The Beginner’s Guide to Meal Prepping 🍱
Meal prep is all the craze right now, and all kinds of people; from athletes, to busy mums and those who work long-hour shifts, seem to be hopping in on the trend. But if you haven’t heard the news, meal prepping is the concept of preparing your dishes, meals and/or snacks beforehand rather than cooking or preparing before your mealtime. 🍲
What makes it worth doing
When it comes to meal prepping, there are probably more pros than cons, and so it’s something everybody should consider if they have a busy schedule and are struggling to sit down and eat at least 3 meals a day. So if you’re the type of person to grab whatever you see and take off in the morning, or take trips to the vending machine throughout the day, this is just the skill you need to be learning. 🥘
Preparing your ingredients or meals on one day is a big time saver throughout the week, and it can save you money too if you’re prone to convenient spending - a wrap here and a latte there may not seem like a lot, but they add up, and when you start preparing your meals at home you’ll definitely see the difference. What’s more, meal prep will help you in keeping a healthy, balanced diet since you’re planning ahead, won’t have difficulty deciding what to make and won’t be tempted to go for the fast food takeout when you don’t have time to cook. 🥧
How to get started
First things first, go shopping for the tools you’ll need - i.e. meal prep containers. These come in all shapes and sizes and can accommodate any meal, you could use different coloured lids to differentiate between days of the week or meals or label them, too. There are lots of different types of containers (plastic, metal, silicone, glass) and selecting one is all up to personal preference - e.g. if you’ll need to heat up your food in the microwave make sure your containers are made from microwave-safe material. 👌
Next, select what strategy you’ll be using, as there are various degrees of meal prepping. You could choose just to prepare specific time-consuming ingredients, such as peeling and chopping vegetables. You may also batch cook a whole recipe, such as a chili, curry, meat sauce, soup or stew, split it into individual portions and freeze to be eaten over the next few months. Otherwise you could go the full way and prepare lunches and dinners (and even breakfasts and snacks!) for the week ahead and store them in the fridge. 🧊
Helping your fitness goals
Portion sizes, calories and macronutrient distribution is easily controlled by meal prepping, which means that it can cater to any sort of goals you may have. It’s super useful for those wanting to cut down on calories to lose weight, and commonly used by bodybuilders to make sure they’re getting enough meals in throughout the day - it’s especially convenient in this regard since they usually eat the same type of foods daily, and so everything can be prepped in one batch. 🥗
Naturally, a con of this is that it may get boring eating the same foods, but even if you’re trying to hit a goal for the day it’s possible to spice things up by using the same ingredients to make different types of meals to add variation both for your tastebuds and your nutrients. For example, prepare a tray bake with chicken and veggies, and have them with rice one day, an omelette on another and a tortilla wrap on the next. If you take the time to look up ideas online and get creative, you can create endless combinations.🍗
Top tips to make you a pro 🏆
1. Meal prepping shouldn't stress you out! Start slow so that you don’t overwhelm yourself - just go for a few meals and snacks a week planned beforehand.
2. Make sure your meal-prepping schedule fits your weekly routine and is convenient to you. Choose a specific day and time to plan the menu and write a grocery list, another to go shopping and another to do the actual prepping.
3. To maximise efficiency at the grocery store, keep a detailed and sectioned list.
4. You don’t have to meal prep for every single day in the week. Firstly, it isn’t recommended to leave cooked food in the fridge for longer than 5 days, and secondly you want to keep some balance in your life and enjoy eating out with friends, too.
5. Invest in a pressure cooker or slow cooker so that you can minimise the pots and pans, and reduce time spent hovering over the stove.
6. Be varied - switch up your proteins, use different whole grains and vegetables, and try new recipes. Bonus points if you include vegetarian or vegan meals where possible.
What’s your opinion on meal prepping? Have you tried it before? Maybe it’s a part of your lifestyle - or maybe you’re more happy-go-lucky around mealtimes? Let us know in the comments below!
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