We all struggle with finding time to get it all done. Food prep is almost mandatory if you live a busy lifestyle and want to stick to better eating habits.
Here's some of the strategies that I use to keep me on track with good healthy eating habits.
PICK A DAY TO PREP
The first thing you should do is pick a day that works best with your schedule to prepare all your meals. For most, Sunday is the best day because it’s a day when you are off work, kids are home from school, and you can enlist the help of the entire family if you need it.
Choosing 2 days for prep, like Sunday and Wednesday is also a great idea because using two days allows you to split up the week’s prepping.
I suggest not preparing meals for no more than 3 days. It will keep food fresher and you will avoid overcooking to much food.
EMPTY YOUR FRIDGE
Go through your fridge and get rid of any foods that have expired or have not been touched in more than 4 days. If a leftover hasn't been eaten in 4 days it never will be! Throw it out and make clean containers and room for more clean healthy food storage.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Start off with just a few meals. Don’t try to cook a whole week’s worth of meals in one sitting. You may want to do this later, as you get more comfortable, but for now, just try to find your meal-prepping-groove.
Focus on simple meals with few ingredients and easy cook time. Crock pot meals are a dream for both those who work outside of the house and busy stay at home moms!
After planning your meals, write down your shopping list to make sure you have all you need to fulfill your first 3 days of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
LEARN TO MULTI-TASK
My husband claims there is no such thing as muti-tasking, I told him he has no need to multi-task because he's not a woman.
Multi-task by cooking and preparing lots of different things at the same time. Use your oven space to its fullest potential. There’s no need to place one thing in there at a time. Use multiple oven trays if it helps, or use aluminum foil to make dividers on one oven tray and multiply your efforts. Start with recipes that lend themselves to this type of cooking.
I usually have veggies in the oven, meal in the crock pot, eggs in the cooker, all while I am chopping up fruits and veggies on the counter. The goal of meal prep is TIME MANAGEMENT - we want to SAVE TIME cooking so we can have time to do the things we really love to do.
FOODS TO PREP
The purpose of food prepping is to make life and healthy eating EASIER for you. Don't stress over it. Schedule it in on days and times that work for YOU. And do as much or as little as you feel is needed to make the rest of the week easier.
Here's some of the strategies that I use to keep me on track with good healthy eating habits.
PICK A DAY TO PREP
The first thing you should do is pick a day that works best with your schedule to prepare all your meals. For most, Sunday is the best day because it’s a day when you are off work, kids are home from school, and you can enlist the help of the entire family if you need it.
Choosing 2 days for prep, like Sunday and Wednesday is also a great idea because using two days allows you to split up the week’s prepping.
I suggest not preparing meals for no more than 3 days. It will keep food fresher and you will avoid overcooking to much food.
EMPTY YOUR FRIDGE
Go through your fridge and get rid of any foods that have expired or have not been touched in more than 4 days. If a leftover hasn't been eaten in 4 days it never will be! Throw it out and make clean containers and room for more clean healthy food storage.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Start off with just a few meals. Don’t try to cook a whole week’s worth of meals in one sitting. You may want to do this later, as you get more comfortable, but for now, just try to find your meal-prepping-groove.
Focus on simple meals with few ingredients and easy cook time. Crock pot meals are a dream for both those who work outside of the house and busy stay at home moms!
After planning your meals, write down your shopping list to make sure you have all you need to fulfill your first 3 days of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
LEARN TO MULTI-TASK
My husband claims there is no such thing as muti-tasking, I told him he has no need to multi-task because he's not a woman.
Multi-task by cooking and preparing lots of different things at the same time. Use your oven space to its fullest potential. There’s no need to place one thing in there at a time. Use multiple oven trays if it helps, or use aluminum foil to make dividers on one oven tray and multiply your efforts. Start with recipes that lend themselves to this type of cooking.
I usually have veggies in the oven, meal in the crock pot, eggs in the cooker, all while I am chopping up fruits and veggies on the counter. The goal of meal prep is TIME MANAGEMENT - we want to SAVE TIME cooking so we can have time to do the things we really love to do.
FOODS TO PREP
- Fruit: Cut up different types of fruit. It become a quick snack, side for your breakfast or an additive to your morning smoothie.
- Vegetables: Roast vegetables to have as quick low calorie snacks and side dishes. Chopped raw veggies can be stored for snacks or quick ready to ingredients for your planned weekly meals.
- Using the Crockpot: Okay, this one is obvious, yet so many new meal preppers overlook it. The Crockpot has been a favorite among moms for decades. Use it to make simple, great tasting meals then store them away. On prep day I often have 2 crock pots cooking at the same time.
- Chicken: I cook chicken a head of time. It reheats well without losing flavor. It works with making different recipes and a quick way to add protein to my lunch salads.
The purpose of food prepping is to make life and healthy eating EASIER for you. Don't stress over it. Schedule it in on days and times that work for YOU. And do as much or as little as you feel is needed to make the rest of the week easier.