If you are anything like me, the task of packing your lunch every day is daunting and annoying! I used to be so lazy and just pack a couple of granola bars and buy my lunch on most days. What seemed even more daunting was meal planning and prepping.
I started doing some prep here and there about a year ago, with little things like veggie bags. I decided about 4 months ago, I started prepping more and more, and I will never look back! I don't have to worry about what to make to put in my lunch. I started just like most people, just browsing sites on the internet looking for meal ideas and I started throwing things together.
I always get told by people, that they don't even know where to begin when it comes to meal prep. So I thought I would put together some tips to help!
1. Find a time, day and number of meals to make the task manageable!
Finding time to make meal prep work is correlated to long term success. Personally, I do my prep on Sundays. It's my rest day so I don't have to worry about fitting my workout in and it is also the day I go grocery shopping; so it makes the most sense for me.
I meal prep just lunches for work, because I like to cook in the evenings and it gives me variety. I cook myself five lunches for the week and five veggie bags for my lunch. The other stuff in my lunches is quick and easy to prepare.
Don't get discouraged, if doing that much meal prep one day a week seems like too much, split it up into a couple days so it is not such an overwhelming task!
2. Pick foods you will actually want to eat!
This is also a big factor into success of a long term meal prep. I suggest making foods that are easy, versatile and what you like. Personally, the sound of plain, steamed broccoli or cauliflower makes me want to vomit, but I love green beans so I eat A LOT of those! Something to remember is these foods are going to be kept in the fridge or freezer for a few days so make sure its food that will keep well and heat up again without a funny taste. Fish tends to have an awful smell after a few days, so keep that in mind.
Variety is the spice of life, so change things up. You don't have to have the exact same meal every day. Pick a few different things, and batch cook, use different spices to change things up a bit. Don't torture yourself with foods you don't like, it will hinder your success.
3. Invest in good Tupperware
It is worth it to spend a bit of money on something you are going to be using every day. I prefer glass Tupperware because they don't absorb odours and stain like plastic, but they are expensive so I only have a few. Plastic is cheap and easy, but needs to be cleaned!
4. Calories and Macro's
Meal planning is all great, but the purpose is lost if you are still not meeting your caloric goals. Whether your goals are to gain or lose, knowing your daily caloric intake is important to be able to achieve those goals. There are many ways to figure it out, look online or download a free app like My Fitness Pal or Calorie King. From figuring out your calories, you can figure out your macros, which are your 3 main macro-nutrients: Protein, Fats and Carbohydrates. You can use that to figure out what percentage of your calories go to each. Again, you can use guidelines found online suited to your goals.
Once you have the calories and macro's figured out, you can begin your meal planning. I like using the app mentioned above because I can download recipes online or enter them in myself and they have the calories, and macros already figured out!
Checking out recipes online can also be very useful for meal ideas and if you check out fitness websites, lots of time they have calorie and macro friendly recipes to help you stay on track!
5. Grocery shopping
Besides time, the cost is the other big indicator of a long term commitment to meal planning. Yes, eating healthier can be more expensive, but think of it as a long term health investment that will pay off later in life.
That being said, there are ways to cut costs when grocery shopping. The first is to go with a list and stick to the list. One other thing I like to do is stock up on meat when it is on sale or buy at bulk stores, split it up into freezer bags and freeze for later.
There are other ways to save on healthy eating. Fish, for example, is a very healthy staple, but certain ones like salmon can be quite costly; swap for other fish like cod. Ground turkey is also quite inexpensive and can be very versatile to make into meatloaves, patties or little turkey muffins. A whole head of cabbage is quite inexpensive and can last a while. Whole chickens are also inexpensive and can be easily cooked and divided up and frozen for later.
Again, variety is key, use what veggies are in season to keep costs down. Change things up a bit and try new things and learn new recipes to keep things from getting boring!
6. Cooking the food!
Have all your stuff ready; pots and pans clean, dishes ready, etc. Decide how you are going to cook things. There are many different ways; pan fry, roast, steam, tinfoil packages, BBQ, etc.
Plain steamed vegetables and baked chicken breasts can get old really fast! Change things up by making stir fry, stuffed chicken/squashes/peppers, BBQ kebabs, casseroles, different marinades for meats, etc.
I prefer to multitask while I am in the kitchen to save time. My basics are usually some type of roasted or pan-fried vegetable and protein. If I am using the oven, I will do both my meats and roasted vegetables at the same time. While my stuff is cooking, I will cut up stuff for my veggie bags and divide those up.
Don't be afraid to try new things! Use different spices, hot sauce, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, onion, etc.
Again, try new things and make it interesting so you will want to eat what you cook!
Now that you have the basics down. Make a list, check it twice, and give it a try. Try just making lunches to take to work or school for a few days. Or, if you are feeling brave, do lunches all week. If you are really gutsy, try breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. See for yourself how much time, stress and money it will save!
