Save Time and Money With These 10 Tips for Meal Prep

We have heard this over and over…. Meal prep is KEY to having a successful week. It’s so true! If you don’t have it prepped, you are more likely to grab the most convenient thing… which is most likely not so good for you. 

Here are a ten tips to help you with your meal prep/plans :

1-Make a Plan

Make a list of your favorite healthy foods, choose some simple recipes that you can make quickly or in bulk.  Make sure you choose what you are going to eat for every snack and meal.  This may take a little bit at first but this step does get easier and faster with some practice.

TIP:  You can save your plan for a week in the future.  Once you create a few meal prep menus then you can rotate them every week or every other week to keep things interesting.  I am going to work on creating a few for myself today.

2-Stick to Your Grocery List

When you are shopping, don’t let the sales on junk food tempt you into throwing it into your cart.  If you don’t have it in your house then you won’t have to worry about having the willpower to avoid it. Now, I realize that sometimes we have to buy it for our family members, but I suggest weaning them away from it too.  If it’s not good for you, why is it good for your loved ones?

Impulse purchases…if you can find a way to fit it in with your eating plan for the week, then go for it, but keep them to a minimum.  It helps with your waist line and your budget.

3- Don’t Forget About Shakeology

For those of you who drink Shakeo…If you feel like you are short on fruits and veggies, this is one healthy snack that takes care of it all.    I make sure to drink mine every morning.  Don’t let yourself get stuck drinking the same shakeo every day though.  Try out some new recipes.  I have found a few lately that I absolutely love.  I share them on my like page. J

4-Keep Snacks Simple

When you are cooking everything for your week, or even 3-4 days at a time, (I usually do from Sunday to Wednesday, then Thursday to Saturday), it is so important to keep things simple.  Save some time by choosing snacks that are simple to prepare.  Cups of fresh fruit, nuts, cut up veggies with hummus and hard boiled eggs are great snack ideas.

5-Cook Foods All At Once

Roast your veggies, sweet potatoes and meat all at once.  That way your dishes are all prepared for the week, ready in about 30 minutes or so.  This saves you so much time.

6-Look for Shortcuts

Buy your veggies and fruit precut (I don’t normally do this), or a cooked rotisserie chicken (be careful with this, because your not sure how much salt they use).  Tuna is an easy no cook protein that you can add to your salads or snacks.  If you are roasting veggies in the oven then try this tip to cook a dozen eggs…

Preheat your oven to 325.  Put your eggs in a  muffin tin and bake them for 30 minutes.  Then carefully remove them and plunge the eggs into a bowl of ice water until cool. 

7-Get on the Mason Jar Salad Bandwagon

Mason jar salads are very practical.  They cost about a dollar a piece, are microwave safe (remove the lid first) and have a lot of uses.  The dressing is at the bottom of the jar and the greens are at the top, no soggy lettuce for you!  I will share a few salad recipes later on. J

8-Mix Things Up

Eating the same meal every day can make your meal planning very easy. AND it is very tempting to do that, but you can get bored with what you eat.  Have two lunch options and two dinner options.  You can do this by choosing different proteins for your salads each day or eating chicken with your veggies three nights a week and fish with veggies the other nights.  Get creative but still remember to keep things simple.

9-Invest in Food Storage Containers

It’s a great idea to choose one container type and buy several that stack and store neatly.  Insulated bags make carrying your meals everywhere you go a breeze.  Mason jars and sturdy pyrex are great containers as well.  Make sure whatever you choose is microwave safe and BPA-free.

10-Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

All of these tips and your meal prep have a purpose and that is to help you reach your health and fitness goals.  When everything is prepared and it is in the fridge ready for you to take out and go, then you will be less tempted to grab something from McD’s or a gas station.  It doesn’t matter if you are doing your meal prep for a few days at a time, or for a week, getting it done will help you stick to your meal plan, focus on your goals and give you more time to Push Play!

~Darlene <3