon us! This time of year is perfect for savory food and spending time with friends and family. Special thank you to Ashley Martens for these amazing Fall meal prep tips.
Whether you are a meal prep maven or are a newbie, fall is the perfect season for meal prepping. The local community farmers markets are teeming with fresh produce from the fall harvest, the weather has cooled off enough for baking and roasting and fall recipes, just like the fall foliage, are in abundance, but before you begin meal prepping, check out these six tips for your next fall meal prep.
#1 Bake
During the summer months, the scorching heat and stifling humidity leave many of us reaching for cooling foods like fresh fruit, salads and smoothies, but the cooler fall months beckons for us to channel our inner bakers. Whether you whip up a batch of Pumpkin Pie Cookies or Sweet Potato Muffins, fall is the perfect time to do some baking.
#2 Fire Up The Slow Cooker
During the fall and winter months, the best sous chef you can have in your kitchen is a slow cooker. Simply select a savory fall slow cooker recipe and prep all of your ingredients in the evening before bed. Then, in the morning, place all of your ingredients in the slow cooker and set to a low temperature, that way when you arrive home from the office or an evening workout, dinner will all ready to be served.
Tip: Don’t own a slow cooker? Try an Instant Pot instead.
#3 Get Some Granola
A super simple fall meal-prep staple is a batch of homemade granola. The blend of hearty rolled oats combined with crunchy nuts, salty seeds, a blend of warming spices with a small drizzle of maple syrup (or natural sweetener of choice) make the perfect fall snack. You can even enjoy it on top of your morning bowl of oatmeal, on a bowl of dairy-free yogurt or atop your favorite fall desserts. Plus, granola is easy to bake in bulk so you always have some on hand no matter how busy your day.
#4 Roast And Repurpose
Fall is an ideal season for roasting, so select your favorite cut of meat, like Grassland Poultry or Duck and repurpose it in a variety of dishes to enjoy during the week. For example, enjoy a piece of chicken with a side of roasted vegetables then the next day, shred some leftover chicken and use it for a hearty salad topper then use whatever is left for a chicken stir fry. You can even repurpose the bones and create your very own batch of savory homemade bone broth, perfect for a chilly fall day.
#5 Switch Between Savory And Sweet
The fall harvest offers a variety of root vegetables, some of which can help get you grounded for the fall season. Foods like acorn squash, apples, Brussel sprouts, butternut squash, pumpkins, spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes can all be created in both savory and sweet dishes, so mix it up each week. For instance, bake up a batch of savory apples to pair with your Heritage Pork then the next week, bake up some apples to add to your sweet loaf of Apple Cinnamon Bread.
Tip: Can’t decide between sweet or savory? Roast up a batch of Brussel sprouts and sweet potato slices for the perfect combination of both savory and sweet.
#6 Warm Up With Warming Spices
Top your seasonal dishes with a pinch of warming spices. Some of our fall favorites also include allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and star anise.
Tip: Spices only pack a burst of flavor for about one year, so if you need to update your spice cabinet, do it prior to the fall baking season so you are all set come the cooler fall months.
Meal prepping doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply refer to these six tips before your next fall meal prep and before you know it, you’ll be a meal prepping professional. Who knows, you may even begin hosting meal prep parties. After all, meal prepping is way more fun with family and friends. Happy Fall Ya’ll!
