MEAL PREP EASY: Prepare meals ahead of time
- josephplatt1979
- Aug 10, 2021
- 10 min read
Updated: Aug 15, 2022
MEAL PREP EASY
People with the best healthy eating intentions are frequently tripped up when they try to put those decision-making principles into action without a plan. life does throw some unexpected things in your path and presents tempting treats that aren't in your plan unless you've prepped meals and snacks ahead of time.
Meal prepping has long been touted as the nutrition go-to in the fitness world as it has kept athletes diets on point while saving them time and money. When done right, meal prepping can be one of the biggest factors helping you build muscle, lose fat and hit your fitness goals. But it takes a little strategy to get it right and make meals that you will continue to enjoy for more than a few weeks.
Meal prepping is the art of planning and preparing some or all of your meals in advance with the intention to control calories and nutrition to meet personal dietary needs. This could be making your lunch the night before, cooking in batch, or pre-cooking all your food and portioning it out for the week. It is often done to improve overall nutrition intake, cut calories, gain muscle, and support workouts, It's a win-win for healthy eaters.
Meal prepping can also help reduce the stress that comes with trying to eat healthier,
especially cutting calories as this can cause you to think about food all day long and not knowing what your next meal will be, or whether or not it’s going to help your dietary goals. This can all get overwhelming day after day.
With meal prepping, you can weigh and measure your portions. This can help you keep tabs on exactly what you're eating, and that makes tracking calories or other nutrients easier. Plus, you control the ingredients and can make sure your calories are coming from mostly nutrient-dense whole foods. Calories and macros go hand in hand, which is why meal prepping on a macro diet can make keeping your portions in check and calorie control even easier
MEAL PREP EASY - BENEFITS OF MEAL PREP
Meal prepping and planning may sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be as easy as thinking ahead and sketching out what you want to eat for the next several days before making a grocery list. Meal prepping can make your life so much easier in so many ways. Here are reasons why you may want to consider meal prepping:
You’ll save time - Instead of wasting time trying to figure out what to cook, or whether you should order takeout, meal prepping assures that you always have a little meal waiting patiently for you on your lunch break or when you arrive home.
You’ll have more dough in your pocket - Eating healthy tends to get a bad reputation for being overly expensive. But meal prepping saves money because you can buy ingredients in bulk, freeze extra food for later, and most importantly, spend less money eating out.
You can better manage your portion sizes - So many people are overeating each day and consuming more calories than necessary to maintain a healthy diet. When you prepare your own food, you’re able to control your portions, know how many calories are in each meal and you know exactly what ingredients you’re putting in your body. Because of this, meal prepping has become the new go-to habit for reaching your goals
Macros - You will know exactly what is in each food portion you dish out, the right amount of protein, carbs, fats and also making sure you get you fibrous veggies. You will know you are getting the right amount to fuel your workouts and help with recovery.
You might lower your stress levels - Figuring out what to make for dinner may seem harmless, but for some people, struggling with this every day can be stressful and overwhelming. When you meal prep for the week, you don’t have to engage in that battle every day.
You’ll gain a new handy skill - If you want to be more confident in the kitchen, meal prepping can be a great teacher. Meal prepping might help you find your way around the kitchen and open up a world of new recipes.
You’ll create a better relationship with food - When you meal prep, you learn more about nutrition and improve Diet Quality and Variety. You learn to eat only when you’re hungry instead of making unwise decisions in a rush.
You will gain more willpower - as you get into the swing of consistently eating healthy, you will gradually stop craving sugar and other fattening foods. Keeping a routine in place is key to healthy eating, and you will find it becomes easier to turn down the foods you know you shouldn’t be eating
It is an investment in your health - the best part about meal prep is that you get to choose ahead of time what you will be eating! People who do this are able to eat cleaner than those who don’t, with ease! You won’t be scrambling to find something to eat, and risk being exposed to unhealthy options, because your meal is already prepared, and it’s healthy! The benefits of eating a clean diet are endless. Good nutrition won’t contribute to just a smaller waistline, but it will also contribute to heart health and other factors
Avoid waste - When it comes to meal planning, you go to the shop with a plan, and know how you’re going to use all of the items. When every food has a purpose, you won’t have to worry about items in your fridge going to waste.
MEAL PREP EASY - PERFECT FOR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
Meal prep is perfect for anyone trying to lose weight or fat, build muscle or just put on some weight. Either building muscle and losing weight comes down to nutrition and calories, so you want to make sure you are putting in the right amount to achieve either goal.
If you want to lose weight and you consume less calories you will lose weight. Many people who start meal prepping for the first time, notice that they end up losing weight just because you're eating healthier and are more prepared for meal time. Whenever you stay organized and control your food portions, you’re helping yourself to eat healthier and more mindfully, which can lead to weight loss. It’s also a lot easier to calculate your meal’s calorie count when you have cooked the food yourself and know how to divide that recipe into the appropriate portion size. If you know exactly what you're eating and when, it will definitely help with any sort of weight loss plan.
A similar principle for building muscle applies with meal prepping but this time you will be consuming more calories than you burn. Whether you are training to be a bodybuilder, or just looking to tone up, building muscle mass involves some seriously diligent meal prepping. Of course, exercise is just as important when looking to ‘bulk up’, but if you fail to fuel your body with the correct ingredients, you will soon find out that building muscle is an almost impossible task. Meal prepping will allow you to get all the proteins, carbs and fats needed in each meal to fuel your workouts and growth.
