Food Prepping Made Simple!

One of the biggest hinderances to eating better is that it takes a lot of time to shop and prepare especially in the age of Door Dash!  However, we all know that prepping our own food is one of the easiest ways to help take control of what we eat and improve the quality and even amount that we consume.

You might have heard of a term called “meal prep” or even seen videos where people put aside a block of time to prep a bunch of “tupperware” containers for the week.  Well this is just one version of “meal prep” but there are lots of other ways you can prepare your food ahead of time to make life easier and eat better!

TRUE MEAL PREP:

This is the tried and true “tupperware” method whereby you prep a bunch of meals for the week.  This method is often used for lunches.  For example, batch prep a “Southwest Bowl” by prepping large quantities of rice, grilled chicken, salsa, sauteed veggies, and salsa and then putting a dollop of each ingredient into a lineup of tupperwares, then refrigerating them to grab one a day.

Pros: Truly done meals ready to grab and go with absolutely no additional preparation.

Cons: Takes quite a bit of time.  Can be a little messy.  Can be a little monotonous if you like variety and only prepped the one meal.

INGREDIENT PREP:

Instead of prepping the aforementioned individual meals in tupperwares, you would prep a bunch of usable ingredients.  Sometimes the biggest impediment to making your own food more regularly is the frustration of having to get everything out, chop, cook, etc.  With ingredient prepping, you would simply prep things that you might want to eat in different combinations throughout the week, for example: wash and chop produce and put into containers so it’s ready to eat or make salads/bowls/wraps with, bake several chicken breasts and fish (or whatever meat you wanted) that could be used in various ways (bowls, with a side of rice, in a tortilla etc), cooked a big bowl of rice in a rice cooker and roasted a bunch of potatoes.  The difference is that you aren’t making an exact meal like a “Southwest Bowl,” but are instead making a variety of nutritious and usable ingredients on the ready.  They might be more simple combinations that can be livened up with different condiments, sauces, or dressings that you have around.

Pros: You have all the tools at your fingertips to make healthy ingredients for you and anyone you live with throughout the week.

Cons: They are not already in meals which does take a little more time.

FREEZER MEAL PREP:

This is a variation of the first meal prep but instead of prepping tupperwares, you prep meals that are frozen for later use (think make-your-own Lean Cuisines).  Some meals can be made as full casseroles in disposable casserole containers, or others can be made and divided up into baggies for individual usage whenever.  Some people even combine the two and prep food that can be cooked at a later date, such as a meal ready to dump in the crock pot.

Pros: You can have even more options available.  You can prep for times in the future when you foresee having less time.  It lasts longer than traditional meal prep and might allow you to mix and match more.  Freezer casserole prep allows you to serve hot meals with only oven time.

Cons: Some people might forget what they have or have limited freezer space available.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways that you can make healthy cooking much easier with a little prep time.  Whether you choose to plan months out (freezer prep), one week at a time (meal prep), or simply making healthier ingredients easier to grab (ingredient prep), you will inevitably find healthier eating much more accessible and perhaps even save some time and money in the process!

If you ever need more personalized help implementing ideas like these, consider working with me for nutrition coaching! More information can be found by completing this form: https://forms.wix.com/r/6931970104749981910