A Beginner's Guide to Meal Prepping
With fall semester already into week 3, my life is back to BUSY, as I'm sure yours is too, whether it be getting the kids back to school, yourself back into the swing of things, or coming off of your summer hang over, you're probably looking for a way to make things easier, healthier, and faster.
Well not only will meal planning and prepping do ALL of those but if done right, it can save you lots of money.
Setting aside time (yes you'll need some of the good stuff, TIME) to plan and prep your meals will save you from grabbing unhealthy things, quick meals from the store or drive-thru, and it will save time from cooking a boat load during the week. So I am going to take a little time out of my schedule to share with you how I meal prep to save time and money
So what is meal prepping? For those of you who don't know the term, it is planning and packing as much as you are able to do for the week ahead. For me I plan all of my meals, but my veggies, cook my chicken, hard boil my eggs, package all my lunches, and snacks so that they are just grab and go!
Note: Please remember, I am not a nutritionist or dietician. I am a Coach leading by example, helping people follow what works best for me and my body.
HOW TO:
- Pick one day as your "plan and prep" day
I grocery shop on this day as well. For a lot of people Sunday is their plan and prep day, myself included.
I like to start by planning my meals for the week following a guideline like the 21 day fix meal plan, (since doing PiYo, I upped my veggie portion and healthy fats to follow the program)
I personally start out with 4 Servings of Protein, 2 servings of fruit, 2 servings of grains/secondary vegetables (I just refer to these as carbs for simplicity), 4 servings of vegetables, 4 healthy fats
So a typical day for me would look like:
Meal 1: Protein + Fruit
Meal 2: Protein + Fruit + Healthy Fat
Meal 3: Protein + Carb + Vegetable + Healthy Fat
Meal 4: 2 Vegetable + Healthy Fat
Meal 5: Protein + Carb + Vegetable + Healthy Fat
- Protein options that I usually eat (I have put a * next to my favorites, but please note these are examples!)
- Shakeology** (MY GO TO)
- Eggs*
- Cottage Cheese
- Chicken Breasts* Boneless, Skinless
- Ground Turkey* – 93% lean or higher
- Turkey Breast
- Fish or Shrimp– Salmon,* Tilapia, Tuna*
- Greek Yogurt*
- LEAN Red Meats (only once per week)
- Ground beef 90% lean or higher
- Steak
- Other options to note: tofu, tempeh are great sources of protein too! I just do not personally eat them often)
- Carb options (Breads, grains, secondary veggies): Go for whole grain, complex carbohydrates, READ your label, the less ingredients the better generally. This can get us in trouble when we arent paying attention!
Again, I have put a * next to my favorites
- Steal cut oats
- Whole grain tortillas
- Quinoa*— you can add whatever flavors/spices of dish to quinoa to boost flavor
- Sweet potato*
- Brown rice*
- Whole grain pasta
- Potato
- Rice: Jasmine*, Basmati*, Wild Grain*, Etc.
- Buckwheat
- Amaranth
- Ezekiel bread* (in the frozen section)
- Whole grain Pita*
- Whole grain English muffins
- Spaghetti Squash*
- Peas
- Corn
(there are other options as well but I just gave a simple list, common things that most people will eat)
- Vegetables: Thing variety! change it up, don't get bored!
- Spinach*
- Green Beans*
- Mushrooms
- Asparagus*
- Broccoli*
- Cauliflower*
- Cucumber*
- Romaine lettuce
- Green*, Red, Yellow, Orange Peppers
- Zucchini*
- Kale*
- Carrots*
- Tomatoes*
Healthy Fats:
- Avocado*
-Nut butters* (CAREFUL! no sugar or very little if you must. READ LABELS)
- Peanut
- Almond
- Cashew
- Coconut oil*
- Hummus*
- Olive oil (extra virgin)
- Nuts (raw unsalted)
- Cheese (some consider this in the carb category)
- Milk (some consider this in the carb category)
Fruits:
- Apple (look for the smaller ones or large green ones
- Apricot*
- Banana* (watch these, half is a serving!)
- Berries:
- Strawberries*
- Blueberries*
- Blackberries*
- Raspberries*
- Cherries*
- Figs
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Mango*
- Melons
- Nectarine
- Orange
- Peach*
- Pineapple*
Okay! now that you know the kind of foods that you want to be eating start looking at the sale ads!
Whats on sale? Is chicken BOGO? great, plan to have chicken a few times this week! Is tuna on sale? well that would be good for lunch right?
Pull out what is on sale, and place it into your meal plan where you want to have it. For example, rosemary chicken Monday, lemon pepper chicken Wednesday, ect.
I write mine for Monday - Friday and the weekends I fend for myself and do a pretty good job.
Check to make sure you have all the ingredients for all recipes before hand!
Then, make your list!! When grocery shopping do your best to stay on the outside perimeter of the store. This is where the fresh food is, without the preservatives....
PREP
When I get home I peel, chop, and cut all of my raw veggies for the week that I will put in lunch or to have as a snack. I package them up so they are grab and go. It takes nothing but a few minutes to cook them up when I need them but do what works best for you! (Healthy choices are easier to make when they're ready to be eaten!)
Pro Tip!!! Add a paper towel into your salads and veggies to keep them from turning brown :-) change it out once a day for best results.
Obviously I repeat the process for any fruit that requires cutting to be eaten and I portion everything into containers or bags.
Prep your protein/meals (see below)
- Make specific meals to eat and prepare things such as sauce you will be using, and choose what you will be alternating left overs
- Remember, you can make items to store in the freezer and eat at a later time
- Make your meat "basic" to be used in a variety of ways through out the week, and label each if if it is cooked to go with a meal.
You can take prepping as far as you want to the more time you block out, the more I recommend doing!
You can cook enough protein, veggies, starches to eat for the week. By keeping these items basic, it will make them more versatile to use during the week. its much easier to add veggies and combine in your sauce to make separate meals. However, some people choose to cook two meals to generate enough meals to alternate for the week (five days of dinners). I will make things in the crock-pot, like my easy crock-pot turkey chilli, and refrigerate and freeze for more meals.
Easy things to grab for a snack like my favorite: Greek Yogurt with Peanut Butter
MEAT PREP: I do this in a few ways, If I am having spaghetti or clean meatball "subs" I will make ground beef/ ground turkey meatballs and freeze or refrigerate for a later date.
I love making veggie burgers and homemade turkey burgers to freeze for a later date. (Ill often do this and feed everyone, then freeze the extras)
- Crockpot freezer meals! Wonderful idea and as you become more advanced you will plow through prepping. Giving you more time to throw these together, like a roast carrots and potatoes. add seasoning, spices, throw in your crock-pot with water, turn it on and GO.
Best advice, cookas much of your protein that you would like to have for the week
- Grill and bake chicken in bulk with a variety of seasonings or clean breading to switch up the flavor during the week
----Use your crockpot! Makes enough of a dish to have for the entire week :-)
- brown or saute' ground beef/ground turkey with a little bit of garlic powder pack it for later
(eat as is through out the week or create dishes with it such as tacos, beef and peppers, etc.)
- Hard boil enough eggs for the week as a lunch option or go to protein based snack (THIS IS A MUST FOR ME! I put the eggs on, and cook around them while they boil :-)
Always Remember do what works best for you! I like to just grab my lunch and snacks, throw them in my bag and head for work with my shakeology in hand. You might like to pack the night before. Share with me what works best for you, I am always taking recommendations to make this easier and faster, but this is my current method!
Good Luck :-)!
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