Meal Prep Tips
years ago when I first began to experiment with counting macros I realized that doing meal prep would make hitting my macros accurately a lot easier for me! The more I planned the easier it was to eat healthy, hit my macro, and stay on track.
Whether you count macros or not I believe that meal prep is a great tool for hitting your nutrition and fitness goals or just eating better! When we fuel our body properly we are able to perform better at work, in school and in the gym.
Meal prep looks different for everyone. Some people love to prepare 5 days worth of meals and have everything portioned out exactly, but you don’t have to be this strict. Meal prep can look simple, like preparing a large salad and adding dressing when you are ready to enjoy or making some homemade energy bites to have on hand. We could say there are different ‘levels’ of meal prep.
You don’t need to have a fridge full of perfectly stacked and portioned Tupperware to benefit from meal prepping! I’ll show ya :) In this blog post I’m covering 6 tips to help improve your Meal Prep whatever that may look like for you! You can take any or ALL of these tips. Just do what’s realistic for you and maybe try something new.
1. Plan your Grocery Trip with your Meals in Mind. Going to the grocery store without a plan is…a bad plan! Before you go plan out the meals you want to have that week for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then check your fridge, freezer and pantry to see which ingredients you already have and which you need to pick up.
2. As Soon as You Get Home from the Grocery Store, Wash and Chop Produce. Only cut up things that make sense like carrots, celery, lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli. Apples, avocado, bananas, zucchini, cucumber, potatoes, and peppers may go brown or dry out. You can wash these but don’t cut them until you are ready.
3. Make a Large Batch of a Whole Grain. I love having rice or quinoa on hand. Cook as directed, let cool, and store in a container in the fridge! I personally don’t like to eat the same leftovers for very long. After day 3 I’m like, “Okay I need a change!!”. But I love having some prepared staple foods on hand that I can add to many dishes, something like quinoa which can be reheated and served with a protein and vegetable or kept cold and used in a salad.
4. Prepare some Protein for the Next Few Days. Because you are probably making the grain stovetop, it’s the perfect time to throw some chicken into the oven. For us chicken breasts, chicken thighs, shrimp, or ground turkey/chicken/beef store the best! I’ve found that fish doesn’t stay as well so I prefer to make salmon or white fish fresh!
5. Pre-portion Snacks. My favorite homemade snacks to pre-portion are smoothie ingredients, trail mix, and energy bites. Use reusable containers or Ziploc bags and have these on hand. Here’s some inspiration when you are making your own snacks!
Smoothie Bags – frozen spinach, banana, berries. Add almond milk and protein or yogurt when you’re ready to blend!
Trail Mix – Ingredients to Try
- Dark chocolate
- Coconut chips
- Dried cranberries
- Dried mango
- Roasted chickpeas
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Walnuts
- Wasabi peas
Energy Bites Ideas
Cinnamon Vanilla Protein Energy Bites
6. Boil and Peel Eggs. Boiled eggs are so easy to make, they store well, and make a great high protein and fat snack! Make 6-12 at a time depending if you live by yourself or with your partner who will enjoy them too. Make sure you rinse under cold water then peel right away (it helps the shells come off easier ;))
Okay, I hope you really enjoyed my tips for meal prepping! Remember, it doesn’t have to be hard! Once you have healthy foods on hand you will be more likely to reach for those in the fridge versus choosing a quick processed food or ordering out!
Start by planning your meals, set a day to shop and a day to meal prep (can be the same day). Write it in your planner and commit to doing something awesome for your health! You got this!
