Easy and Low Waste Meal Planning with Fulfill Shoppe Pantry Staples

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Easy Meal Prep With Pantry Staples

This week I thought I’d share a few of my favourite “make a big batch and eat for a week” kind of meals using several zero-waste Fulfill Shoppe products. You can make all of these items with minimal prep time, and they are filling and budget friendly too!  

As I’m sure many of you find as well, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day most days, so I’m always looking for quick and easy recipes to make. I was able to make the lentil casserole, chili, soup, and bread with about an hour of prep time, and that will cover off my lunches for the week – and maybe a dinner if I don’t feel like sorting out a meal one evening!

This week I stocked up on red lentils, French du puy lentils, gluten free flour, and basil infused olive oil. Read on below to see how I used them!

Ordering From Fulfill Shoppe

We tend to post about Fulfill Shoppe fairly regularly because we’re big fans of this small business, however a few weeks ago, Alison shared about them in depth here!

To prepare for my ‘meal prep marathon’, I placed my order with Fulfill Shoppe last week by heading to their website, and filled up my cart with the items I needed. They deliver twice a week to most areas and you have until noon the day before delivery day to place your order.

Your items get delivered to you in reusable glass jars that you return on your next order day by leaving them outside for pick up. My items came packaged as seen above, delivered in a recycled cardboard box by an electric vehicle! And I received a text ahead of the delivery which allowed me to plan the day.

Recipes with Pantry Staples

Here are the easy, low waste recipes that I made with these pantry staples from Fulfill Shoppe. These great staples are ones you can find at your local bulk store as well.

Lentil Brown Rice Casserole

This casserole is budget-friendly, tasty, filling, and super easy to make! Use regular cheese as a topping or make it vegan by using non-dairy cheese.

• 3/4 cup dried red lentils
• 3/4 cup brown rice
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cups water (or vegetable broth)
• 1 ¾ cups of spaghetti sauce (I use pre-made from a jar)
• 3/4 cup vegan “cheese” (optional), grated 

Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C). 

In a large casserole dish, combine the lentils, rice, onions, water (or broth), and sauce, and stir it together. (AKA, throw all ingredients in dish)

Cover with lid and bake for 1.5 hours, stirring at the 45 minute mark.

At the end of the cooking time, remove lid, sprinkle “cheese” on top of casserole, and broil uncovered until “cheese” has melted. 

How to store: Separate into 4-6 servings and store in the fridge, will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.

How to serve: Reheat in the microwave at mealtime and serve with a side salad.

Red Lentil Chili

To make my usual chili gluten-free, I use lentils instead of bulgur in my go-to recipe found here.

How to store: Store in the fridge, will keep for 3-4 days. Freezes very well!

How to serve: Serve hot or reheated with rice, add whatever toppings you’d like! Hummous, salsa, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, crushed nacho chips.

French Lentil Vegetable Soup

I often make this soup on Sundays for lunches during the week – if the weekend is too busy, I’ve even thrown it together on a Monday morning! I love the French Du Puy lentils as I find that they hold their shape better in soup and are less mealy than regular green lentils when used in a soup.

It’s a great dish for avoiding food waste as I will often throw in any vegetables from the fridge that are still good to eat, but looking a bit past their prime.

• 2-3 cups of vegetables chopped (carrots, celery, potato, tomatoes, corn, kale, spinach, cabbage)
• 1 cup French Du Puy lentils
• 6 cups water
• 2 bullion cubes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil

Put all the ingredients in instant pot and set for 10-12 minutes on high pressure, then do a quick release.  I often set the instant pot to ‘Saute’ while I chop and toss the veggies in so that they can soften up a bit. This time I put the basil infused olive oil in first, and allowed the chopped vegetables to fry in the oil.

This soup can also be cooked on the stove top by simmering for about 45 minutes.

For extra flavour, blend a kale leaf or two with a clove of garlic and a handful of sunflower seeds to make a kale pesto, then stir in after the soup is cooked and enjoy!

How to store: Store in the fridge, will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Freezes very well!

How to serve: Serve hot or reheated, stir in some sour cream, sprinkle with parsley, salt, pepper, or a dash of lemon.

Homemade Bread

I’ve been trying to eliminate gluten from my diet, and breads are such a hard thing to find a good, reasonably priced substitute for! I’ve tried a few flour options and they all have their benefits and drawbacks. I decided to try this gluten free flour from Fulfill Shoppe with this recipe and was very happy with the results! 

• 1 ½ cups warm water
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 2 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

I made this bread into Italian herb by adding basil infused olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, basil and oregano to the mixture. For the bread, add ingredients to the bread maker in the order listed above and use the “Rapid” setting (only one rise) for gluten free bread, unless you have a breadmaker with a “Gluten Free” setting, which of course would be the best option!

Fun fact: this is actually my family’s breadmaker from the 90’s, it still works well, and is very easy to use!

Chickpea Meals

For more filling and budget friendly meals, consider dried chickpeas. For several ways to use them see our post 10 Ways to Cook Chickpeas and Lower your Budget!

Do you prepare batch meals? If so, what are your favourite recipes?

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