I started doing some prep here and there about a year ago, with little things like veggie bags. I decided about 4 months ago, I started prepping more and more, and I will never look back! I don't have to worry about what to make to put in my lunch. I started just like most people, just browsing sites on the internet looking for meal ideas and I started throwing things together.
I always get told by people, that they don't even know where to begin when it comes to meal prep. So I thought I would put together some tips to help!
1. Find a time, day and number of meals to make the task manageable!
Finding time to make meal prep work is correlated to long term success. Personally, I do my prep on Sundays. It's my rest day so I don't have to worry about fitting my workout in and it is also the day I go grocery shopping; so it makes the most sense for me.
I meal prep just lunches for work, because I like to cook in the evenings and it gives me variety. I cook myself five lunches for the week and five veggie bags for my lunch. The other stuff in my lunches is quick and easy to prepare.
Don't get discouraged, if doing that much meal prep one day a week seems like too much, split it up into a couple days so it is not such an overwhelming task!
2. Pick foods you will actually want to eat!
This is also a big factor into success of a long term meal prep. I suggest making foods that are easy, versatile and what you like. Personally, the sound of plain, steamed broccoli or cauliflower makes me want to vomit, but I love green beans so I eat A LOT of those! Something to remember is these foods are going to be kept in the fridge or freezer for a few days so make sure its food that will keep well and heat up again without a funny taste. Fish tends to have an awful smell after a few days, so keep that in mind.
Variety is the spice of life, so change things up. You don't have to have the exact same meal every day. Pick a few different things, and batch cook, use different spices to change things up a bit. Don't torture yourself with foods you don't like, it will hinder your success.
3. Invest in good Tupperware
It is worth it to spend a bit of money on something you are going to be using every day. I prefer glass Tupperware because they don't absorb odours and stain like plastic, but they are expensive so I only have a few. Plastic is cheap and easy, but needs to be cleaned!
4. Calories and Macro's
Meal planning is all great, but the purpose is lost if you are still not meeting your caloric goals. Whether your goals are to gain or lose, knowing your daily caloric intake is important to be able to achieve those goals. There are many ways to figure it out, look online or download a free app like My Fitness Pal or Calorie King. From figuring out your calories, you can figure out your macros, which are your 3 main macro-nutrients: Protein, Fats and Carbohydrates. You can use that to figure out what percentage of your calories go to each. Again, you can use guidelines found online suited to your goals.
Once you have the calories and macro's figured out, you can begin your meal planning. I like using the app mentioned above because I can download recipes online or enter them in myself and they have the calories, and macros already figured out!
Checking out recipes online can also be very useful for meal ideas and if you check out fitness websites, lots of time they have calorie and macro friendly recipes to help you stay on track!
5. Grocery shopping
Besides time, the cost is the other big indicator of a long term commitment to meal planning. Yes, eating healthier can be more expensive, but think of it as a long term health investment that will pay off later in life.
That being said, there are ways to cut costs when grocery shopping. The first is to go with a list and stick to the list. One other thing I like to do is stock up on meat when it is on sale or buy at bulk stores, split it up into freezer bags and freeze for later.
There are other ways to save on healthy eating. Fish, for example, is a very healthy staple, but certain ones like salmon can be quite costly; swap for other fish like cod. Ground turkey is also quite inexpensive and can be very versatile to make into meatloaves, patties or little turkey muffins. A whole head of cabbage is quite inexpensive and can last a while. Whole chickens are also inexpensive and can be easily cooked and divided up and frozen for later.
Again, variety is key, use what veggies are in season to keep costs down. Change things up a bit and try new things and learn new recipes to keep things from getting boring!
6. Cooking the food!
Have all your stuff ready; pots and pans clean, dishes ready, etc. Decide how you are going to cook things. There are many different ways; pan fry, roast, steam, tinfoil packages, BBQ, etc.
Plain steamed vegetables and baked chicken breasts can get old really fast! Change things up by making stir fry, stuffed chicken/squashes/peppers, BBQ kebabs, casseroles, different marinades for meats, etc.
I prefer to multitask while I am in the kitchen to save time. My basics are usually some type of roasted or pan-fried vegetable and protein. If I am using the oven, I will do both my meats and roasted vegetables at the same time. While my stuff is cooking, I will cut up stuff for my veggie bags and divide those up.
Don't be afraid to try new things! Use different spices, hot sauce, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, onion, etc.
Again, try new things and make it interesting so you will want to eat what you cook!
Now that you have the basics down. Make a list, check it twice, and give it a try. Try just making lunches to take to work or school for a few days. Or, if you are feeling brave, do lunches all week. If you are really gutsy, try breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. See for yourself how much time, stress and money it will save!
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