MEAL PREP EASY - HOW TO MEAL PREP
You may think that cooking meals for the week ahead will consume a big chunk of your weekend and downtime. This is not true as meal prepping usually takes me about 2-3 hours to complete. The key is planning your day ahead of time. This way, you can get right into it without thinking about where to start.
There are many different ways to meal prep depending on your personal health goals, schedule, and dietary preferences. The most common include:
Batch Cooking: Making large batches of one specific recipe that are then divided among single portions to be frozen and consumed over the next few months. (chilis, or casseroles)
Individually Portioned Meals: This entails making one entire meal, then portioning them into smaller meals in individual containers and refrigerated until mealtime. This comes in handy for quick, grab-and-go lunches. ( includes a protein, carb or grain, and veggie)
Prepared Ingredients: When you do a bunch of chopping, peeling, slicing, and/or roasting in advance and use those prepared ingredients in recipes later on. This helps to cut down on cooking time later in the week.
Make-Ahead Meals: These are full-cooked individual meals that can be refrigerated and reheated at mealtimes. This method comes in handy for lunches or dinners during a busy week.
These different meal-prepping methods can be mixed and matched depending on your what is best for your needs and your schedule. Start by choosing the most appealing method, then experiment with the others to determine which you like best. You will want to find the best way for you so you can stick to it and make it a habit.
MEAL PREP EAASY - WHAT FOODS FOR MEAL PREP
You can meal prep any food that holds up well in storage and tastes palatable to you after a few days in the refrigerator or can be taken out the freezer and defrosted. Cooked meat, roasted vegetables, soups, sauces, nuts and sturdy raw vegetables, ground meat, beans, hard-boiled eggs, and starches keep great in the fridge and make good bases for meal prep recipes
Some foods are not ideal for meal prep and they include crunchy food like crackers which will only get softer in your fridge or freezer. Foods with high moisture content, such as salad greens, tomatoes, or watermelon, are not recommended as they tend to become mushy when frozen and thawed. Most meals will last 3 – 6 days in the fridge and if you decide to freeze your meals then you will get even longer lasting time. Frozen meals can last at least two months, in most cases.
Pick foods that you know can be reheated in the microwave or oven and will taste just as good as first cooked. Reheating meal prepped recipes in a microwave safe dish, slightly covered is the best way to go.
Some food supplements like protein are already prepared and ready to add to your favorite drink. Protein powders allow you to get the much needed protein to help grow and recover after a workout. You can find the best protein there is by CLICKING HERE. There are lots of choices from whey, soy and even vegan. Take a look and get your offer
MEAL PREP EASY - SHOPPING AND MAKING FOODS
Take a look at different types of meals you want to make for the week but keep it simple, you do not want to over complicate your cooking and make it too difficult that you don’t want to do it again. Make sure you include all the macronutrients you need in each meal, the right protein carbs and fats. Put it all together in a delicious variety of meals.
After you decide want you want to make, put together a grocery list with all of the essentials as It is so important to have a complete and accurate food shopping list. The last thing you want to do is get home from shopping to find you have forgot an important ingredient for the meals you want. Not only will some advance planning save you money, it’ll ensure that you’ve got many, many days’ worth of meals that you’ll actually enjoy cooking and eating
Once you have been shopping and got the goods you need for your weekly nutrition, it’s now time to get cooking. You will probably take up lots of space in the kitchen with use of the oven, stove, pots and pans as you are preparing a lot of meals, so keep organized and don’t get to flustered.
A slow cooker can be your best friend when it comes to meal prepping. You can slow cook a big batch on Sunday and freeze portions for weekday meals. Just throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and your done.
You may find you are making many different meals for a mixed variety throughout the week and will be using the oven, stove and slow cooker all at once. Also you will need a lot of counter space due to the amount of ingredients to cook.
This 2-3 hours in the kitchen preparing and making your meals will be worth it and saves you time and effort for the rest of the week.
When you have prepared all your meals, it will be time to dish them out into individual food containers and ready to be stored away in the fridge or freezer. Make sure to have enough containers to portion out multiple meals. If a part of a meal needs to be heated and another part kept cool, consider using separate containers.
MEAL PREP EASY - MEAL PREP CONTAINERS
Having a set of dependable meal prep containers is important, because it can help keep your food fresh and reheat it evenly. You will want to buy a container that is
microwave-safe
dishwasher-safe
freezer-safe
durable
see-through
air-tight
leak-proof
eco-friendly
You will also want size to be important for your meal prep containers, but this will depend a lot on how you plan to do the majority of your meal prep. You may want containers that hold just one meal serving.
If you are preparing your meals for a whole week, then you will want to workout how many meals you want to prepare for that day and times it by how days of the week you want meals for.
I eat 3 meals per day and I meal prep for 7 days, that makes it 21 containers worth of meals for my week.
MEAL PREP EASY - BOTTOM LINE
You have likely heard the adage that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” When you plan your meals ahead of time, organize your ingredients, and stock your refrigerator and freezer with healthy, balanced and varied meals, on the other hand, you are planning to succeed. There are many benefits of meal prep and they include things like saving money, save time, portion control, getting all your macros and help weight management.
The key to easy meal prep is start simple and avoid the temptation to spend a whole day cooking elaborate meals. Too many recipes can complicate your meal prep fast, and you may not want to do it again if it was too hard the first time. Try making just one recipe ahead of time, then meal prep additional dishes when you get comfortable.
Preparing my meals for the week was a game changer for me and all the above points are what it did for me. I began to see strength gains in the gym as I knew I was getting all the need from my diet as I prepared them in advance. Once you will start preparation for your meals, you will feel a positive change in your life.
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