Meal Prep In 5 Simple Steps

Ever wonder why Mark Zuckerberg or the late Steve Jobs wore the same thing every day? One less decision to make. 

According to researchers at Cornell University, we make 226 decisions each day on food alone. We wonder what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, and how often to eat - every single day. 

Sound familiar?

Plus, when do we most often throw our healthy eating habits out the window? When we’re busy. And when that cookie, cupcake, slice of pizza or burger sounds easy, cheap and well... easy (it bears repeating), it's hard to prioritize a more nourishing option.

When it comes to healthy eating, there’s one strategy that works time and again – planning ahead. If we take out this (sometimes) complicated decision-making process by taking the guesswork out of our meals, it leaves us with more energy, and the ability to enjoy our meals instead of stress over them.

It's a big reason why I’ve adopted a routine around meal prepping.

While meal prep can come in many different forms, I personally lean toward the style of prepping big batches. The goal is not to have all meals set and done, but to have enough healthy ingredients prepped that you can assemble most of your meals quickly — even on busy days when you don’t have the time or energy to make something. The best part is it leaves room for that unexpected dinner date, lunch with a girlfriend, or afternoon matcha latte break. After all, that’s where life's magic is, right?!

BENEFITS OF BATCH PREPPING:

• It saves you time from cooking throughout the week — be efficient by cooking 1-2 hours one day of the week instead of cooking each meal, every day.

• It saves you energy from asking "what am I going to make for dinner?", "should I do take out?", "What do I want to eat?", etc.

• It saves you money by being resourceful with ingredients.

• It helps reduce dirty dishes throughout the week.

• It helps you reduce food waste and promotes leftovers.

• It introduces you to more variety through creative, versatile combinations.

HOW TO BATCH PREP:

I usually spend 1-2 hours in the kitchen every Sunday, which saves me several hours later in the week. My batch prep ingredients change weekly and based on the seasons, but here are the 5 things I do each week to batch prep:

1. Start small

   Start with a meal that you find yourself most pressed for time. You might run out the door in the morning and find yourself forgoing breakfast too often, cram in too many meetings that limit you from going to buy lunch, or be too tired after the day is done to cook an entire meal from scratch. This may change week to week, so whichever part of your day is going to be the busiest, plan to build your prep around those meals first.

2. Fix up pantry ingredients

   Make up big batches of quinoa, oatmeal, lentils, black beans, brown rice, etc. per package instructions to have on-hand to add to your meals. These ingredients make a nourishing, satisfying spread that are full of fiber and protein.

3. Chop your favorite veggies

   Spirilize them into noodles, cut them into crisp sticks for snacking, toss them into a giant salad, or roast them to add to salads, soups, and entrées throughout the week.

4. Prepare your proteins

   Prepare animal or plant-based proteins to have on-hand to add to meals throughout the week. Animal proteins might include roasted chicken, baked salmon, egg/tuna salad, slow cooker pulled pork, or baked haddock. Plant-based could include things like bean salad, baked tofu, sprouted grains or raw/soaked nuts.

5. Don't forget healthy fats

   Healthy fats are important components of every meal, and they always tie together meals beautifully. Think sliced avocado, raw seeds and nuts, fresh olives, raw almond butter, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, etc.

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