Mum makes 234 serves of healthy food for under $300 – that works out at just over $1 PER SERVE!

Healthy Mummy Hannah Pech has made a whopping 234 serves of meals from the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge for under $300 – $286.42 to be precise.

That works out at $1.22 per serve! Incredible!

“From start to finish it took me six hours. Four hours to prep, one hour to serve up and one hour to clean up,” she says.

“We used some home grown produce such as zucchinis and eggs to save even more money.”

Check out what she made below…

What Hannah made:

• 16 serves Butter Chicken Soup
• 12 serves Sweet Sour Chicken
• 36 serves Lasagne Cups
• 6 serves Simple Prawn Curry
• 36 serves Turkey and Cranberry Sausage Rolls
• 18 Choc Chip Peanut Butter Bites
• 30 Churros Muffins
• 48 serves Caramilk Weet-Bix Slice
• 12 serves Slow Cooked Cheesy Chilli Pasta
• 20 serves Bacon, Chilli and Cheese Scrolls

All of these recipes can be found on The Healthy Mummy app.

Hannah meal prepped ahead of going back to work

It’s been just over 10 years ago since Hannah became a mum. She’s now a mum of five and she’s spent the last ten years at home.

“It’s the first time I will be returning and formal employment since before my first baby,” she says.

“This meal prep was all about helping me to feel like I can get on top of this big step! It will take so much pressure off myself.

“Prepping these lunch meals means I can grab one from the freezer to warm up at work, without the extra stress to be pre organised.

“I’m also excited to have made a heap of snacks for my five kids for the first term, another stress off my shoulders.

“Knowing I can use all the snacks I’ve prepped to fill their lunch boxes means I’m already organised for a busy term ahead. It will save me money and time because I know exactly what’s going in their lunch boxes.”

Hannah uses The Healthy Mummy app to help her meal prep

In fact, Hannah says she’s been using The Healthy Mummy app every day for the last three years to help her meal prep.

“I see it as my virtual recipe book, which changes every single week,” she says.

“Being able to view the recipes quickly, change the serving sizes at a click of a button meant I could be organised and do my big shop to prepare.”

Hannah’s top tips for meal prepping

1. Buy clear containers so you can see what’s in each container, re use to help the environment and label them on the side so you can easily see what they are when stacked in the freezer.
2. Set aside the time to really commit to doing it! It may take a day but in the long run its so worth it.
3. Have a plan, write out the recipes you want to make and do an online order for it all. It costs no extra and saves lots of time walking around the shops.
4. Ask a friend or family member to help out. Send them home with a few meals as a thank you.
5. Get the kids involved. Mine chopped all the veggies for me and stood by the hot plate and stirred dishes. it’s a great chance for them to learn. The kids came and went throughout the day as they pleased but enjoyed being involved.
6. For sweet snacks like slices or muffins, make a ‘mini’ version so you can opt for a half serve if you like. Also often having 2 of something small, as opposed to one of something big tricks your brain into thinking you have had more.
7. Meal prep with a smoothie on hand! You will find you won’t pick at foods as much and because you are busy and often don’t get a chance to sit to eat it means you are still fuelling your body!

Hannah’s tips on saving money

1. Buy the generic or home brand options if you can. Often, they are exactly the same calorie and ingredients but half the price.
2. Add spinach to everything! I buy big bags of the cheap spinach pieces and add to all my recipes. It is cheap, hardly any calories and adds heaps of nutrition.
3. Sub out some of the mince in meals for cheaper versions. if beef is on sale, use half beef, half turkey.
4. Add extra stock to soups and stew type dishes. It makes them go further and a larger size.

Hannah’s amazing weight loss success story

Hannah Pech has spent six years either pregnant or breastfeeding before deciding to focus on her own body once it was no longer needed by her kids.

By following the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge she was able to drop 35kg and she now maintains a 5kg radius of that. Her weight ranges from 70kg to 75kg after having a starting weight of 105kg, which is incredible.

“Over the past 12 months, I’ve come to realise it’s not all about the number on the scales,” says Hannah.

“Losing weight was really important for my mental and physical health in so many ways, but if it was to be long term the focus had to switch from weight loss to healthy long-term living.

“So, for me this was focusing on exercise goals, and gaining knowledge around food.”

Hannah has learnt to really understand food and how to fuel her body properly

In fact, Hannah reveals she set her sights on two things she loved – running and helping others.

“I entered my first official running event and committed to training for my first ever half marathon,” she says.

“I also enrolled back into study and between juggling all of my five kids’ needs, I’m halfway through completing an advanced certificate in health and nutrition coaching.

“For me, knowledge is power, and studying has helped me understand food and health on a deeper level.”

And the mum-of-five says she has taken some time to really start to understand food.

“Recently, I have undertaken a new focus and am reducing, working towards eliminating refined sugar,” she says.

“I’m learning about fibre and how important it is for gut health. This new passion has all stemmed from my total lifestyle change, all thanks to The Healthy Mummy.

“I now have one ‘meat free’ day a week, and love the vegetarian filter in the Challenge app.”

Reaching her goal weight was the beginning for Hannah

Best of all, Hannah says that reaching her goal weight was actually ‘the beginning’ not ‘the end’!

“I had spent so much time focusing on changing my physical appearance with weight loss, that I have learnt to love the skin I’m in, I’ve stopped focusing on the numbers on the scale and focusing on how I feel,” she says.

Now, Hannah says she mentally feels better after exercise, as opposed to exercising to lose weight.

“I now look at food as fuel. I realise that the more I know about food, and how it can play a part in my mental health is so powerful,” she adds.

“I’m living by the mantra ‘when you truly don’t care what anyone thinks of you, you have reached a dangerously awesome level of freedom’.

“I am me, my body is amazing, and being fit, strong and healthy, inside and out is my new focus!”