I know there are a bunch of you out there that think that you are shit in the kitchen. And you might be right.
But meal prep, well actually let’s just call it making meals, is actually not as hard as you think it is.
And regardless, if you want to be healthy, YOU HAVE TO TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY.
Preparing some of your meals is a brilliant way to create structure in your day and it also means that your house has the food you should be eating at the times when you might be more tempted to open a pack of something else. Also, it actually does save money.
So, with all that in mind, I’m here to help.
1. Make a Plan.
If you don’t know what you are doing this week, when you are out, when you are working out, where you will be, your plan is kinda busted from the start. For me, if I know I am travelling, I take salad. There’s no point in me trying to heat something up when I am half way up State Highway 1.
I choose to do 1-2 proteins (shredded chicken for example), a stew or slow cooked meat, roasted kumara, chopped vegetables, bagged baby spinach and oats ready for breakfasts on the Dog’s school days.
2. Do what you can with what you have.
If just chopping some vegetables, roasting a few things and pulling apart a supermarket cooked chicken is the limit of your skills, start there! You are already ahead of your hunger game by having those things on the fridge shelf when you open the doors. If they are right at the front, you don’t have to move ‘other’ things to get to something nutritious and delicious – and fresh.
Using bagged and prepared items from the supermarket, albeit as close to fresh and as unprocessed as possible, means even if you don’t like cooking you can still create lunches and dinners in under ten minutes. We proved it – ten minute meals are on my ‘gram #ats10minmeal
3. Only do 3 days at a time.
Sure, you will be doing some prep twice a week (but that means you have double the opportunity to improve), but you will be eating fresh food and you can check in with yourself and see how the plans and prep are working out for you. If you get to Day 2 and you are bored, put Day 3’s meals in the freezer. Again, ahead of the game for another time!
4. Portion your meals, then put them in the fridge or freezer. And make friends with a Tupperware dealer.
Meals that are already portioned out and in heat and eat containers become grab and go and they make the mornings so much easier. You can do the same with breakfast – having prepped it the night before. I love a good looking container – lord help me but Tupperware and Sistema make some beauties and they last forever.
5. Make friends with a Slow Cooker – or even better, an All in One Cooker.
Even in summer, my All in One gets used. Its a ‘biff everything in and walk away” kinda deal. These appliances honestly make life so much easier. And almost every favourite recipe of mine can be made in a slow cooker/all in one. Oh, and if you are at the shops, get an air fryer at the same time.
6. Share your meal prep with me!
I honestly get a kick out of seeing people in the kitchen (no matter what your kitchen looks like cos it can’t be ANY worse than mine) and I’m usually on the Instagram Stories on Sunday sharing mine. Plus … it gives us all a little bit of accountability and hopefully some fun – and some new ideas.
Apps like Real Plans let you schedule meals for the week and move them around, they also create a Shopping List. Or you can add what you want to Bring! as you run out.
Let me know how you get on and what else you need to know about meal prep!
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