Meal Prep: How To

Hi everyone! Good morning, and welcome to Meal Prep!

Today I’m going to talk about the how behind meal prepping as well as give you some ideas for meals you could be making. So let’s get started!

To begin, I’d like to discuss the “why” behind it all. Many people meal prep for different reasons. Some of which reasons are because it saves time, or they’re training at the gym. But, whatever reason that interests you in prepping is sufficient enough for me! I just want to make you aware of some of its benefits up front. Meal prepping, though it takes a lot of time on the front end, saves a lot of time later on during the week. We’re all busy people, we have lives that revolve around work, school, kids, health, etc. Meal prepping can be a great help during the week since it’s already made! You just pop your meal in the microwave and 30-40 seconds later, voila!

Now, don’t get me confused for someone advocating you eat nothing but microwave dinners to save time. That’s not what I’m saying at all! The difference between prepared frozen microwave meals and the meals your prepping at home is the quality behind them. You know exactly what you’re putting in those meals you’re prepping, and hopefully it’s some pretty good stuff. And what microwaveable frozen meals lack is exactly that; good, healthy ingredients worth eating six days a week.

As well, meal prepping and eating on a timed schedule cuts down on those late night cravings and sustains energy throughout the day. It also makes for a well balanced diet and one that can promote muscle growth or weight loss, depending on how you design it.

Alright, so now that we understand why we prep, we’re to go move now to how we prep.

My number one recommendation before you begin prepping is to plan. Planning can be both challenging and relieving depending on the person and situation. But, when it comes to meal prepping, whether or not you like planning it is always going to be the first step. You may think that once you get this prep thing down that you can skip the planning step and jump right in the kitchen and bust out a weeks worth of to-die-for meals. And if you’re that confident than you’re better off than me! But meal prepping is a time heavy task and as you begin to experience it first hand, you realize that you can’t just “wing it”. Before I begin a prep for the week I like to consider how the last week went. How was my energy, how was my hunger, and overall, how did I feel with the meals I had. Were they enough, or should I add a snack or greater proportion next time? Questions like this help perfect your meal prepping experience. The first couple of weeks typically tend to be trial runs until you get down exactly what works for you. Though I can give you all the advice in the world and recommend you different plans that work for me, we’re different, and our needs are different. So asking yourself those questions at the end of each prep is a good way of understanding and developing a prep strategy for yourself moving forward.

Planning is also essential so that you ensure you’re getting all the right things in your prep. You’ll want a good balance between protein, greens, and grains. And you’ll also want to consider what you’re planning for lunch before you decide on dinner. Meal prepping can be difficult because of the fact that you’ll be eating the same thing for all three meals, all week long. For myself, I like to prep with the option for something different. So, I make alternating meals so that I don’t ever burn out on one. I’ll eat beef one day and chicken the next, and switch off in that fashion throughout the week. This takes more time and is harder to plan for, but it makes me a more compliant and happy prepper.

Moving forward with planning, you should also plan so that when you get to grocery store, you have a streamlined entrance and exit plan and don’t get distracted by all the interesting and tasty things they have to offer. As well, if this is your first time prepping, you’ll need to plan for how many meals you want to have, how often you’ll eat, and if there is space in your plan in for snacks, or small portions of meals to hold you over for the next. Don’t forget to plan out how many containers you’ll need and to go to the store and pick out which ones you like best. Personally, I use the meal prep containers by Good Cook. They offer a variety of container shapes and sizes that work well with my prep.

The next step following planning is to get in the kitchen start cooking! Once you’ve planned everything out and gone to the store to get everything you’ll need, it’s finally time to start putting it all together. Set aside a day during the week when you have a decent amount of time. I mean, a couple hours time, because this will take a while. And start by prepping all the things that go into one meal. If your stove top has four burners and one meal consists of meat, rice and a vegetable, that’s basically all your burners at use already. However, you can also roast your vegetables in the oven to get a head start on other meals you’re preparing too. Other than that, your final step in meal prep is to put all your meals in containers and all your containers in the fridge!

My Prep-

As an example I’ll tell you what my prep consists of. To begin I never prep breakfast, I think that prepping breakfast is gross. The thought of reheated eggs six days later does not go over well in my head. Therefore I give myself enough time each morning to get up and scramble my eggs and cook my bacon fresh. Now you could have a different take on the idea of prep breakfast and maybe you should consider prepping your breakfast too. That’s something to keep in mind when you begin planning. For my other meals, lunch and dinner, I prep six meals for each, leaving one meal out for my cheat day. I also prep snacks for in between meals in the case that I’m hungry and need something to hold me over. So, when I get to my dreaded prep day in total I’m prepping twelve meals, ten snacks and some fruit cups on the side. I also like to add granola/cliff bars to prep as well as pre-made protein shakes that I can substitute in for a snack. My prep week typically begins on Monday, so if I have time I’ll prepare everything the Sunday before. And that’s really it!

Prepping isn’t like tackling the hardest recipe you’ve ever made. In fact, the cooking and recipes used in prep are fairly simple and something any cook can do well. The hardest part of prep is making sure you’re mentally prepared for the week ahead, especially if you’re coming from a place where you eat whatever you want, whenever you want. But, that’s not to say you can’t do it or you shouldn’t! I believe in all of you and you ability to kick meal prep in the butt and take a win for the week!

Recipe Ideas-

Now, if you’ve decided to take the plunge and are in need of some quick and easy recipe ideas then you’re in the right place! Below I’ll detail my weekly menu and you can pick and choose what you like from it for your own!

Breakfast - (typically, but as I explained above, I don’t prep my breakfast and therefore it is liable to change) 2-3 scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of bacon and one cup of vanilla Greek yogurt with berries and granola

Snack 1 - prepped tuna/chicken salad with cheese and crackers

Lunch - EITHER (remember I switch off) a ground beef burrito bowl with white rice, ground beef, lettuce, pico de Gallo and cheese, OR shrimp pasta with sautéed spinach on the side

Snack 2 - Protein shake and cliff bar (check out the pictures below to see what shake I use!)

Dinner - EITHER oven roasted chicken breast with rice, sweet potatoes and cauliflower, OR jalapeño sausage with fried rice, broccoli and sweet potatoes

Snack 3 - fruit, if needed