Pre-Christmas meal prep: 3 quick recipes that take less than an hour and require minimal washing up

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Ingredients

1. Baking dish with winter vegetables and herbs

Ingredients:

• 6–8 chicken drumsticks
• 600 g potatoes
• 400 g buttercup squash
• 2–3 shallots
• fresh or dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• herbs to taste (rosemary, oregano)
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt, pepper
• optional: a small can of chickpeas

Herb marinade for meat:

This simple but distinctive marinade beautifully enhances the flavor of the meat, making it juicy and giving it a golden crust. It goes great with potatoes and pumpkin in the oven.

Ingredients for the marinade:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary or oregano
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
• salt, pepper

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper.
2. Coat the drumsticks thoroughly with the marinade on all sides.
3. Ideally, leave to rest for 15–30 minutes, meanwhile prepare the vegetables in a baking dish.
4. Continue baking according to the recipe.

The marinade is fragrant, herbaceous, and a little "rustic" — exactly the kind that will fill your kitchen with aroma while baking.

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 °C.
2. Cut the potatoes and pumpkin into large cubes and slice the shallots into half-moons. Place everything in a baking dish, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with thyme, and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Coat the chicken drumsticks in salt, pepper, herbs, and smoked paprika, drizzle with oil, and place on top of the vegetables.
4. Bake for about 60 minutes, until the meat is golden brown and the vegetables are tender.

Spicy coleslaw with yogurt dressing to serve

Vegetable base:

You can use a classic mixture: white cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, or opt for a pre-prepared mixture —for example, from Lidl—if you want to speed up your meal prep even more.

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• 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• a few drops of hot sauce (to taste)
• a pinch of salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing well in a bowl.
2. Add the vegetables and mix so that the coleslaw is evenly coated.
3. Leave to rest for at least 10–15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

The result is crispy, creamy, slightly sweet and sour, and pleasantly spicy thanks to the hot sauce. It goes perfectly with roasted drumsticks.

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2. Breakfast apple gingerbread

Lightly inspired by the popular apple gingerbread from the blog
(approx. 10 g protein per serving)

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 50 ml kefir
• ½ grated apple
• 60 g oat flour
• 10 g whole oat flakes
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 10 g melted chocolate (or nut butter)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• cinnamon and gingerbread spices to taste

Procedure:

• In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, kefir, and chocolate (or nut butter).
• Add the apple, flour, oats, flaxseed, spices, and baking powder.
• Pour the batter into a small mold.
• Bake for 25–30 minutes at 180 °C – you can use the same oven where you are baking the meat.
• The result is soft, delicately spiced, and perfect with coffee or as a quick breakfast for the next few days.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 170 °C for about 35–40 minutes. The result is a beautifully moist, fragrant loaf that will keep for several days and is perfect with coffee or for breakfast with nut butter.

Tip: Do you have a ripe banana at home? Replace it with an apple. The bread will be sweeter and there is no need to add sugar.

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3. Savory sweet potato pancakes

Delicious when still warm, but perhaps even better the next day – with leaf salad, seeds, hummus, or yogurt dip.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• a handful of grated cheese
• herbs to taste (chives, parsley, oregano)
• ham – optional
• 100 g grated sweet potato
  • You can substitute zucchini or broccoli for a lighter version.
• 2 tablespoons plain or chickpea flour
• salt, pepper
• cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Mix the eggs, cheese, herbs, sweet potato, and ham (if using) in a bowl.
2. Add flour, salt, and pepper—the dough should be thicker, like for small patties.
3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry small pancakes on both sides until golden brown.

The next day, they taste fantastic even cold – for example, as the basis for a quick bowl with hummus, vegetables, and seeds.

Other combinations from the same preparation

You can create several variations from one weekend's cooking:

• drumsticks + roasted vegetables
• pancakes + salad
• cookie + yogurt + fruit
• roasted pumpkin bowl + hummus + pancakes torn into croutons

Originally three recipes → at least six different dishes.

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