Mastering the Art of Meal Prep
Do you ever find yourself reaching for unhealthy snacks because you're too rushed or tired to prepare a nutritious meal? If so, meal prepping might be the solution for you. It's a time-saving, health-promoting habit that can help you stay on track with your fitness goals. In this blog post, we'll delve into the benefits of meal prepping, how to make it a habit, and provide some practical tips and strategies to get you started.
Meal prepping
is one of the greatest acts of self-support you can give yourself when you're on the path to lose weight. Why? It takes the guesswork out of your next meal; minimizes the urge to "just grab something" when you get hungry; allows you to plan ahead; makes it easier to be mindful of what/when/how you eat if you have designated meals; enables you to portion out meals (see my Portion Sizes PDF for more info on portioning); and lets you bring your food with you wherever you go.
There are two main ways to meal prep: batch cooking and individual meals. For both of these approaches, you will want to pick one or two meal prep days. For each day, set aside approximately 1-2 hours for cooking. For example, you can do it all on Sunday. Or you can do it half on Sunday and half on Thursday.
Batch Cooking vs Individual Meals
Batch cooking
is when you cook large portions of food and store them in the fridge or freezer for scooping out and portioning at mealtime. Choose 3-5 proteins, 3-5 healthy carbs, 3-5 veggies, 3-5 sauces/dressings. Cook enough for 7 dinners, 7 lunches, 7 breakfasts. Store in large containers in the fridge and/or freezer. Portion out at mealtime.
Individual meals
, on the other hand, require you to buy at least 21 meal prep to-go containers (that equals one container for 3 meals a day for 7 days). On "meal prep day" (ex: Sunday), use your measuring cups (and/or a scale) to portion out each meal with your desired calorie count inside these containers (refer to my Portion Size PDF for more info on portioning). Freeze or refrigerate containers, grab one at mealtime. Take the food with you if you're going to be out running around.
Batch Cooking Example
For instance, you could cook 7 chicken breasts (should result in about 12 portions of 4-6oz), 6 sweet potatoes (to be cut in half for 12 portions), 6 cups white rice (to result in 1/2 cup portion), and 3 lb ground turkey (to result in 12 1/4 lb portion). Have on hand Teriyaki dressing, Taco seasoning, Salsa, bag of fresh spinach, mixed greens, and tortillas.
Meal Prep Tips and Techniques
One helpful trick for fast and efficient meal prepping is to avoid recipes only because they can be time-consuming. Cook your food plain and add your seasonings and sauces at mealtime. This allows you to rely on the nutritional labels that come with each food item for proper calories and serving sizes and it takes the guesswork and calculations out of recipes.
The most cost-effective way to meal prep, is to do it all yourself. However, that can be time-consuming. In order to save time, use pre-measured (pre-packaged) food (like frozen broccoli, microwavable lentils, etc). Refer to my Portion sizes PDF for assistance.
There is nothing wrong with canned food or frozen food. These are excellent ways to save time. While they do tend to be more expensive than cooking it all yourself, they do save time. So maybe you cook 4 lunches, 4 dinners each week, but then you buy frozen veggies and canned beans for the remaining 3 lunches and 3 dinners.
As far as weight loss, there is nothing wrong with bread. So sandwiches are a very quick and easy way to make lunch. Again, all we need to do is be mindful of added sugars and quality ingredients within the bread. Whole grain breads, non-GMO breads, and thin breads are an excellent way to minimize extra work and still get a good meal without overloading on calories.
The no prep Meal Prep Option
If you're not keen on cooking or simply don't have the time, there are other options available. Various meal prep services can deliver nutritious, ready-to-eat meals right to your doorstep. Here are some options you might want to consider:
These meal prep services can be costly, but they will definitely save you time.
By next week, you will have the customized menu that I'm creating for you that will based off the food you already eat. In the meantime, start experimenting with meal prepping and see how it works for you. Happy prepping!