Fall is here and some of us might be looking to change the regular menu of the kitchen. Fall is for comforting meals filled with the late summer produce. The cool weather is a strong motivation to cook a wholesome meal. But for those of you with busy schedules, meal prep is a great idea to eat healthy food without depending on takeout. Meal prep requires some foresight, planning, and a decent amount of prep time. Since it requires you to choose what to eat ahead of time, meal prepping can lead to more well-balanced meal choices over the long term.

 

Here are some meal prep for fall ideas.

 

1. Roast Vegetables

 

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ cup diced asparagus
½ cup diced mushrooms
½ cup diced summer squash
½ cup diced sweet red pepper
½ cup diced cauliflower
¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt

 

Instructions

1. Preheat the air fryer to 356°F. The Acekool Air Fryer FT1 is a great air fryer to cook family-sized meals in a short time.
2. Add vegetables, oil, salt, ground pepper, and desired amount of Italian seasoning to a bowl. Mix the ingredients well and arrange them in the fryer basket.
3. Cook vegetables for 10 minutes. Don’t forget to stir the vegetables after 5 minutes.

 

 

2. Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Smoothie

 

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
½ banana
⅓ cup old fashioned oats
1 ½ scoops vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp raisins
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Ice

 

Instructions

1. Add unsweetened almond milk, banana, old fashioned oats, vanilla protein powder, raisins, ground cinnamon, and ice into a blender. The Acekool Blender BC1 is a powerful machine to make large batches of juices and smoothies.
2. Blend until the mixture is totally smooth. Since there are raisins and uncooked oats, it can take a little longer to get it smooth.
3. Turn off your blender and check the consistency of the shake. Add more ice if you want it thicker or add more almond milk if you want it a little thinner.

 

 

3. Rotisserie Chicken

 

Ingredients

1 5 pound whole chicken, giblets removed
2 tbsp avocado oil 
1 tbsp kosher Salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika (smoked to add more flavor)
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme

 

Instructions

1. Make a paste by combining all of the seasonings with the oil.
2. Spread the paste all over the chicken.
3. Take the air fryer basket and spray it with cooking spray.  Place the chicken in the basket, breast side down and cook at 360°F for 50 minutes.  
4. Flip the chicken to breast side up and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  
5. Check to make sure the breast meat has an internal temperature of 165°F. Chicken is ready to carve and serve. 

 

 

4. Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive, melted coconut, or avocado oil
½ medium red onion sliced in wedges
2 small sweet potatoes halved
1 can chickpeas (15-ounce) drained, rinsed and patted dry
1 bundle broccolini (large stems removed and chopped)
2 big handfuls kale (larger stems removed)
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt 

 

Seasonings for Chickpeas

1 tsp cumin
¾ tsp chili powder
¾ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp each salt + pepper
½ tsp oregano (optional)
¼ tsp turmeric (optional)

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and arrange sliced sweet potatoes and onions on a baking sheet. Spread some oil on them. Also, make sure the flesh of the sweet potatoes are well coated with oil and placed skin side down on the sheet.
2. Pop them in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Remove them from oven and flip sweet potatoes. Add broccolini to the potatoes and the red onions, and drizzle broccolini with a bit of oil. Season with a pinch salt and pepper.
4. Bake this for another 8-10 minutes and then remove from oven to add kale. Dab some oil on the kale and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake this for another 4-5 minutes then set aside.
5. While vegetables are roasting, add chickpeas to a mixing bowl and mix it with seasonings.
6. Heat a skillet to medium heat. Once hot, pour 1 tbsp oil and add chickpeas and sauté them. Stir frequently and make sure that they are not browning too quickly. 
7. Once the chickpeas are browned and fragrant, remove from skillet and set aside.
8. Slice the potatoes into bite size pieces. Put all the baked veggies into a bowl and mix it up. You can also add a sauce of your choice to improve the flavor. 

 

These are some great meal prep for fall recipes. There are other dishes like granola, vegan pot pies, pumpkin bread, etc., that you can try out. If you are meal prepping, the best way to plan ahead is to first decide on which meals you will focus on and which meal-prepping method fits your lifestyle. Then you will need to figure out the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners you will need for the upcoming week. You can always make a favorite sauce, pickle veggies and store it in a jar in case you want to have a snack.