Meal Prep Made Simple
Why all this hype about meal prep?! It's simple really...
Saves you time
Saves you money
Reduces stress on figuring out what to eat
Helps you reach your health and wellness goals because you are prepared
Meal planning is a lifesaver and whether it's a new habit you're trying to form or you just want to get into a routine where you're eating out less (eating less unnecessary calories and saving some money) it truly is the way to go! Start small. If this is a new habit you are trying to introduce into your routine, then choose one thing your going to prep for the week. If you struggle the most with making healthy choices for lunch because your at the office then choose that one to start! Keep it simple!
Meal Planning Tips
Keep it simple: Don't over think it. If your struggling on starting, start with planning dinner for each day of the week and make enough so that there are leftovers for lunches all week long. That kills two birds with one stone - dinners and lunches for the week.
Prepare ahead of time: When you get home from the grocery store start to prepare some things that you can ahead of time. If you can pre-cut fruit and vegetables it will reduce the time when it comes to cooking your meals.
Use the same ingredient more than once: For example get some different vegetables that you can throw in different meals and prepare them in different ways to change up the flavor or to use as a snack. Example: night 1- stir fry with veggies, night 3 - roasted veggies with chicken, snack: cut veggies with hummus.
Keep your freezer stocked: Buy in bulk and freeze! Keep frozen fruit and vegetable bags in stock! It may be expensive to stock up all at once but if you have all of these items on hand you're less likely to buy food out because you know you have options (which can be cheaper in the long run!)
Be kind to yourself: Remember life happens! Sometimes you might not have time to prep everything all at once, sometimes you might only be able to prep for half the week at a time, sometimes you might not want that meal for the third time. Not every day will be perfect even if you are prepared, but being prepared helps get you back on track again the next day because it is ready to go!