This is a meal-prepping technique I wish I had known about sooner.
It’s what I’m calling Duplo Dinners, and it has completely changed the way I freeze and prep meals. Instead of freezing one full meal, you prep and freeze each component separately: grains, sauces, proteins, and veggies… like building blocks. All the recipes in this were made over the space of a month so there is no extra overwhelming workload, just making an extra meal or two when you cook certain meals.
Then, when you need a quick meal, you can mix and match different combos to create endless healthy, nourishing, and varied dinners or lunches. It’s like having your own little dinner Lego set sitting in the freezer, ready to build whatever you’re craving that day. I used the meal prep freezer containers from Seed & Sprout (linked here) – they’re the perfect size and make stacking and organising easy.
In this curry heavy version, I made:
- 🌶 Vegan Channa Masala
- 🍛 Lentil Dahl with spinach (to our lentil dahl recipe, we added a 200g bag of baby spinach near the end and stirred through until the spinach wilts)
- 🥣 Vegan Sour Cream
- 🍠 Roasted Sweet Potato
- 🥬 Steamed Greens (for ours, we used 2 large green peppers, diced, cooked in the airfryer or frying pan with a little olive oil until lightly browned, then stirred with 100g edamame beans straight from frozen).
- 🌮 Taco mince (this was just vegan mince cooked with some mushrooms, peppers, and onions with taco seasoning of choice).
- 🌽 Black peppered corn kernels (cook the corn in a little olive oil in a frying pan with a generous amount of black pepper, and cook for 3-5 minutes)
- 🍚 Quinoa
- 🍘 Brown Rice
To plate these up, we add them to glass containers, cover and allow them to defrost in the fridge overnight (this ensures everything defrosts safely and is all defrosted by the time you go to reheat). Then reheat in the glass in the airfryer on 180c for 8-10 minutes (you could use a microwave also). All the recipes are below, but I’d love to know what you’d add to your own Duplo Dinner lineup in the comments!
Channa Masala
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 knob ginger (grated, around 2 tbsp)
- 2 x 400g can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 x 800g can of diced tomatoes
Spices
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
Once baby portions are out (optional/to taste)
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp raw sugar (or other)
- salt and pepper (omit for under 12 months)
Instructions
- Add the oil to a pot over medium to high heat. Once the pan is hot add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the onion and cook for a further minute.
- Then add the spices - if it’s too dry at this stage and one tablespoon more of oil. Cook the spices for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the chickpeas and tomatoes and stir to combine (if you want a smoother curry gravy, add the tomatoes and blend with an immersion stick blender before adding the chickpeas).
- Bring to a boil and then cover the pot with a lid and reduce heat to low/medium and simmer for a further 20-25 minutes until thick.
- Once the baby/toddler portions are removed you can add the optional extras if you like (chilli, salt, pepper, and sugar) and serve with a squeeze of extra lemon juice and coriander.
Storage
Store in the fridge for 3 days or freezer for 3 months.Notes
For babies under 12 months mash the chickpeas to reduce choking hazards.
Nutrition - Per Serving
Serving: 1g | Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 707mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 475IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 6mg
Lentil Dahl
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 onions (diced)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1.5 tbsp ginger (grated, or 1 tsp ginger powder)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 400 g dried red lentils
- 1 x 800g can of diced tomatoes
- 800 ml coconut milk
- 500 ml vegetable stock (low salt, or water )
Instructions
- Prep the veggies & spices
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium to high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the spices and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the lentils, stock, coconut milk & tomatoes then stir to combine.
- Cover, reduce heat to low & cook for 25-30 minutes (stirring occasionally) until reduced and thick. We usually cook it, remove from the heat and leave it in the pan for a few hours to deepen the flavours.
- Add chilli & salt once baby portions are out
- Serve warm with rice, wraps, naan bread or whatever you like.
Storage
Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or freezer for up to 3 monthsNutrition - Per Serving
Serving: 1g | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 412mg | Potassium: 955mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 274IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 8mg
Vegan Sour Cream
Ingredients
- 140 g raw cashews (soaked in hot water for 10 mins or overnight)
- 125 ml water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp sea salt (omit for under 12 months)
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard (up to 1 tsp for a stronger flavour)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Transfer to an airtight container, or freeze in individual portions.
Storage
This stores in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.Nutrition - Per Serving
Serving: 2tbsp | Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 103mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and diced, cut in to chunky wedges for under 12 months. )
- 1 tsp olive oil (spray)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200c/390f.
- Add the sweet potato to a large oven dish, spray with olive oil, and toss to coat.
- Roast for 45–55 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and tender. Note: you can also cook this in the air fryer and it takes around 20 minutes.
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.Nutrition - Per Serving
Serving: 1g | Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 62mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 16031IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg
Perfect Quinoa
Ingredients
- 400 g quinoa (uncooked, rinsed)
- 875 ml water (or vegetable stock)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork before serving for perfectly fluffy quinoa.
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.Nutrition - Per Serving
Serving: 1g | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 4g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg
Perfect Brown Rice
Fluffy, non soggy, perfect rice!
Ingredients
- 400 g brown rice (uncooked, rinsed)
- 2.25 litres water (boiling)
To Season (optional)
- 1 tsp olive oil (or sesame)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the water to a boil.
- Rinse the rice well, then add it to the boiling water and boil for 30 minutes uncovered (tip: if it looks like it is overflowing reduce the heat slightly but keep the boil - this gives perfect rice!)
- After 30 minutes, drain the rice, then quickly add it back to the pot and cover for 10-15 minutes to steam.
- Season, fluff, and serve.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.Nutrition - Per Serving
Serving: 1g | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a comment below or tag us on Instagram to let me know what your little one thought!