How to Meal Prep Like a Pro
5 Easy Steps to Meal Prep: Save Time, Money and Calories
Are you looking for ways to save time and money while still eating delicious, satisfying food? Are you finding it harder to meet your weight loss or health goals? Meal prepping could be your answer! Planning out meals and prepping food in advance can go a long way toward helping you save time and money. As an added bonus, it makes it easier to meet your weight loss and healthy eating goals!
It's understandable why many of us have started to make meal prepping part of our regular routine, whether it be for the convenience of having ready-to-go meals at hand or for the stylish food storage containers we get to show off. There's no denying that meal prepping has its own set of benefits that make it worth the effort.
Ready to get started? PIH Health Clinical Nutrition Manager Cortney Kaller shares a few meal prep basics:
- Plan your menu. Before you start shopping, chopping and cooking, you need to start planning. Set aside time to plan out meals and snacks. It’s helpful to find recipes that use some of the same ingredients so you can prep those ingredients all at once for multiple meals. This can also save you money by reducing food waste.
- Make time to prep. Set aside a day, or even a few hours, to get your food prepped. Some people like to prep a whole week’s worth of meals and snacks. Others find that too overwhelming, especially when they’re new to meal prepping. You may want to prep a few days or even just a few meals at a time, especially when you’re just starting out.
- Get ready to prep. On the day of meal prep, take out any kitchen utensils and tools you’ll need to use. Measuring cups and a food scale can make it easier to portion food into individual servings. Some people like to invest in special storage containers, but there’s no need to do so. As long as you have a way to store what you prep, you’re good to go.
- Prioritize your tasks. You can fully cook meals so they’re ready to reheat and eat. Or you may prefer to just do the prep work – the cleaning, dicing and slicing – so you can quickly put together a meal when you need it. Whatever your preference, cook foods that take the longest and do the most time-consuming tasks to make the most of your meal prep efforts.
- Have some fun. Meal prep can make your life easier throughout the week, but there’s no reason for the act of meal prepping to be a chore. Enlist the help of family members, turn on some music and have some fun. You’ll not only feel accomplished after a few hours of meal prepping, but hopefully, you’ll enjoy yourself in the process. Then savor the rewards of your labor – easy to grab healthy food when you’re short on time and feeling hungry!
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