We have discussed on previous posts that scheduling your workouts is key to follow through and to help you reach your goals. The same applies to your meals. As you know, what we eat is super important, as food is what fuels your body. So, let me share you the best tips I found to make meal prepping easy!
So, just to be clear, what is meal prepping? It means to prepare your dishes, or part of your dishes, ahead of time (often weekly), and this saves a lot of time and also helps you with your nutrition goals.
There are different methods so that you don’t spend all sunday cooking, according to healthline.
· Make-ahead meals: These are meals that are cooked in advance so they can be refrigerated/frozen and reheated.
· Batch cooking: Large batches of a specific meal. They can be split into portions, so you can freeze some and eat over the next few months.
· Individually portioned meals: Fresh meals portioned into individual grab and go portions. Useful for quick lunches.
· Ready to cook ingredientes: You can also prepare some ingredients required for specific meals ahead of time to cut down cooking time.
Another frequent question might be: what foods can I use? According to Bulletproof, you can meal prep food that holds up well in storage and that is still palatable after a few days in the fridge.
This includes: cooked meat, roasted vegetables, soups, sauces, sturdy raw vegetables. What you can’t meal prep: Soft veggies, cut fruit and crunchy food that will get softer if refrigerated.
Want more ideas? Here are some meal prepping apps from goodhousekeeping! Anylist - Get it for free for iOS or Android. Mealime - Get it for free for iOS or Android. Yummly - Get it for free for iOS or Android.
Other important considerations before you start: Choose what meal you would be prepping for (breakfast, lunch or dinner), pick a day to do it and determine how much you will prep.
Is there a downside? Well, it depends. Meal prepping means that you may end up eating the same dish or type of food a few days in a row and it isn’t necessarily for people who prefer variety and freshness. But remember it does save time, money and also helps you to try to prepare more nutritious food. You can use fresh ingretients to make salads and mix with other pre-prepped ingredients.
You can get kids involved in planning meals for dinner which can be used for meals the rest of the week for the adults as well. This allows the whole family to be involved, more variety for your lunches and starting the kids on healthy habits.
So, what do you think? Are you into meal prepping or do you prefer to be more “spontaneous” and cook something different every night?
Resources: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-meal-prep#choosing-meals https://www.bulletproof.com/diet/healthy-eating/how-to-meal-prep-beginners-guide/ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/a28377603/how-to-meal-prep/