Healthy Ramadan Prep

Our goal this Ramadan is to encourage and assist you in cutting down on food waste.

Fasting really helps you connect on a human level and feel more compassion for those who are less fortunate. We don't eat or drink from dawn until sunset, but once the sun sets, we can enjoy our meals and drinks freely. Some people out there just don't have that luxury. They're feeling hungry, but there's no food around to end their fast. They're really thirsty, but they have to trek for miles just to find a drink of water. Fasting really gives you a chance to experience what they go through, and that can inspire you to take action to help them. Plus, it’s a great way to appreciate the blessings in your own life.

This Ramadan, we want to inspire you to cut down on food waste. According to MENA reports, up to one-fifth of all food purchased during the month of Ramadan ends up in the trash without being eaten (in some countries, that number can reach a staggering 50%!). It's a bit disappointing, especially since this month focuses on self-control, charity, and lending a hand to those in need. What do you say we team up to turn those disappointing numbers around?

Today, we're excited to share some of our favorite tips and tricks that we think will help you save time and cut down on food waste during this holy month! For inspiration, look over the Getcookt meal plan menu. In addition to saving money, a few minutes of preparation will result in Iftar that you truly like! 

Plan Ahead

Planning is definitely the best way to save time, money, and cut down on food waste. If planning meals for an entire month feels overwhelming, try breaking it down into weekly chunks. Just set aside 10-20 minutes each week to map out your meals with these simple tips:

Why not take a look at what you’ve got at home first? Take a look in your fridge and pantry, and think about planning your meals around what you already have before heading out to buy more supplies.

Make sure to keep all your favorite recipes nice and organized! If you talk to your mum, she'll probably tell you that "What should I cook today?" is one of those questions that gets asked a lot and is definitely not a favorite. Ever! To dodge that annoying question, keep a list of your family's favorite recipes handy. You can stick it on your fridge, tuck it in a folder in the kitchen, save it on your phone, or put it anywhere that's easy to reach. This list is super handy when you're standing in front of your open fridge at 9 AM, trying to figure out what to whip up today. This will be super useful when you're short on time and only have an hour to get your weekly shopping done. You'll end up buying fewer items, and each one will actually fit into a recipe, instead of just randomly picking things that might spoil while you try to figure out how to use them.

Before you grab an ingredient or pantry item, take a moment to think of at least three ways you could use it. You might find a new bottle of exotic Asian sauce really tempting at the supermarket, but it can lose its charm when it just sits in your pantry or fridge for 6 months after you’ve only used a tablespoon for that one recipe you wanted to try.

You don’t need to start from square one: Meal planning doesn’t mean you have to create everything from scratch. Actually, it means you can make smart choices about what to cook based on how much time you have on any given day. Fresh chopped veggies from the supermarket, frozen goodies, and Puck's ready-made sauces can really save the day when you know you'll be stuck at work and only have half an hour to whip up dinner before athaan. 

Make dinner prep a breeze with GetCookt! Get delicious and affordable halal meals delivered straight to your door with our halal meal prep service! 

Get to Know Your Freezer Better!

Your freezer is like your best buddy for meal planning. Get creative with your ice box! Check out these tips to make the most of it.

If you're whipping up one of your family's go-to meals that freezes nicely, like lasagna or pot pie, why not double the recipe and stash away half for later? These can be your go-to meals for those times when you're stuck in traffic on your way home or when unexpected guests show up for iftar. Just take the meal out of the fridge, pop it in the oven, and you're all set!

Pasta sauce, falafel dough, hummus, your favorite pastries, samosas, and qatayef sound delicious! It takes a lot of time to get everything ready each day. Why not take a day to whip up a big batch and then just pop them in your freezer in some labeled bags? It’ll make things so much easier later on! This way, they'll stick around longer—less food waste! That's awesome! You'll definitely save both time and money every day.

Meal prep

Taking a day or just a few hours on the weekend to prep some meals or ingredients can really make a difference in your daily routine.

First, peel, wash, and chop your veggies. After that, just blanch them and pop them in the freezer! All you need to do now is sauté some onions, toss in your favorite vegetable, add some cooking cream, and sprinkle in your go-to seasoning. Before you know it, you'll have a deliciously creamy soup ready to enjoy—think broccoli cream soup, carrot soup, mixed vegetable soup, or cauliflower soup, just to name a few! And the list just keeps going! 

Cook a big batch of pasta on the weekend and then use your creativity, sauces and those frozen vegetables to create a new recipe every day. Why not whip up a big batch of your favorite pasta and pizza sauces and pop them in the freezer? And hey, if you also prepare the pizza bases and freeze those, that's just a bonus! After that, just throw on your favorite toppings, add some mozzarella, and pop your creation in the oven to bake.

Go ahead and marinate your chicken cutlets, then pop them in the freezer. All you need to do is toss in some sauce and your favorite veggies, cook or bake your chicken, and you've got Iftar ready to go! Imagine dishes like chicken a la king, chicken pot pie, chicken casserole, or a filling chicken, vegetable, and pasta bake. The possibilities are endless

Suhoor can be a bit of a challenge for many people. They want to cook up a nutritious meal that’ll last them until iftar, but at the same time, they don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all night long. 

Iftar Preparations

Fruits make a fantastic addition to the iftar table. They're great for hydration and also pack a good amount of fiber! If you're thinking about fruit salads, you can't really make them too far in advance. But yes, if you love drinks, why not beat up some smoothie pouches instead? They're a great option! Simply wash and chop up a bunch of different fruits. Grab some ziplock bags—just pick the size based on how much smoothie you’re planning to blend up—and start filling them with your favorite fruit combos. 

Just label the ziplock bags with your name and the date, then toss them in the freezer. Well, you might want to throw in some flax seeds and veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and spinach too! These handy pouches are perfect for whipping up your smoothie in just minutes during iftar time. Try adding some yogurt for protein or kefir for probiotics instead of milk to blend your smoothie.

Conclusion

Time constraints often make it impossible to prepare delicious, nutritious halal meals from scratch every day. Let me show you how we can help out.

Make dinner prep a breeze with GetCookt! Get delicious and affordable halal meals delivered straight to your door with our halal meal prep service! If you're a first-time customer, you'll get some sweet discounts and free delivery on your first order! On top of that, we often share extra discount codes with our loyal customers through email newsletters or SMS.

Feeling a bit lost on where to start? Why not let us take the stress out of preparing healthy halal meals? Just reach out to us today!