Meal Prepping 101
The daunting idea of meal prepping on a Sunday with fresh groceries might be something you keep avoiding every week, leading to a nonstop cycle of “I’ll just start Monday”...*buys a sandwich from a deli at work.* All the fitness gurus and insta coaches might make you feel like this is the only way to have a “clean” diet and really make progress. In reality, the typical process of making a huge batch of the same meal can make food boring, repetitive, and labor intensive to the point where you can’t even enjoy your Sunday’s anymore. As I always say, a habit you cannot stand to do is a habit that will never stick.
So how can I meal prep without loading containers of ground chicken, broccoli, and rice every weekend? Follow these simple tips to make “meal prepping” become you looking out for future YOU:
Pre cut veggies and store in a container → takes away extra dishes and easy to toss in a pan for cooking
Pre wash fruit and place in the front of your fridge → makes healthy choices easy and grabbing snacks on-the-go
Keep a carb staple around for easy reheating (ie: cooked rice/pasta/potatoes) → no need to wait 20 minutes for these items on the weekday; these options can go with anything (ie: rice bowl, pasta sauces)
Marinate your meats → don’t wait for your meat to absorb all the flavor after a long day at work, just remove from the fridge for several minutes and throw it on the pan
Defrost frozen proteins by moving it from the freezer to the fridge → don’t worry about accidental cooking in the microwave, rinse and cook within minutes
With these tips, you don’t have to worry about eating the same meal all week and having the food get old and soggy. Instead, you broke down most of the labor so you can still have the freedom to mix and match how you want with a fresh meal every night. These little inconveniences usually add at least a half hour to prep time on most recipes/dishes, so do yourself a favor and just take the first step ahead.
Example:
Pre chop mushrooms and peppers
Rinse blueberries and blackberries
Cook a batch of pasta
Marinate chicken
Defrost shrimp in the fridge
Breakfast staple:
Scoop yogurt in container and top with pre washed berries (2 minutes)
Heat oatmeal and add pre washed blackberries (2 minutes)
Place berries in container to bring as a snack (1 minute)
Day 1:
Pull marinated chicken from fridge and cook in pan
Add chopped mushrooms
Toss with cooked pasta
Done in 15 minutes
Day 2:
Remove defrosted shrimp and sauté in pan
Add chopped peppers
Toss in pasta
Done in 10 minutes
Day 3:
Remove defrosted shrimp and sauté in pan
Add chopped mushrooms
Place on tortilla and add burrito toppings (I like non-fat plain Greek yogurt [swapped for sour cream] and some Mexican cheese blend)
Done in 5 minutes
For more simple tips, tricks, and recipes, click here!
