What ever your nutritional goals: weight loss, weight gain, eating more vegetables, or reducing your fat intake, taking time to preplan your meals or prep ingredients ahead of time is a great way to ensure you stay on track.
One of the biggest excuses I hear from clients about why the cannot follow their nutrition plan is, they don’t have the time or energy to cook. It is much easier to run through a drive through or pop a frozen pizza in the oven.
While a lack of time can be an issue for some of us, most of us waste at least 30-60 minutes each day on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or watching reality TV. I am here to tell you that if you devote just 1-2 hours of your social media/tv time each week to prepping your meals for the week you will have more time and energy to achieve your nutritional goals (or any other goals).
Fuel your body with nutritious foods and you will be able to conquer the world!
Ok, maybe not the world but definitely your own personal goals, dreams, and desires.
So, how do I go about “meal prepping”, you ask.
Meal prepping can be as easy as simply doubling batch of something you are already making and then portioning it out into individual containers. You can easily pull the containers out of the fridge for quick meals during the week or put some in the freezer to eat later. I like this method for things like soup, grains like quinoa, rice, and oatmeal, roasted vegetables, and meat.
Another method is to take 15-20 minutes after dinner to put together breakfast and lunch for the next day. For example, if you cook an extra chicken breast for dinner, you can slice it and put it on top of some leafy greens and quinoa for a lunchtime salad. Also, you can prep some overnight oats for a fast delicious breakfast.
My favorite way to meal prep, is to take a few hours one day (I like Sunday) to prep my ingredients for the week. I wash and slice raw vegetables so they are easy to grab for snacks or salads. I grill 4-5 chicken breasts and 2-3lbs of ground turkey or other meat and portion them into individual containers so that I plenty of quick easy sources for protein. You can do this with beans and grains as well if you prefer a more vegetable protein based diet. I will steam or roast vegetables to use for breakfast egg bites, soups, or as a side dish. For me, this technique significantly reduces the time I spend cooking during the week. I simply mix and match a few containers from of the refrigerator, reheat and I’m done.
Once you get into the habit of prepping your meals, you will discover what methods work best for you. Then you can start to experiment with ways to make your favorite nutritious dishes ahead of time so you can have them on hand when you want them.
Meal prepping does take time, but it is an investment in your health, happiness, and success and it will improve your lifestyle waaaaay more than those crazy cat videos you’ve been watching.
If you need help learning how to get into the habit of meal prepping or how to create any other nutritional habit, our nutritional coaching plan can help! Check out our website at: https://procoach.app/wellnessphx.
Until next time, have a happy healthy day!
Achieve Wellness 