Meal Preparation 101
Meal preparation, also known as “meal prep,” involves preparing some, or all of your meals in advance. In a nutshell, this method saves time and energy so you can stress less and live more!
PLAN & SHOP: Spend a little time to plan out what you want to eat this week
- Gather recipe inspiration from Pinterest, food blogs, cookbooks, magazines, grocery store ads, etc.
- Make a grocery list. Be sure to check your pantry to make sure you don’t buy more than you need. Utilize frozen fruits and veggies, they are often less expensive and just as tasty!
- Shop smart by separating your grocery list into categories: Protein, Fruit, Vegetables, Dairy, Starch/Grains, Other.
PREP: Wash, chop and store as much as possible. Cut up your produce as soon as you get home, so that it is very convenient to grab and eat throughout the week! Be sure to store in proper produce containers so that your produce stays fresh & doesn’t go bad before you even eat it!
Utilize batch cooking, which just means cooking enough food at one time for multiple servings. Keep in mind
that most of the foods you prep can be used for multiple meals/recipes if the seasoning is kept simple (olive oil, salt & pepper).
Examples:
- Cut up veggies and fruit for quick snacking, and easy salad making
- Sauté extra lean ground turkey or chicken
- Roast extra veggies for easy additions to meals (I love using silicone baking mats on sheet pans for easy clean up!)
- Bake chicken breasts
- Cook up a batch of brown rice (or other whole grain)
- Combine smoothie ingredients in a bag and place in freezer
- Bake or sauté a block of tofu
- Make overnight oats
With batch cooking, think about how to be most efficient! Utilize all of your appliances
- Air Fryer (great for making salmon)
- Food Processor (makes killer Homemade Hummus)
- Spiralizer (make some zucchini noodles, aka “zoodles” & top with pasta sauce!)
- Egg Cooker (perfect for making boiled eggs for an easy high protein breakfast or snack)
- Potato Cutter (easily cut potatoes for delicious baked fries!)
- Crock Pot (make some shredded chicken, soup or a whole dinner with ease)
STORE: Storage containers, zip-top bags, and mason jars are all great for meal prepping.
- Allow cooked foods to cool completely before covering and storing in the fridge or freezer.
- Britt’s Pro Tip – Use portioned containers to make up grab & go lunches!
- It is helpful to label containers with the type of food and date it was prepared. For easy removal, use a permanent marker on a piece of tape.
Last minute decisions made when you’re hangry (hungry + angry) are much easier to avoid when you have better-for-you foods readily available. Eating nutritious, home cooked meals and snacks doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming!
Check out our favorite recipes to meal prep on our Blog!
Head to our Pinterest page to save some of your favorite recipes for later!
