Meal Prepping Tips:

Meal Prepping Tips: Planning your meals ahead of time is key to success for any diet program. However, meal prepping may seem time consuming and is easier said than done. Follow these tips for meal prepping and you will save time, money, and effort in the kitchen for every meal, every day of the week! I have used my knowledge, and advise from the pros on what are the best methods to successful meal prepping.

Top Foods To Prep In Advance:  -Protein meats, hard-boiled eggs, salads, chopped veggies, marinated veggies (to roast or grill), homemade dressings/sauces/dips, nut mixes, homemade nut butters, and portioned out fruits.

1. Write down a 3-7 days of your meals and the ingredients you will need. Have an idea of what you will be eating for at least the next 3 days!

2. Write a grocery list of foods and go shopping AFTER you have already eaten. Shopping on an empty stomach may cause you to buy foods that are not on the list.

3. Establish a routine for your planning, prepping and shopping so you are scheduled at certain times and days of the week that you will either be shopping and prepping these meals. For example: use the Sunday & Wednesday Method. Set aside some time on Sundays and Wednesdays to chop, grate, mix, cook and pack whatever you can for your meals and snacks. This method will ensure you are ready to eat the perishable foods you prepared for the next 3-4 days. (Which is not as time-consuming and the food will not go bad or to waste!)

4. Use plastic baggies or Tupperware containers for your prepped meals.

5. Weigh out your portions and either freeze them to be cooked later or cook them now and place in a container for later.

6. Do not add any dressings to your salad greens days prior (due to spoiling the food). Put homemade sauces and dressings in spray bottles and use them prior to eating the meal.

7. However, adding herbs, spices and dressing to protein and uncooked veggies (besides salad greens) is a good way to marinate them before cooking.

8. Put different spices and herbs in plastic baggies and carry them with you to add flavor to protein and salads.

9. Do not waste food! Use your leftovers and always ask for a to-go bag before you even begin eating at a restaurant. Most places will over-serve you when you are eating out, tripling or even quadrupling your appropriate serving size.

10. When going out to eat, plan ahead! Call ahead and ask them the menu and decide what you’re going to eat before you even get to the restaurant.  You can also find many restaurant menus online.

11. Prepare healthy and satisfying, protein rich snacks and carry them with you at all times! Protein powder in baggies are always a staple left in my car in case of an emergency!

12. Double your recipes! But just make sure you know how much one serving amounts to.

13. Use smart cooking methods such as using a slow-cooker, pressure cooker, or crockpot to make large meals.

14. While your using your crockpot is the best time to multi-task! This is the time you can use chopping and mixing ingredients.

15. Don’t go overboard! One week of meals (which would equate to 28 meals if you are eating 4!) would take up too much time, energy, space, equipment and most importantly, will end in food waste or spoilage. That is why the Sunday/Wednesday or Monday/Friday method of meal prepping works best. But do whatever 3-4 days works best for your schedule!