Meal Prep Tips & Tricks For The Busy Individual
Most of us know that to stay at a lean, healthy weight and/or to perform physically at our best, meal prep and planning is a must! This is especially true for those just starting their health and fitness journey.
Unfortunately, many of us believe we are too busy, too overwhelmed, and have too much going on to take the time to make meal planning happen. The problem with this type of thinking is that if we don't take the time to take care of one of the most basic components (food intake) that creates our health, our bodies, our moods, etc., in life, we will fail at living a life full of vibrancy, health, longevity, happiness, peacefulness, etc. Not a pretty picture.
Here are some quick tips and tricks to get your meal planning and prepping organized, simplified, and done in a small amount of time so you can live a healthy, happy, active life!
1. Make sure your food decisions for the week are made ahead of time. Decision fatigue occurs when you've made too many decisions throughout your day/week. When this occurs, you're current decisions will be foggy and poor. This is when we grab convenience food/fast food/processed food.
2. If you are limited in time and cooking is not necessarily a fun task (me) then focus on simple, clean recipes. Gather 4 recipes with a limited number of ingredients (just google "clean recipes"... there are tons out there... don't reinvent the wheel). I try to do recipes with 5 or less ingredients. Less ingredients save time. (I do a lot of grilling and slow-cooker-ing of mass amounts of proteins and veggies and lots of fun spices).
3. WRITE A GROCERY LIST based on your recipes and how many you are cooking for. I also typically double many of my recipes so I can have the leftovers for a second meal the following day or I will freeze certain ones for a later date when I'm really time crunched. Organize the list so that all the foods you need are in order, based on the aisles in the grocery store. Hopefully most of your time at the grocery store is only spent in the outside aisles (produce, meat, eggs). Keep the list on your phone or a place you can always access it.
4. Gather your groceries. (Don't go food shopping while hungry).
5. Break down the groceries by cleaning and cutting up veggies immediately (I hate to admit it but sometimes I buy the precut veggies when I'm struggling for time. I'm also known for using lots of frozen, organic veggies... Another trick to eating clean when you're on the go a lot).
Get your proteins ready to go by opening packaging, trimming meats, etc. Make it easy to find and grab ingredients to make dinners...put them close together in the fridge.
7. If you're going to prep meals for the entire week, you will need some containers. Go for glass but if you can't at least make sure they are BPA-free and microwaveable. From experience, I believe it's best to use the same sizes of containers (fits better in the fridge and keeps portion size in control and looks cool when you open up your fridge!)
8. Eat the same breakfast and lunch every day or at least Monday-Friday. You won't believe how this one thing will keep you on track with your body and health goals and also simplify your life and time spent in the kitchen.
One last thing.... Make your time in the kitchen fun. I've found if I listen to an interesting podcast or music while I'm prepping, I actually can enjoy my time spent in the kitchen. I also remind myself how important the time I spend planning and prepping is for me and my daughter's health and how this small part of my week has one of the biggest impacts on our entire lives.