Meal prep is an important part of ensuring you are making healthy choices, and it doesn’t have to be complex or time consuming. I will give you some practical tips to help ensure your success.
Why Meal Prep
Being real here, I used to be intimidated by meal prep. It seemed overwhelming and I thought it would be too time consuming. Once I “cracked the code”, I found it to be an essential part of me sticking to a plan that keeps me feeling my best. I treat what I eat as a science experiment. Every person is “bio-individual” meaning that there is no such thing as a one size fits all diet that we can magically follow and instantly be healthy. Let’s see if I can give some tips below to help you glide right into it!
Getting Started
No matter what your health goals are, an important part of feeling your best is paying attention to what you put into your body and how your body then feels. You will need to take into consideration your goals, food preferences, and health conditions. For example, my goal was to get to remission from Type 2 and be off medication.
Pinterest is a great source of recipes...try browsing one evening per week or every other week and pin a few recipes that looked promising. It is important to me to keep collecting recipes that work for my body. It also made trying new recipes fun and easy.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
The table below is my list of key tools that save me time and make this easier for me. Other common kitchen items include cookie sheets (with edges is best), good set of knives, cutting board, etc.
| Item | Notes |
| Food Scale | This does not need to be complicated or expensive. Measuring (instead of guessing or eyeballing) is important as you work to update your eating habits. |
| Rice Cooker | If you are meal prepping for several days, you can make rice in larger batches. Another tool to set it and forget it. Additional note: Rice Cookers are great for steaming vegetables in larger quantities. |
| Crockpot | Your crockpot is your friend. Many recipes can be altered slightly to use the crockpot. Set it up and come back to a delicious meal. This one is a time saver. |
| Storage Containers | I recommend stackable, microwavable, dishwasher safe. I use Pyrex glass containers with lids, 3 cup rectangular size. They are stackable, durable, and don’t degrade like the plastic containers I had previously used |
Timing
This is tailored to each person’s schedule and needs. I think it is important to note what I learned from my journey.
- You have options.
- You can do one big meal prep and eat the same thing all week.
- You can do one bigger meal prep to cover 3 days or so, then do a simpler one mid-week.
- You can do bigger meal preparation efforts and freeze the meals.
- Whether freezing or keeping in the fridge, I recommend pre-packaging the meals in the right quantities. For example, if your meal plan calls for 4 oz of protein and a cup of veggies, you should measure it out that way so there is no thinking required when it's time to eat.
Is this worth it?
There are literally no firm rules. Do a look back at the end of the week and take note of how you feel. Were you rushed in your meals? Was it too many days of eating the same thing? Make small adjustments based on observations. The key here is small adjustments. When you are learning and trying things out, you are doing it right. This is how you will create your library of healthy habits that will serve you well. You can do this!
