“I was really hungry when I got home from work and didn’t want to cook, so I just ordered take out.”
Sound familiar?
If you’re struggling to make healthy food choices to support your diet, then learning how to meal prep can reduce the challenges and make healthy eating much easier!
What is Meal Prepping?
Meal preparation (aka prepping) is simply preparing your meals in advance in a manner that they are well-balanced and properly portioned to your nutritional needs. It means your food is almost always ready to go in your fridge so that you don’t have to order take out, go out to lunch every day, or grab the first thing you see which may be unhealthy because you have nothing readily available.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. Planning your meals ahead of time takes out guesswork, reduces temptations, and helps make a busy life feel more organized and manageable.
Benefits of Meal Prep
When you want to lose weight, gain muscle or simply improve eating habits, frequently eating restaurant and/or convenience foods can be one of your worst enemies. Some of the benefits of meal prepping include:
- Cost Savings – A typical sit-down restaurant meal can cost anywhere from $20-$50 on average for one person if you’re not ordering multiple courses or drinks. A fast-food meal can cost around $5-20 depending on the style of restaurant. The financial impact on eating out adds up quickly. On the contrary, a simple homemade meal can cost as little as $3-5 dollars! This is a huge gain, not just for your health, but your bank statement as well.
- Calorie and Nutrient Control – At any restaurant, you don’t really know what is going into your food – like how much oil, sugar, or salt for instance. You can’t control the quality of ingredients, such as where it came from, if they’re organic or free-range or antibiotic-free.
Additionally, portion sizes are generally about 2-3 times what you need at one meal, and you can also assume that the calorie content is about 2-3 times more than you’d expect. For instance, if you order a salad because it’s “healthy”, you may end up consuming over 1,000 just for one salad! Make your own salad at home with low-calorie dressing and you could enjoy a generous portion for about 300-400 calories. Even when restaurants state the calorie count in a dish on their menu, it’s not 100% accurate, but more of an estimate. If one day the cook pours oil more generously or sprinkles in more cheese or dressing, you could be eating an extra 100-200 calories.
Cooking at home gives you full control and knowledge of what you’re putting into your body and is likely to save you hundreds of calories without having to even drastically change your diet. Start making more of your own meals and you’ll save money while maintaining a healthy diet more easily!
What You Need
Having meals ready for the week is far easier than you might think. Here’s all you need to get started:
- Food scale
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Tupperware
- Food to be cooked
- A plan (explained below)
How to Meal Prep
1. Schedule it
Choose a day (or two) each week that you’ll set aside time to prepare your meals. This will ensure it gets done and even becomes a habit. Depending on what you plan to cook, you will need about one to three hours. This may sound like a lot, but you will actually save significant time from having to create meals on the fly throughout the week.
2. Decide How Many Meals You Need
How many meals do you want to have on hand? I would recommend starting with one meal time per week, such as lunch or dinner. It can be overwhelming to feel like you need to prep every single meal for the week, so think about what will save the most time and be most effective for your schedule. Whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner choose the one that will help bring better balance and keep you on track to healthier eating.
Then decide how many days you need meals for. Do you want to prepare all seven days, or will the weekend nights be more flexible for date nights, going out with friends, or letting the kids choose? Try starting with 5 days’ worth of meals so that all your weeknights are covered. Once you’re in a groove, feel free to add more meals or days to your meal prep routine as you see fit.
3. Don’t Forget Snacks
Mid-afternoon snacking can be a major downfall. That vending machine or box of donuts at the office can be a serious temptation when you have no food on hand to curb your hunger and boost your energy. Make sure to prepare snacks for any time hunger strikes. Ideally, keep a few stocked in your car, purse, and office (see ideas in the list below).
4. Make a List and Go shopping
Next, decide what you want to eat and make your grocery list. Do you want to eat the same dinner five nights in a row? Or do you prefer variety and want to make two different meals? One method I find helpful is to plan foods that can easily mix and match. For instance, if I make ground turkey with common herbs and spices, I can use it with pasta one night and potatoes the next. This way, you don’t have to cook multiple recipes and can reduce your cooking time. I like choosing a “flavor theme” like Spanish, Italian, Greek, etc., for my herbs, spices and sauces and then choose carbs that will match those same flavors.
Choose what you want to eat, write down each ingredient, then head to the store with your list – and stick to it!
