I have read tons of articles on meal prep. It is not that any of them are bad. Generally I feel like they give good advice. The one beef I have, though: Most articles list out every detail of the foods and ingredients, how to cook them, and even which tupperware to use. Do we really need to dumb it down this much? People go on and on about how easy this makes life, but is it really?
Meal prep is not easy, per se. But then again, it’s not hard work compared to building a house. I have found it is just something that you either works for you or does not work for you. However, if I see your diet is bad, and you cannot be held responsible to put that diet in check, then we are kind of left with one option–meal prep.
Watch the full video as we show you how easy Sunday Food Prep can be!
What to Buy
Buy healthy foods. That is it. What to buy is not the point of this article, it is how to meal prep.
I can say one thing about grocery shopping meal prep: make sure you only buy healthy food. If your spouse likes ice cream, then tell them when they want it, they can go get a sundae at the local dairy store. But don’t bring that gallon in your house.
Think of your kitchen like your stomach. You want the healthy stuff in your stomach; not the junk. If it’s in your kitchen, it’s going in your stomach.
How to Prep Made Simple
There are many ways, and I swear people will give a million different ways to do this “right.” I see meal prep day as cooking all your meals for the week in one day. That is it. That is your responsibility. You can food shop the day before if you want to, but you cook it and store it in one day.
I am not into easy steps. I feel like either you do it or don’t. Stop trying to trick me with numbers and easy steps to dumb it down for me. But people seem to like that, so here are your numbers and easy steps.
- Have a plan, write out a grocery list and know what you are getting before you go, no more than that unless it’s a healthy extra thing–a veggie, fruit, or meat.
- Learn to cook using multiple appliances or with multiple dishes at once.
- Slow cooker ( it is real cooking and I would argue better than most oven made stuff)
- Put multiple things in the oven and let it cook. Set different alarms so you know when certain things are done.
- Turn on music or a TV show you like. Once you get good at this, it might take you 1-3 hours to actually cook everything and clean depending on how simple you keep your meals.
- I find that you have to play around with a balance of what foods work best verses time, effort, and satiation. But like I said, everyone is different, and as long as you are prepping, that is all you need.
- Not everything has to be fully prepped. For instance, I might have cooked chicken, and my yams are made separately. I have to put a little TLC into what herbs and spices I need to mix into it, or I may need to steam a head of broccoli to add, but the guts are all there. My dinners are not always made fully so when the tupperware comes out of the fridge, it’s ready to go. It’s a matter of 5 minutes as opposed to 55 minutes
- Mix and Match. I personally do not tend to prep meals. I prep food which I can mix and match with everything else, depending what I am in the mood for and how heavy I want the meal to be that moment. It’s like have a limited wardrobe but many accessories, so that you’re able to mix and match it all to make it look like you have a lot of options.
Once you do it one week you can’t stop. It’s kind of like a workout can be. Sometimes you don’t feel like doing it when it comes time, but once it’s over, you are actually very thankful you did, you feel great, and other people are happy for you. Want to make someone else happy? Make sure you share these simple tips with them and they will love you for it!
Your FREE 3 Simple Meal Prep Simple Tips:
- Know what you are going to buy before going (KEY POINT)
- Leave the junk food and snakes in the store. It is ok to have them, but this way you will have to make an effort to get out of the house to do it
- Use various different pieces of cooking equipment to get everything going at once
You do not have to make all your meals. Just prep the food and piece it together with other foods you have made to create the meal you want at the moment