Meal Prep Tips
Adjusting your nutrition to reach your goals, whether it be to lose weight, gain muscle, or improve health, can be hard. You're going to need some sort of game plan if you want to be successful.
Why prep?
While it's not necessary to meal prep to meet your goals, I think it makes things much much easier and saves time and stress in the process. Spending a few hours once or twice a week prepping meals could mean your not having to cook every night, giving you more time with your friends and family. It's also nice to not have the stress of what or where should I eat and you're going to be far less susceptible to temptation. Life is stressful enough as is, no need for my food choices to add to it.
Start small. Don't start with a full week's worth of meals if you've never done it before. It takes a bit of time to learn to be efficient in the kitchen and you don't want to bite off more than you can chew. I recommend starting with a week's worth of breakfast or lunch, whichever seems to be the most inconsistent meal for you. Pick two different lunch or breakfast options and get to work (one option is doable, but you're likely to get pretty bored by the end of the week).
Purchase food storage containers. It's easiest if you have numerous containers just big enough to hold a single meal. I prefer to use glass so I'm not heating my food in plastic. I also like to have an insulated bag to throw meals in for the day, often bringing more meals than I think I'll need as a just-in-case.
Double your recipes. One of the simplest things you can do is to just cook more of what you're already cooking, provided it's healthy and fits your goals. I will do this with almost everything and will often freeze half of it for later, especially if it's a soup, chili, or something similar.
Start simple. I do like to cook "fancier" dishes, but the majority of my meals are pretty simple, as it's faster and easier. I take a protein, a carb, a veggie (or two), and some fat and throw it all together. Keep in mind that simple doesn't have to mean bland or tasteless...
Use lots of spices and herbs. Spices, herbs, oils, and garlic can add a lot of flavor to a dish and turn bland into KAPOW! When I cook up my chicken it's usually a few pounds at a time, but I don't want to feel like I'm eating the same chicken over and over, so I'll use 2, 3, or even 4 different spice rubs or marinades before cooking them.
Use various cooking methods. As you're prepping more and more meals for the week, you're going to want to keep your time in the kitchen low. To do this I'll use a variety of cooking methods all at the same time. I'll have something in the pressure cooker, food on the stove, and food in the oven. If you have a grill or slow cooker, you can use those as well.
Use your hand to determine portion sizes. Your and my bodies are not calculators, which is why I don't count calories and never weigh my food. I prep my meals using approximate portion sizes based on my hand size. If I get hungry, I eat more, if I'm full before I'm finished, I stop and save the rest for later.
Purchase a few fast and healthy cookbooks. I’m a big fan of Jonny Bowden’s cookbooks, I’ve found a number of recipes I use often in them.
Buy a nice chef’s knife. Having a quality, sharp chef’s knife is not only safer, but it makes everything in the kitchen faster and easier.
Buy pre-cut veggies. If you really want to save yourself some time, let someone else chop your veggies for you!
Have patience. It will take time and practice to get good at your food prep and to make it a habit. Totally worth it though!!!