Who has the time to prepare meals ahead of schedule? You ask. I hardly have enough time as it is! But that is exactly the point. Meal prepping can actually save you time and it takes less time than you would think. How? Read this busy person’s step-by-step guide to meal prepping for a balanced diet to learn reasons to meal prep and how to meal prep.
What is Meal Prepping?
Meal prepping is the process of preparing your meals ahead of schedule. In other words, you plan what to eat in advance and prepare them. You may cook in batches and stock your freezer so that you can just heat and eat when you’re ready to eat later.
The concept of meal prepping also covers the cooking of veggies, grains, proteins, or dressings. Getting them ready to mix into meals for the next week.
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Why Good Meal Prepping is Useful
You can decide to meal prep for multiple reasons which includes making your life easier. For example, you may better control portion sizes while saving yourself a lot of time. Let’s go into more detail on the benefits of meal prepping.
- Meeting Nutrition Goals: Planning your meals in advance can make you less dependent on takeouts, pre-packaged, or ultra-processed meals. Certainly, this is a healthier choice. Furthermore, you’ll be better able to hit your calorie and protein targets.
- Reclaiming Your Time: You’ll be effectively freeing your evenings up for better sleep or to do the things you love.
- Spicing Up Your Meal with Varieties: Mixing things up can be easier if you plan your meals in advance. You do not get to eat the same meal five days a week – unless you want to.
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Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Meal Prepping
Now you have a good idea of what meal prepping is and some great reasons to meal prep. Let’s consider the steps for meal prepping for busy individuals.
1. Plan the Meal Varieties and Quantities
It is important to have an idea of what meals to include in your schedule for breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the next week. You know yourself better so consider your preferences and your health and nutrition goals as you choose meals for prepping. For example, you may pick meals that include varieties of vegetables, carbs, and protein-rich foods.
Regarding the quantity to stock, do account for times you may not eat in such as when you go on dates, client dinners, or outings with friends.
2. Plan Recipes
Choosing recipes goes hand in hand with planning meal varieties. Both processes involve choosing what meals to make. Here are some tips regarding choosing recipes:
- Prioritize Simple Recipes: Unless you’re set to experiment or try out complex recipes, it’s usually best to begin with simple recipes. This will make the meal preparation process easier.
- Prioritize Recipes with Ingredients You Can Reuse: A great way to save time and effort cooking is to prepare food varieties that can go with multiple meals. For example, making a batch of baked chicken can mean that you can serve it with steamed broccoli and sweet potato in one instance. On a separate day, you can serve it with whole-grain crackers and greens.
- Mix Up Micronutrients: This simply means that you take steps to vary your ingredients by adding a mix of micronutrients. Your meals should contain a balance of protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates.
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3. Organize Your Shopping Tools and Equipment
Planning ahead can begin with getting the right tools and equipment ready. This may include the following:
- A Shopping List Tool: There are great tools out there that you can use to track your needs for the week and select needed recipes for specific meal plans. The tool can then tally up the necessary ingredients in a list. And bingo! You’re ready to hit the grocery store.
- Space In Your Fridge and Freezer: You want to prepare a big batch of meals, but do you have enough room in your fridge and freezer to store them?
- Containers: You’re likely to need various sorts of containers to store food. This can include glass or plastic containers, clean jars for dressings and sauces, and resealable bags for food portions. Remember to label containers appropriately for quick access.
- Cooking Equipment: You do not need to wait until the gas is lit before realizing you need pots, pans, and utensils. You may also need a food processor to easily chop and grate. Of course, you should not forget to ensure your cooker is set.
- Freeing Up Your Calendar: Plan ahead by freeing up some time during the weekend, maybe an hour. Don’t forget to set up your playlist, audiobook, or your favorite podcast.
4. Batch-buy Ingredients
Remember we said that meal prepping can save you time? Yes, after all, the time that you spend in the supermarket every night can add up. Instead, batch-buy the ingredients you need for the week. On the one hand, you save time and on the other, you save money because it’s usually cheaper to buy in bulk.
5. Get Ahead by Multi-Prepping
You’re a busy professional and we get that you may not always have an hour or a weekend to devote to meal prepping. Thankfully, you can spread your meal prepping throughout the week. For example, you can mix sauces, pre-cook grains, or chop extra vegetables for storage while you’re cooking dinner. Likewise, you can get the next day’s school lunches ready for the kids while cooking dinner.
You may also find that the stew you thoughtfully prepared and kept in the freezer reduces the cooking load for the next week.
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6. Start Prepping, Refrigerating, and Freezing
Now it’s time to hit play on your music list, audiobook, or podcast and get down to business. Here are some steps you may take:
- Wash and chop the veggies for the week – that’s if you’re doing individual prepping
- Use your tools, recipes, and cooking instructions, and of course, your cooking experience to get the meals ready
- Transfer cooked food into airtight containers and store in your refrigerator
- Note that refrigeration is the appropriate option for meals you plan to eat within three to four days
- You can freeze the remaining servings in your freezer
- Use microwave-safe containers for hot lunches
- Use smaller containers for soups and chilis that you wish to freeze. This way, it’s easier to heat up meals that you wish to eat for the week.
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Leverage the Convenience of Meal Prepping
Meal prepping can be an effective solution to help you simplify your life and meet your nutrition goals. This guide is not an all-or-nothing guide that you have to strictly follow. Feel free to try out various methods to find one that suits your lifestyle. Any step that you can take to prepare meals in advance can make a major difference in your weekly schedule. So you can take things slowly.
Begin to implement these meal-prepping strategies and start enjoying the benefits of a balanced diet while saving time and energy throughout your busy week!