5. Make it Easy
Use simple ingredients to start, which can include frozen or convenience foods if needed. Frozen green vegetables have come in handy countless times for me. Frozen is still healthy and can save you 20-30 minutes of cooking (though they usually don’t taste as good as fresh). If you’re really pressed for time one week, you could opt for canned tuna or individual packages of rice or legumes. Just try not to rely on these frequently as they may contain preservatives or chemicals and will cost far more than cooking them fresh yourself.
6. Keep it Quick
When your food is ready to cook, try to get as much done at once as possible to save time. Here are some examples of how to multi-task:
- If you have a spouse, kids, or roommate who will be sharing the food, get their help in cooking, slicing, marinating, portioning, etc.
- While your meat or protein is baking in the oven, cook your rice, potatoes or beans on the stove or in a pressure cooker.
- Put both your veggies and meat in the oven at the same time if you have two ovens, or if the recipes use the same temperature, place them in the same oven at once.
- While food is cooking, prepare your snacks (cut veggies and fruit, portion out nuts or dips like hummus).
- Cook foods like chilis, soups, or stews in a slow cooker to really simplify the process. Once all the ingredients are in, you can leave it alone for hours while you do other things, or even overnight as you sleep.
7. Portion and Pack
Once cooking is complete, portion and pack all your food. One way to pack your food is to put each macronutrient into one dish, such as protein into one dish, carbohydrates into another, veggies into another and so on. Then measure out appropriate portions when you’re ready to eat. Another way is to measure everything ahead of time. In this case, use small Tupperware/glass containers for each meal, and in each container place your measured portion of carbs, protein, veggies and fats. Do the same for your snacks. (Tip: use glass containers if you plan to reheat your foods to avoid possible toxins from plastic)
For many women, this will probably look something like 2-4 oz of protein, ½-3/4 cup of carbohydrates, a cup of vegetables and ½ tbsp of fat. For many men, portions will be larger such as 4-6 oz protein, 1 cup carbohydrates, 1-2 cups of vegetables and 1 tbsp fat. Use a food scale to weigh out anything you’re measuring in oz or grams, such as meats or cooked potatoes. I usually use measuring cups for things like rice and vegetables.
Exact amounts will vary by person, gender, age, and activity level. If you need help figuring out what portion sizes and types of foods you should be eating to reach your health and fitness goals, contact me for a nutrition assessment.
8. Date and Freeze if Needed
Depending on how much you cook, you can freeze some of the food if needed. Most fresh foods should be eaten within about three days, so if you cook enough for 4-7 days, then freeze a few days’ worth and take it out later that week. Soups and chilis freeze well, but you can also freeze some of your other cooked foods. It is best if you write on your containers the date when the food was made to make sure it doesn’t go bad.
Healthy Meal Prep Ideas
Here are some ideas of foods to get you started for each meal.
Breakfast Meal Ideas
- Overnight oats
- Hardboiled eggs with fruit or avocado
- Scrambled egg muffins
- Protein shakes/smoothies. Prepare your dry ingredients for shakes and have frozen fruit ready. Blend and go in the morning.
Lunch & Dinner Foods to Cook
- Grains – brown rice, quinoa, bulgar, barley
- Potatoes – sweet, purple, whiteBeans – black, kidney, navy, lentils
- Pasta – lentil, cauliflower, rice, quinoa
- Vegetables (try a variety of colors and types!)
- Protein – Chicken breasts, ground turkey, tuna, salmon, tofu, tempeh, lean beef
- Fats: avocado, guacamole, seeds, olive oil/avocado oil, egg yolks
Lunch & Dinner Meal Ideas
- Chipotle bowl – mix lettuce, beans, meat, veggies and salsa
- Ground beef, potatoes and green beans
- Stir fry chicken and veggies with brown rice
- Tuna and veggies on whole grain bread or crackers
- Teriyaki tempeh with rice and green beans
- Pasta with chicken and broccoli
- Roasted veggies with salmon and sweet potatoes
- Ground beef or fish tacos on non-GMO corn tortillas with veggies and salsa
- Chicken wrap with whole grain or gluten-free tortilla with lettuce, veggies and hummus
Snacks
- Fruit with yogurt or nut butter
- Veggies sticks with hummus
- Nuts and seeds
- Rice cakes with nut butter
- Dried fruit
- Protein shakes
- Greek or Coconut yogurt with nuts or granola
- Protein bars (even better if they’re homemade!)
I hope you now feel more confident and ready to start meal prepping at home. This will not only help you save money, but also reach your health and fitness goals faster and easier!
Do you have any tips to add? Comment below with your tips or favorite meals to prepare in advance.
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