Meal Prep is Your Friend

Meal prep is a fundamental for eating right.  The food is already there, no question about what to eat or how much. 

You DO have time for meal prep; you just have to make it.  Consider it a gift to yourself.  You'll be happy you did.  Unless you are getting overly fancy with your meals, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to get it all done.  Before you fuss and moan about giving up a couple of hours of your life to take care of yourself, consider that you'll get the time back later in the week when you don't have to cook dinner.

I typically do meal prep on Sunday.  During the school year I prep every meal for the entire week.   I prep in such a manner that all I have to do is open the fridge to grab containers and pack them in my cooler for work. (That's right, cooler.) I even portion out the almond milk for my cereal. The two to three hours I spend on Sunday is well worth the amount of time I am saved during the week. At the end of a work day, I put empty containers in the dishwasher, refill water bottles, and grab dinner out of the fridge.  This takes maybe 10 minutes.  

The key to meal prep is good planning and organization.  If you're using recipes, make sure you have all your ingredients on hand before you start.  Nothing ruins your prep time like having to run out for one more thing.   One of my favorite recipes involves cooking chicken before mixing it with all the other ingredients.  While the chicken cooks, I prep all the vegetables for the rest of the recipe.  While it cools I portion out the things that don't take a lot of prep:  almond milk, salad dressing, coffee, cereal, etc.

When considering meals for the week (I do this on Saturdays, by the way) I always think about how much time it will take to make the dish. Is there a lot of chopping  or other prep involved?  That can be a real time killer and is another reason for the 10 ingredient rule (refer to previous post).  I also consider how well things keep and reheat.  I'm not a huge fan of reheated eggs so I stay away from that.  Think about  your likes and dislikes while you choose meals.  When in doubt, put away the recipes and go simple.  Choose a lean protein and pair it with an in-season vegetable and some brown rice.  Ta-da; dinner (or lunch).

Believe me when I say that meal prep is one of the keys to my success.  While I don't especially enjoy eating out of tupperware, I do enjoy being prepared and always having food with me. I like knowing that the likelihood of making a bad choice or skipping a meal is slim to zero because the food is ready for me.  The time I spend on Sundays getting it all done flies by.  Put on your favorite music, take some time for you.  You'll thank me later.