If you are wanting to take your weight loss up a level or simply save money by not eating out every day, Preparing your meals is the way to go.
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionals or certified trainer, This is everything I have learned in my fitness journey through trial an error and research.
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I stated Meal Prepping back in 2017 when I started my fitness journey and let me tell you it has helped out tremendously. Before I started I was eating out everyday, grabbing a McDonalds Biscuit every morning, snacking on vending machine foods all day then getting a burger for lunch everyday. Not only was that eating up my money it was also packing on the pounds.
That’s when i decided something had to change so I started researching food and nutrition and seen all of the fitness gurus I followed meal prepping and knew this is what I needed to start doing.
Facts: Planning out your meals, making sure they are catered to your Dietary needs then spending a couple hours on Sunday’s cooking and prepping everything is not the funest and can be very time consuming. However If you are serious about eating right, losing weight and saving money it is totally worth it.
How Much Should I Make?
If you are super busy or living the body building life style cooking a weeks worth of food on Sunday is extremely important. However if you have a little more flexibility in your schedule preparing food for a 2/3 days maybe more beneficial.
For me cooking a whole weeks worth of meals didn’t really work, I do prefer fresh food and can usually survive a few re-heats before getting burnt out.
I work about 5 minutes from my house so I normally go home on my lunch break and make a quick wrap and smoothie or fruit bowl for lunch so the main things I prep are my Breakfast, Dinner and Snacks.
Remember do what works for you and your schedule , You may need to prep all 3 meals and your snacks due to having to commute.
- Plan Ahead
Write out your meal plan and make sure it’s meals/foods that you like, this way eating them on repeat will not be so hard to stick with. Sticking to 1 or 2 different plates per meal is best, Trying to cook something different everyday is too time consuming, costly and stressful.
Choose the meals you want, make sure it adheres to your nutrition needs / diet plan. Then take that list to the store and buy what is on your list only. Remember we are trying to save money on top of eating healthy.
Lastly I like to jot everything down in my meal planner this way I can keep track of what I am eating and ensure I am keeping it mixed up so my meals don’t become mundane.
2. Stack Your Salads
Using a tall lunch container, begin assembling your salad by placing any toppings with a high water content, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and any fruit, at the bottom, then add the crisper vegetables, like peppers and carrots, followed by the lettuce on top. This layering method prevents your greens from becoming soggy by noon. Also, transport the salad dressing securely in a small plastic container with a tightly sealed lid.
3. Pre-Make Your Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard Boil Those Eggs: hard-boiling eggs in the oven. All you have to do is place an egg in a muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. You can hard-boil a large batch of eggs this way, placing one egg in each cup of the tin. After you remove the eggs from the oven, simply place them in a bucket of ice water for 10 minutes.
4. Use The Bowl Method
Your rice bowl should have three main components: a protein, a vegetable and of course, a grain. On your designated meal prep day, make large batches of all three of these components. Grilled chicken, pork, salmon or tofu make great proteins, while roasted or stir-fried vegetables like peppers, onions, mushrooms or asparagus add antioxidants and extra vitamins. Brown rice or Jasmin rice is a perfect base, but if youād like you can swap it for other grains like quinoa or farro. Once youāve cooked up your batches of ingredients, distribute them evenly into containers and store them in the fridge to have easy lunches ready to grab all week.
5. Embrace the Make-Ahead-Breakfast
If you and mornings just don’t get along, you can completely eliminate food prep before you head off to work by embracing the wonders of the make-ahead breakfast. There are so many different morning meals you can create the night before, from overnight oats to mini breakfast frittatas. Just prep it the night – or week – before, set it and hit snooze. Check out 6 Healthy Breakfasts to Meal Prep for some great idea’s.
6. Experiment With Sheet Pan Meals Or Crock Pot Meals
Throwing something into the crockpot is a super simple way to get a meal in for prep without having to do much extra work, same deal the sheet pan meals, toss everything in leave it to cook its recommended time and Bam you have a meal cooked. Here are a few Idea’s.
Healthy Chicken Crockpot Burrito Bowl
Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Sheet Pam Meal
Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan Meal
7. Invest In Reusable Containers
So now that you have prepped all of your food you need something to put it in, You can Find all kinds of containers out there, Here are a few of my favorites.
Bayco Glass Food Storage Containers
Igluu Meal Prep Round Plastic Containers
Pohl+Schmitt Glass Meal Prep Containers
Giotto Large Half Gallon/64oz Motivational Water Bottle
You can also freeze some of the items that you had too much of and save them for another weeks prep, which is why I love the Igluu Meal prep Containers because they are freezer friendly and microwavable.
I hope these Meal Prep steps and ideas are helpful to you and that you now feel confident enough to get started on meal prepping each week, Trust me the time and pure mental energy your save each week will totally be worth the little extra work you put into it.
If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you and don’t forget to subscribe so you done miss out on the juicy goodness.
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