5 Simple Steps for Successful Meal Prep
What is meal prep? I think a lot of times people hear the term “meal prep” and envision a body builder’s Instagram post of rice and chicken in black plastic containers they are going to eat every day that week. Maybe not so appealing. But hey, if it’s a skillset the best of the best are using to stay on task, there must be something to it right? Although, it doesn’t have to be rice and chicken…
Really meal prep is suggesting the use of a simple skill around food: planning and preparing. If you want to have a party, you plan it. If you want to have a good workout, you write it out beforehand. If you want to do well on an upcoming exam, you take notes in class on what you need to know.
It’s estimated that the average adult makes 35,000 decisions every day. Think about it… it starts with your decision to get up, to check your phone, what to wear, whether or not you have time to grab coffee. And that’s only considering the first 15 minutes. By the time it comes to deciding what to eat, we are often irritable, tired, distracted, and likely to rely on emotion.
Your environment is a crucial determining factor of your adherence and consistency. By simply preparing foods and having them readily available in advance, you can exponentially increase the likelihood of reaching your goals.
Meal prep may look a little different for everyone. Sometimes it’s a simple act of writing it down and having a plan. It may also mean cooking proteins and carbs, chopping up fruits and veggies, and having anything else you want to include in your diet ready to go. It does not have to be 14 meals perfectly put together (unless you’d like to get that into it!). Rather, it’s simply having healthy foods prepped so that they can be added to meals or taken on the go.
Here are 4 simple steps to ensure meal prep success no matter what.
Get inspired. Follow healthy recipe pages on Instagram, Pinterest, or look through some of your favorite websites and/or cookbooks. Are there simple meals you can make? Anything that looks yummy? As you come across them, save them, pin them, and post-it them. Some of my favorite websites that I will recommend to clients are:
https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/
https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/
https://detoxinista.com/
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/
Set aside time in your calendar to make a grocery list. Write it in! If you’re like me, unless something is scheduled in my planner, it does not exist. Use this time to go back and look at your recipes from step 1. What ingredients do you need? What do you already have? Think of your list as an investment. Not only will this speed up grocery shopping time and keep you on task but it was also decrease the chances of wasted food.
Get into a grocery shopping routine. Be realistic and specific. Pick 1 day a week and a time of day (morning, afternoon, or evening) that’s allotted to shopping and prep. And yes, write it in! Don’t pick Sundays if you know you are always participating in Sunday funday. Plus, you know the store is always packed Sunday. Maybe Saturday mornings are open, or work is always slow Tuesday afternoons. The timing of your prep is specific to you and your schedule.
Envision, plan, act. Do the shopping! I have found that I do my best grocery shopping when I am not distracted. For this reason, I write my list with pen and paper and leave my phone in the car. This way, I can think straight and also use it as a time to disconnect and relax. Yeah I know, grocery shopping and relaxing in the same sentence. Who would’ve thought. And don’t forget your reusable bags :)
Prep as you put away. Can you cook the chicken instead of freezing it? Throw the sweet potatoes in the oven? Cut up the vegetables so you can easily add them to meals? Wash the fruit so it’s ready to eat? Again, think of it like an investment. The more time you put into it up front, the more time you free up during your busy week.
If you’re new to grocery shopping and cooking, the first time will be the hardest because you may need to learn new skills and become accustomed to your kitchen. However, becoming familiar with the food you eat and expanding your cooking skills will offer the greatest success in diet adherence long term.