For many of us life is super busy with work, running the kids to their activities, mowing the lawn etc, etc, I think you get the idea. Our eating habits take a hit and we start making poor choices for foods that are quick and usually not healthy.
I have found that preparing food for a couple of days or even a week can be very helpful to keep me on track and reduce the stress of “What am I going to make for dinner?” It’s like having healthy TV dinners right at your fingertips!
- Plan a day that you will do your meal prep on. Sunday usually works best for most people and If you need to, mark it on your calendar.
- Make a grocery list with a plan of what meals you are going to make.
- Cook enough food to make meals for 3-5 days or more if you are going to freeze them.
- Try to always include a protein, healthy fats and carbs.
- Pick food containers that are BPA, can be frozen and heated in microwave and have air tight leak proof lids. Divided containers work great to keep food juices from mixing all together and also for portion control.
- If you are planning to travel with food invest in a good insulated cooler.
- Snacks can also be prepped like hard boiled eggs, cut up veggies, nuts, cheese, olives, pickles, etc.
- A weigh scale can be used if you are keeping track of macros.
Meal prep can also be done for breakfast, lunch, customized for fussy eaters like children and seniors.
Get your family involved and have them help you plan meals they would like and get the kids in the kitchen to help with prepping the food.
Meal prep containers can be found on Amazon. Ziploc and Rubbermaid can be found at any local Walmart, Costco, Canadian Tire etc.
Give it a try, spend one Sunday prepping and have more time and less stress during your hectic week!
-Tina