By the time Ivy Dean turned thirty, she was constantly tired. No matter how much she slept, her mornings felt sluggish and her afternoons even worse. “I thought I was just getting older or maybe overworking myself,” she says. “But deep down, I knew something was off.”
After months of dragging herself through the day, Ivy decided to take a hard look at her habits. She wasn’t eating poorly—at least not on purpose—but she realized her meals were inconsistent, rushed, and often too reliant on processed plant-based options. “It’s easy to be a junk food vegan,” she laughs. “But it’s not sustainable if you want real energy.”
That’s when she created her weekly vegan prep plan—a structure that allowed her to fuel her body with whole, nutrient-dense meals without scrambling in the kitchen every day. She chose Sunday as her meal prep day, setting aside two hours to wash, chop, and batch-cook key ingredients that would power her week.
What started as a time-saving habit quickly turned into a life-changing one. Ivy’s plan focused on complex carbs like quinoa and roasted vegetables, plant-based proteins like lentils and tofu, and plenty of fresh greens, herbs, and seeds. “When I eat like this, I feel unstoppable,” she says.
By eliminating decision fatigue and ensuring she always had healthy options ready to go, Ivy found that her energy soared. “I didn’t need coffee after 2 p.m. anymore,” she says proudly. “I wasn’t crashing. I was focused, lighter on my feet, and so much more productive.”
Ivy also found joy in the predictability of her routine. “There’s something calming about knowing what you’ll eat, how it’ll make you feel, and that it’s supporting your goals,” she explains. Instead of seeing food as a chore, she saw it as fuel—and that mindset shift made all the difference.
