A single mum who lost a staggering 56 kilograms through meal prepping has revealed how she whipped up 281 meals and snacks on a budget of $384, and her top tips for meal prep.
Cicily Goodwin, 27, from Nambucca Heads, New South Wales, tipped the scales at 128kg in July 2016 when she decided to lose weight – and five years later, she has dropped 56kg and a huge six dress sizes to now weigh just 72kg.
Cicily maintains her weight loss through making healthy meals in advance, and she recently cooked up 112 main meals and 169 snacks, many of which were under $2 per serve.
A single mum who lost 56 kilograms through meal prepping has revealed how she whipped up 281 meals and snacks on a budget of $384 (Cicily Goodwin pictured before and after)
It took the mum-of-two four hours to complete her impressive batch cook (pictured), which included 112 main meals and 169 snacks, many of which were under $2 per serve
It took the mum-of-two four hours to complete her impressive batch cook, which included bean and corn toastadas, layered meatloaf, zucchini bacon slice and soba noodles with salmon.
Cicily also made veggie sausage rolls and one-pot spaghetti bolognese, as well as snacks like chocolate Weetbix slice and coconut brownies.
‘It’s such a great feeling to look at all the food you’ve cooked set out at the end, and such a feeling of accomplishment and also so much motivation to stay on track,’ Cicily told Australia’s leading weight loss program, the Healthy Mummy.
‘A few hours worth of cooking means you then don’t have to think about dinners or snacks for the next month, you can just whip one out of your freezer stash!
‘It also means you stick to your portion sizes and aren’t tempted to just add a little extra to your bowl, or go grab takeaway on a late night home.’
Cicily Goodwin, 27, from Nambucca Heads, New South Wales, tipped the scales at 128kg in July 2016 when she decided to lose weight (pictured before and after)
In total, Cicily said she spent $384 on the ingredients (pictured) for her massive cook up, and she recommends shopping online in order to save money
Cicily said it’s a good idea to cook things that are easy to cook in batch and can be made in one pot like this one-pot spaghetti (pictured)
When it comes to how you can save valuable money with meal prep, the 27-year-old said it’s all about shopping online.
‘Order online if you can,’ Cicily told Australia’s leading weight loss program, Healthy Mummy.
‘This allows you to find all the ingredients you’re going to need without running around the aisles looking for things.
‘You also have time to check out the specials and find the best price.’
How to make the Healthy Mummy one-pot spaghetti bolognese
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion peeled and finely diced
The Healthy Mummy one-pot spaghetti bolognese (pictured) is easy to make at home
2 carrots peeled and grated
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 tsp Minced Garlic
6 medium mushrooms chopped
1 zucchini grated
1 tsp minced chilli optional
500 g lean beef mince
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 tbsp tomato sauce
800 g tinned diced tomatoes
1 cup red wine
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
250 g wholemeal spaghetti
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fresh basil leaves to serve
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese to serve
METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over med/high heat – the pan needs to be big enough to hold all of the bolognese and the spaghetti too.
2. Cook the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 3 minutes.
3. Add the chilli, if using, and then add the zucchini and mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the mince to the pan and brown the mince for around 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
5. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, tomatoes, wine and stock.
6. Season to taste and stir to combine.
7. Place the lid on and bring to the boil.
8. Reduce the heat to medium and add your spaghetti to the pan (you may need to break the pasta in half if your pan isn’t big enough).
9. Simmer, uncovered, for around 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked, stirring several times during the cooking time.
10. Sprinkle over the fresh basil leaves, and then serve with the Parmesan cheese.
Source: The Healthy Mummy
Cicily likes to have multiple timers going when she is cooking various meals, as sometimes it’s easy to forget where you’re up to (some meal prep pictured)
Cicily recommends meal preppers opt for recipes that are easy to cook in big batches like lasagne and spaghetti bolognese:
‘Save the more time-consuming ones for the nights you want to cook a fresh meal and think about things you can cook in one big pot on the stove or in the slow cooker,’ she said.
Kitchen gadgets like food processors are vital for big batch cooking, and the mum also said you should clean as you go:
‘Wipe down benches, wash utensils, bowls, chopping boards, blenders as you go so there’s not a huge cleanup at the end,’ Cicily said.
She also said it can help to have multiple timers going at once, because it can be confusing when you’re cooking three meals at the same time.
Previously, the mum-of-two said she had a ‘toxic relationship’ with food before she started to lose weight (pictured before and after)
Cicily said she would typically drink as many as 10 coffees per day, alongside multiple takeaway meals from KFC and McDonald’s (pictured before and after)
Previously, the mum-of-two said she had a ‘toxic relationship’ with food before she started to lose weight.
‘I’ve always had a lot of trouble losing weight despite going on countless diets and trying my hardest over and over again,’ Cicily told Healthy Mummy.
‘I began to have a toxic relationship with food, where I didn’t care if I ate healthy because it didn’t seem to matter. I think that’s where a big part of my health issues started.’
Cicily said she would typically drink as many as 10 coffees per day, alongside multiple takeaway meals from KFC and McDonald’s.
‘Even if it wasn’t junk I would pile my plate high until it was uncomfortably full,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘I was also drinking massive amounts of soft drink.’
Cicily stumbled upon the leading Australian weight loss program, The Healthy Mummy, when she was researching weight loss online and started meal prepping (pictured now)
Cicily stumbled upon the leading Australian weight loss program, The Healthy Mummy, when she was researching weight loss online.
She soon started drinking the company’s smoothies twice a day and coupling these with healthy versions of her favourite meals including lasagne.
Within a few months, Cicily lost over 20 kilos without doing any gym work.
Eighteen months later, the 26-year-old weighed just 72 kilograms.
‘I didn’t rush things, I was still enjoying chocolate every now and then, but I cut out all soft drinks and followed the Healthy Mummy meals plans,’ she said.
She coupled this with hour-long walks and no gym work.
Cicily said that while losing the weight was difficult, the hardest thing has been keeping the kilos off.
‘Maintaining weight loss is a whole different ball game because the natural response to weight loss is weight gain,’ Cicily said.
‘But I’m proud of myself because in two and a half years, I have pretty much remained the same weight.’
To find out more about Healthy Mummy, visit their website here.