Weekly Meal Prep
Plan ahead and make healthy choices all week. You can stay on track eating for the week (great for portion control) and save money/time!
The minute someone says the words ‘Meal Prep’ it usually instills immediate fear or complete confusion.
Meal prep quite simply is pre-preparing all your meals for the week ahead. ‘Sounds like a ton of work!’ I hear you say.
It doesn’t have to be.
I cook all of my food for the week and box it up – that takes about 2 hours. You can shave minutes off your prep time as you get better at it.
Anyone can do this!
Here are the benefits of meal prep:
- All your meals are ready for the week
- Saves you money on eating out, expensive take-out delivery services and wasting groceries you don’t use
- They are easy to take to work or school and perfect for your kids’ lunch boxes
- You will have more free time during the week to do other things rather than cook every night
- You know EXACTLY what you are putting in your body
- They can be tailored to your dietary needs whether it be for weight loss, muscle gain or dietary restrictions
- It can be a fun activity for the whole family on the weekend (one of my clients has twins and on the weekend they get so excited to set up their ‘assembly line’ making all the meals together for the week)
Tips for Meal Prep
- Pick the day ahead of time to meal prep
- Decide what the menu will be
- Have all your groceries ready to go
- Invest in washable, non BPA plastic food containers
- Invest in a cooler or insulated meal bag
- Keep the menu simple – simple food lasts longer than complex meals or elaborate dishes
My example of meal prep is how I eat during the week: clean, simple and healthy. They are a balanced mix of protein, carbs and greens.
To some of you it may seem bland or potentially boring BUT the good news is your cheat meals can be on the weekend. I promise you – those cheat meals will taste so much better as your reward.
style=”text-align: center;”>What You Will Need
Choose your protein, carb, greens, healthy fats (for mid-morning and afternoon snacks) and cooking oil from the list below.
I absolutely love Weekly Meal Prep. My husband is a retired, disabled military veteran. When my husband has a few doctor appointment(s) during the week (this happens more often than not), we often arrive home late. It’s good to know dinner is prepared in advance, you stick it in the microwave and a healthy dinner ready for you and your family in minutes. Lastly, it save me time and money …. Which I truly love!
I would love to see a Meal Prep series complete with shopping list and directions on cooking each component and total nutrition facts!
I second that!
I second that also. I need all the help I can grt.
Yes this would be great!!
a break down would be awesome!
Me too!
Excellent advice, I typically do some prep work on the weekends. But not too this extent. I think that I just may start. You really do save lots of time during the week, and it has cut back on my food waste . Thank you for posting
Meal prep does sound pretty intimidating since it seems like a lot of work upfront but it’s true you’ll probably save a lot of time. No one wants to be stuck every evening in the kitchen. Plus I’m sure with time you’d be able to figure out ways to stretch those meals and shave off some “prep time.”
H. Bowden