a note on the weekly meal prep

Hello! Happy Sunday! As I just posted my weekly food prep on my social feeds, it was important for me to speak about the idea of meal prep and food prep from the Ayurvedic perspective. 

Before I start, I want to first mention that I am all about practicality, and I personally function out of practicality. There is always an ideal, but how do we get as close to the ideal as we can without sacrificing basic Ayurvedic principles. 

So, first and foremost in the world of meal/food prep, is to talk about the concept of ​prana. 

When we talk about anything food-related, it's important to talk about prana. What is prana? Well, without going into too much detail, prana is simply our life force, our vitality. The healthiness of our being is directly connected our prana. And, we take in prana in 3 main ways:

1. ​Quality of breath (i.e. through pranayama practices) 
2. Thoughts we take/through our senses 
3. The food that we eat 

Foods that are considered highly pranic tend to have a few qualities (to name a few) 

• Fresh
• Colorful
• Whole (vs. processed) 
• Clean 
• Locally grown/organic 

Well, now you must be wonderful what does all of this have to do with meal prepping? Well, let's look at that first quality--the idea of freshness. In the most ideal scenario, we are cooking our food right at the time of eating. This is going to ensure that we have incredibly high pranic food. Furthermore, in again THE MOST IDEAL scenario, we are picking our vegetables, ingredients, etc. at the time of cooking. (as a note, this is one reason why so many smaller communities/cultures tend to have good health--their food is pretty fresh/local/organic/veggies brought to them on a daily basis, vs. a huge pile lasting a few weeks). 

​The fresher our food, the more pranic it will be. This is why in Ayurveda, we say that we shouldn't eat leftovers more than 1-2 days max (again, the ideal would be not to have any leftovers, but remember I am trying to be relatively practical here). When we are meal prepping--cooking our food on Sundays and then making it last throughout the week, by the time we eat the meal on Thursday, the levels of prana have subsided quite a bit. Now, if I had to then choose between home-made, meal-prepped food, vs. a quick bite at a fast food chain, my immediate reaction would say to eat the home-made option. (I know this is slightly contentious, but again I am giving you my viewpoint/perspective). 

This is why in Ayurveda, we're not big on meal prepping. With all of that being said, preparing our veggies at the beginning of the week is a huge time saver, one that I super super for if it helps in being able to make your meals at home successfully. Cutting our veggies, preparing the mixed ratio of your grains/lentils is also another great way to prepare at the beginning of the week for a successful meal routine as the days go on. Do everything you can to afford yourself the time and space to not make mealtime super stressful (we'll talk about our emotions and the impact on our food another day ;) ). But always keep the number one rule at the back of your mind: how fresh is this food? 

I hope this gives you a little more perspective on how to simplify your life and bring in very basic aspects of Ayurveda into your life! 

Talk to you soon,
n