Start the Year on the Right Foot: Meal Prep & Healthy Cooking Made Easy

1. Set Simple, Realistic Food Goals

Skip extreme resolutions like “no carbs ever” or “only salad”. Instead, try goals you can actually live with, such as:

• “I’ll eat vegetables with at least 2 meals per day.”

• “I’ll cook at home 4–5 days a week.”

• “I’ll reduce how often I drink sugary drinks.”

• “I’ll prep some food on Sundays so weekdays are easier.”

Write these down and stick them on your fridge as a reminder.

2. Build a Weekly Meal Plan Around Your Real Life

A good plan matches your lifestyle, not someone else’s.

Think about:

• Busy days: When you come home tired, plan very quick meals (leftovers, eggs, one-pot dishes).

• Market days: Use these for fresh vegetables, fruits and bulk items like rice, beans and grains.

• Family favourites: Keep your usual rice dishes, stews and grilled meats — just balance them better.

Make a simple weekly outline, for example:

• Breakfasts: Oats, boiled eggs, bread with peanut butter, yoghurt with fruit.

• Lunches: Rice + stew, rice and beans, yam or plantain with sauce, leftovers.

• Dinners: Soups, lighter rice portions with vegetables, stir-fries, grilled fish or chicken.

You don’t need a fancy app — a notebook or phone note is enough.

3. Use “Base Cooking” to Save Time

Instead of cooking every meal from scratch, cook bases that you can reuse in different ways:

• Big pot of stew or sauce: Tomato-onion-pepper base works with rice, yam, plantain, pasta, eggs and beans.

• Boiled beans: Use for rice and beans, stews, salads, breakfast with plantain, or mashed into spreads.

• Grilled or baked chicken in bulk: Season and cook once, then use through the week (with rice, in salads, sandwiches, wraps).

• Cooked grains: Rice, millet, couscous or quinoa can be cooked in larger batches and reheated.

Store in containers in the fridge or freezer and label with dates. This way, on a weekday evening, you only assemble and warm, not start from zero.

4. Build a Healthier Plate (Without Giving Up Your Favourites)

Instead of trying to completely change what you eat, change how much of each thing you eat. Think of your plate in three parts:

• ½ plate: Vegetables (cabbage, carrots, greens, okra, garden eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers).

• ¼ plate: Carbohydrates (rice, yam, plantain, gari, potatoes).

• ¼ plate: Protein (beans, eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, goat, cowpeas, groundnuts).

You can still enjoy jollof-style rice, fried rice, waakye-style rice and beans, or yam dishes — just add more vegetables and make sure protein is always there.

5. Make Vegetables Easy to Use

Most people don’t eat enough vegetables simply because they’re not prepped. Fix that at the start of the week:

• Wash and chop cabbage, carrots and peppers and store them in containers.

• Blanch and freeze greens (like spinach, kontomire-style leaves or other local greens).

• Keep onions, garlic and ginger already peeled and blended in small jars for quick cooking.

When vegetables are ready to grab, you’re far more likely to throw them into rice, noodles, stews and omelettes.

6. Smart Swaps That Don’t Hurt the Taste

You don’t need to give up flavour to eat better. Try these swaps:

• Fry less, grill more: Grill or oven-bake chicken, fish and plantain more often instead of deep frying.

• Use less oil: Start with less oil in stews; you usually don’t need as much as you think.

• Sugar awareness: Reduce the sugar in drinks and desserts a little at a time; your tongue will adjust.

• More fibre: Choose brown bread sometimes, add beans to rice dishes, and keep the skins on some vegetables.

Over time, your usual food becomes naturally lighter without feeling like “diet food.”

7. Prep Healthy Snacks So You Avoid Impulse Eating

If there’s nothing ready at home, it’s easy to rely on heavy street snacks all the time. Keep some better options on hand:

• Roasted groundnuts or other nuts (unsalted or lightly salted)

• Fruit washed and ready to eat (oranges, bananas, pineapple, apples, watermelon)

• Yoghurt (plain or lightly sweetened)

• Boiled eggs

• Homemade popcorn (with moderate oil and salt)

You don’t have to cut out your favourite indulgent snacks — just make sure you also have healthier choices within reach.

8. Hydration: Don’t Forget Water

Sometimes what feels like hunger is just thirst. Get into a water habit:

• Start the day with a glass of water.

• Keep a bottle near you while you work.

• Drink a glass of water before big meals.

Cutting down on sugary drinks and replacing some of them with water or unsweetened drinks is one of the easiest ways to support your health without changing what’s on your plate.

9. Make Meal Prep a Weekly Ritual, Not a Chore

Pick a day — often Sunday — and treat meal prep as part of your routine:

• Cook one big pot of stew or soup.

• Prep one grain (rice, millet, etc.).

• Bake or grill a tray of chicken or fish.

• Chop vegetables and pack them.

Put on music, involve family members, and turn it into a shared activity. When everyone helps, everyone appreciates the food more during the week.

10. Be Flexible & Kind to Yourself

Some weeks you’ll stick to the plan. Other weeks, life will laugh at your plan. That’s normal.

• If you eat fast food one night, balance it with lighter home-cooked meals the next day.

• If you miss a prep day, just make a small batch midweek — even cooking one pot of beans or stew helps.

• Remember: the goal is better, not perfect.

Healthy eating is a long journey, not a 7-day challenge.

Conclusion

Starting the year on the right foot with food isn’t about strict diets. It’s about planning ahead, cooking smart, and making realistic changes that fit your real life. With simple meal prep, smarter portions, a little more vegetables, and a few better choices around oil, sugar and snacks, you can enjoy the flavours you love and still take good care of your body.

Small changes, repeated week after week, will quietly transform the way you eat — and how you feel — all year long.