Meal Prepping 101

Formal meal prepping was the last thing on my mind when I was a teen but I did take an early interest in planning my meals even back then. My interest leaned more with baking than cooking. Those snow storms in Western New York make for long winter nights that go well with banana creme pie.

When I married, it was time to figure out this cooking thing. I wasn’t a natural cook. I made mistakes like adding cloves instead of cloves of garlic to one of my first Betty Crocker recipes I created for my than new husband, fellow Dietitian, Douglas.

My cooking persona has gone through cycles, from Microwave Maiden to Whip it Together Wizard. I’ve settled into kitchen advocate, believing that if we all ate more of our meals at home, we’d not only be healthier but we’d have more time to connect with our families in a way that only sharing food allows.

The trend of family dining has been going south for decades. Fewer of us than ever are preparing meals at home. In fact, statistics show that no country in the developed world cooks less than Americans. Shocking!

The reasons include, time pressures, technology, and restaurants offering a mix of super-palatable foods at low cost. One often overlooked reason is that many Americans (men and women) simple do not know how to cook. Even if you only dabble in the kitchen, keep reading to learn how meal prepping pros have learned how to balance time, technology, and restaurant dining.

Meal Prepping for the Modern World

5 Things to know about meal prepping

First, take out your calendar to see what your upcoming week looks like. Do you have a day where you have an after work dinner event? Are there days you hit the gym after work knowing you won’t be home until 8pm? Or, does your schedule have several commitments to mingle with others from morning coffee to luncheons?

As you meal prep, keep these events in mind. Plus, if you know that Friday is a dine out for dinner night for you, make a note of that too. This seems simple but factoring this information in for shopping and meal prep will result in less waste of both your time and food.

Pro meal preps know that there’s no need to over prep when you won’t be home to enjoy the food.

Second, discover what’s in your fridge and cupboards. Taking an inventory comes in handy when looking at recipes and creating a shopping list. Don’t miss this step, nothing as frustrating as being in the middle of prepping a dish and realize you don’t have any apple cider vinegar.

Pro meal preps know the power of the shopping list to save you time, money, and avoid those mid-prep store runs.

Third, when you’re first getting into meal prepping, keep things simple so you don’t end up feeling overwhelmed. Select a few simple recipes and rotate through them for a week or two before expanding your options. Pick a few meals and stagger them throughout the week, and don’t forget about left overs.

It’s a smart strategy to focus on the meal you struggle with the most. Moving slowly into a weekly meal prepping day can start with the lunch meal only and expand later. The focus is to reduce decision making by having a healthy meal waiting for you when you want it.

Pro meal preps know one way to keep it simple is to adopt the strategy of staggering meals.

For example, make the same dinner for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then, have different meals Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Your wild card is Sunday – the day for dining out or trying something new. Staggering meals with the same recipes means you only have to prepare two different dinners for this week.

Another pro tip: choose foods that take to being frozen without losing their original texture or flavor. Choose at least 1 freezer-friendly recipe each meal prepping time block. This will help you save time for future meals and be available as an “emergency meal.”

Finally, learn to embrace leftovers in all of their budget-friendly glory. You have your entire life to go out and sample different cuisines, so if there’s perfectly good day-old pot roast sitting in your fridge, there’s no reason not to call it dinner

Fourth, start with a clean kitchen. Yes, clearing away dirty dishes and clutter provides a clean slate for your creations. Don’t forget to clean up as you go to avoid a huge clean up at the end. Double check your storage containers, move to using Pyrex containers and glass jars with lids to avoid exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals found in the typical plastic food containers.

Pro meal preps know that an organized fridge with prepped meals in plain site is the answer to easy grab-and-go eating.

Fifth, schedule at least 1-2 hours of uninterrupted time for your meal prep. Even if all you can carve out is one hour for meal prepping the benefits are exponential compared to having nothing planned or prepped before you come home.

Prepare no more than 4 recipes unless time allows or the recipes are more “assembly cooking” AKA using pre-cooked foods or raw salad foods for layering mason jars. Frequently cited days for those employed full-time is usually Saturday or Sunday. Retired or working part-time provides flexibility to fit it in your schedule.

My favorite hour to meal prep is in the morning after I’ve had breakfast. I may do what I call pre-prepping of the meal. For example, if I’m having a shrimp stir fry, I’ll cut my fresh broccoli, celery, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, green zucchini, and garlic and pop them in the fridge for the evening hours. This allows me to do my errands during the day and walk in at 6pm knowing that the most labor intensive part of the meal is already done.

While sautéing the shrimp, cooking the brown rice, I layer each vegetable into my 4 quart pan for steaming. Starting with root veggies, like carrots, and ending with delicate green zucchini, makes this an easy meal to have on the dinner table by 7pm.

Pro meal preps start with the recipes that take the longest time like those require chopping, baking or slow cooker recipes.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the basics of meal prepping for healthy meals and snacks. When planning lunch and dinner use my 3-step plate method. Take one-half of your plate and fill it with greens or veggies like zucchini squash, green beans, or cauliflower.

Split the other half of the plate in two, and fill in with a starch veggie like beets, sweet potatoes; or beans and the other half with your lean protein like chicken, turkey, fish, seafood, tofu or eggs. Adding higher fiber choices like root veggies over rice, pasta or bread keeps the hormone insulin more stable and can make you feel fuller sooner.

Finding your Inner Chef!

We each have 168 hours in a week. Spending just two hours a week meal prepping represents just 1 percent of your week. This one weekly habit can increase your overall health, help you maintain or achieve a healthy weight, reduce stress, reduce out-of-whack blood sugar levels, over the top LDL cholesterol, and provide a sense of accomplishment when you master this skill.

Isn’t it time you embraced your genuine meal planning persona?  Click to Discover your Meal Planning Persona

Bonnie Roill is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and Hormone Support Coach working exclusively with women to re-balance their hormones to create a healthier weight and a happier life! Visit www.B3Nutrition.com   to receive your free report “5 SMART Strategies for Healthy Weight Loss.”

Eat Clean(er)* Feel Great* Look Awesome!