Meal plan and prep?? What does that mean? and why should you bother doing it?
Those were the questions I had about meal plan and prep – I literally had no idea what it meant to meal plan – and I was going to be 45! Of course, I had picked and packed lunches in advance before, but that didn’t seem to be working to get me to the summer self I’d be happy to see looking back from the mirror. Again, that was the year I was going to be 45 and I noticed that as I was getting older it was getting harder to snap into summer shape during the spring.
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About 4 years ago, when I decided I better up my knowledge about eating better if I wanted to make any progress on the summer bod because what I was doing wasn’t working quick enough anymore.
Clean Eating is a Healthy Lifestyle
After a few months, I realized that it’s important to get into the ‘healthy lifestyle’ mindset rather than the quick fix mindset. I did a lot of research on clean eating and was obsessed with learning as much as I could about food for my health and for my family’s health too. Planning and prepping are two healthy lifestyle activities that have to become a habit. I sure wish I had started sooner!
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3 Meal Planning Tips
- Have a system! I start my meal planning by gathering recipes for the upcoming week. I stick to one or two new recipes and then rely on old favorites so that it’s not overwhelming to shop and prep. Find an organizer you like – I have a new favorite from Canva! I plan my lunches, snacks and a few dinners.
- Make your list and check it twice. It’s so important to shop with a list. Making the list is easier when you have your plan thought out. You’ll learn the staples – the items you buy every week. Trips to the grocery store have to be organized and focused! No more wandering up and down each aisle. In fact, the cleaner your plan and list, the more you’ll find yourself mainly shopping around the outer edges of the store.
- Plan meals that can be eaten in different ways – component meals are where it’s at! For instance, you can plan for taco salad, turkey taco bake, taco stuffed peppers and lettuce wrap tacos all with the same main ingredient!
3 Meal Prep Tips
Once you have your plan and you’ve hit up the grocery store, the next step is to get prepping. In the past, I would come home from the store and stuff all my grocery booty into the cabinets, fridge and freezer. Now, I try to start some easy prepping right away, so that when it comes time to make meals, I have the most time consuming (and annoying) parts done!
- Chop, chop, chop! Grab any veggies you bought for recipes and start slicing and chopping. A few of the first meal prepping steps I take are to wash and slice veggies for snacks and then chop ingredients like onions and peppers for recipes that I have on my meal plan. I buy cauliflower and broccoli each week and let me tell you what a relief it is when it’s already cut and ready to roast, steam or pop in the microwave.
- Portion out your snacks for the week. When you chop your peppers, cucumbers or celery, portion them out into 1/2 cup portions for your snacks. A veggie snack is perfect for mid-morning or mid-afternoon and it’s even more perfect when it’s grab and go.
- Pre-cook lunches and some dinners! Meal prepping involves some cooking if you want to be successful for the week ahead. Making a week’s worth of lunches will save you time and money – and calories too! I don’t prep all my dinners ahead of time, but when my calendar is jammed with busy evenings, I am super grateful to be able to heat up a healthy dinner and avoid the drive through on the way from piano lesson to bowling.
