It is not always easy choosing the healthiest options when we are busy! That is why meal preparation (‘meal prep’) can be so great! Simply put, meal prep is pre planning and pre cooking some, or all of your meals ahead of time. It will make your day-to-day life easier, healthier and will save you time and money!
Some of the key fundamentals of basic meal prep:
Everyone Plans Differently
The thing is, meal prep is different for everyone. Some people will want to plan for the entire week, others just a few days at a time. You may find that you only need to plan and prep for lunches, or maybe just dinners. You have to figure out what works best for you!
Plan Ahead
Pick a day that will be allocated as your meal prep day. A lot of people choose Sunday because it gives them time to get groceries and cook all in the same day. When you begin, try focusing on just prepping for 2-3 days a week. Write out each day of the week and try to plan your meals around your schedule. Don’t forget to cross off any day you won’t need to cook for!
Choose Your Meals
This is depends largely on what you like to eat and your family size. My biggest advice here would be to try and plan something up that you can use for multiple meals (e.g. make a fresh tomato sauce that can be used for homemade pizza, chilli or on whole grain pasta). Cook multiple pieces of chicken to be used different ways: in salads for lunch, heated for dinner with some steamed veggies, cut up and baked in a casserole or used for fajitas or wraps for lunches. There are endless possibilities for meal prep!
Don’t forget some nutritious snacks (fruits, nuts and seeds, hummus and veggies, yogurt and granola, cheese etc.).
Grocery List
Now that you’ve planned you meals, next step is to make your grocery list from that! Once you get home from the grocery store, pre cut all your veggies and fruit – that way they are ready for snacking and other meals (e.g. stir fry or wraps).
Food Safety
If you are unsure about the length of time certain foods stay fresh up to, check out https://www.foodsafety.gov .There are great resources on how to keep your food safe!
Invest in Tupperware
It may seem silly, but having a good collection of Tupperware makes meal prep that much easier! Try to find a brand that has the same size lid for a few different sized containers (Rubbermaid works great for this). Alternatively, there are some great compartment style containers out there allowing you to use one container for different parts of your meal!
Lastly: Don’t overwhelm yourself
Start small and work your way up! Do what works best for you!
If you have any questions or want to know more about meal prep please contact me at hmacdonald212@gmail.com.