Meal-Prep Tips: How to get started!

Meal prepping can be an easy and effective way to prepare meals for the entire week and can save you a ton of time, money, and allow you to portion control and eat healthier! I’ve gone through a lot of trial and error with my meal prepping and I wanted to share some tips I’ve learned through the process. Check out our video below to hear some quick and easy tips on how to meal-prep!!

1. Deciding you want to meal prep is the most difficult hurdle.

It might seem like a lot of work or a huge commitment but once you decide to start doing it you quickly realize how easy and time-efficient it is. Buying meal prep containers is the first step to getting started and Torey and I have found a lot of success with the LIFT containers from Amazon. They have great reviews and are BPA free, dishwasher safe, and microwave safe. There are a ton of great options so be sure to do some research before deciding which containers work best for you and your budget.

2. Pick a day (or two) during the week to make your dedicated meal prep day.

For me, Sunday night is meal prep night and the only exception is when I have an exam on a Monday morning. No matter how behind I feel with studying- I stop at 8:30 p.m. and run over to Trader Joe’s to grab my groceries and then head home to prepare it all. Those two hours I spend on Sunday night save me so much time throughout the week and help me to feel better as I’m feeding my body the best nutrients. When I’ve skipped meal prepping in the past, I resort to eating out and my body hates me for it. I feel more lethargic and I’m a lot less productive so those two hours on Sunday have a lot of long term benefits for my health, productivity, and wallet.

3. Use tasty ingredients that you enjoy and change up your meals every couple of weeks

I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t enjoy your meals you will probably give up on meal prepping sooner or later. The whole egg white, chicken, and broccoli diet does wonders to your body but you get sick of it so quickly and its not sustainable.  It’s all about finding a balance and incorporating meal prep in your lifestyle while still finding time to enjoy good food as most time with friends and family centers around eating. I eat healthy but I still find ways to make my meals tasty. Adding avocado, Sriracha sauce, hot sauce, roasted garlic, olive oil, lemon pepper, chipotle seasoning, sun dried tomatoes, and hummus are easy ways to add a ton of flavor while keeping your meals healthy. Even when you have found a combo you love- you still need to change it up every couple of weeks because you’ll get sick of the same flavors no matter how tasty they may be.

4. Give yourself a cheat day every week!

I make sure that every Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon that I eat something I have been craving. While it’s important to eat healthy it’s even more important to indulge in good soul-food periodically. Life is all about balance and I create a set day for my cheat day so I have something to look forward to and feel like I’ve earned. I love burgers, fries, ice cream, sushi, and Mexican so I usually go for those things on my cheat day!

5. Stay Organized in the Kitchen!

One of the toughest parts of meal prepping is coordinating cooking multiple meals at once. I create stations for myself and set a lot of timers as I cook. I play some music to make it fun but I can’t really do anything else while I meal prep (i.e. study, watch TV, talk on the phone) because it’s just too distracting and I’m not able to be as focused and engaged. If I have downtime while things are cooking, baking, or cooling down I try to do the dishes so that I don’t have to do it all once I’m finished.

If you have any questions please comment below or email us at gainsanatomy1@gmail.com !