With the new year now in full swing, you are probably working towards your new goals. If one of your health and fitness goals is to eat more healthy, preparing your meals in advance will help make sure you stay on track and moving forward! Here are five tips to help make meal prep easier.
- Make sure you have enough containers!
This may seem like a general tip, but many people have good intentions when going to meal prep, and then don’t have the containers needed to cover the week’s meals. Invest in a good quality set of containers, and make sure you have enough for the number of meals you’ll be making each week. I don’t like plastic containers so I personally use glass containers and have various shapes & sizes.
- Create your menu first.
Before you even go grocery shopping, take 20 minutes to sit down and plan out what you’ll be eating for each meal. Plan out every single meal and snack, and then make ingredient lists for each. By writing it all out, you’ll be able to go into the grocery store with a concrete plan. It will also stop you from impulse buying that tub of icecream or block of chocolate. (Or pack of pasta for me lol!
- Block out about 2-3 hours for your meal prep.
This might seem like a lot of time, but it will save you so much time during the week. Lay everything out on your counter, and then get to preparing! Use your time wisely when you’re meal prepping; bake or roast all of your proteins, and then throw your veggies in right at the end. This will help minimize the time you’re spending cooking. Think 3hrs is too much time to put aside? Prepare your lunch for work while making breakfast. No excuses guys!!
- Use loads of herbs & spices!
A lot of people think that eating the same thing throughout the week would be too repetitive and boring. But in reality, using a variety of spices will help shake things up and keep things fresh for you throughout the week. You can find heaps of good recipes on Pinterest of how to mix and match different spices based on what you are cooking. One search will give you a world of options.
- Fall in love with your slow cooker.
Again, there are thousands of recipes on Pinterest that are perfect for slow cooking! Just search healthy slowcooker or healthy crockpot recipes and a whole new world will open up for your meal prep. I like to make slow cooked mexican bean chillis in the slowcooker and then all I have to make is a side salad for the week. Minimal effort, but massive flavour.
Try out my five time-saving tips to help you cut down the time you spend in the kitchen meal prepping! What are your favourite meal prep recipes?