If you live an on-the-go lifestyle, it can be hard to always know what and when you are eating. It can be easy to get caught up in the mix and miss a meal or eat out too much. We can only maintain our vitality by nourishing our bodies, which is why meal prepping can be an efficient solution to the lunch time crunch when your calendar is too full to cook. Meal prepping saves you the hassle of not knowing what you might be eating next and how much money you’d be spending on it.
The purpose of meal prepping is to lay out healthy, nutritious meals for your whole week. This helps you to save money in the long run and helps you save on calories, too! Here are five tips and tricks you can use to get the most out of your meal prepping!
Decide What Method to Use
There are several different ways to implement meal prepping into your routine. You can utilize the “Make-ahead” method, which is cooking a meal ahead of time, storing it in a refrigerator or freezer until it is ready to be prepared. Another popular method is the “batch cook” method, which calls for preparing a large batch of your recipe of choice, and then dividing it up into pre-portioned meals. A third is portioning foods that can be grabbed straight out of the fridge and taken on-the-go, such as a fruit salad or carrots and hummus. All of these methods have their own benefits, and it’s really a matter of which methods work for you!
Portion Control
It’s easy to get lost in prepping and just assuming that the portions you are creating are the right amount. A problem that people run into often is believing that they need large portions in order to feel full. Instead, focus on eating whole foods (instead of processed) that contain protein, and then eat until you are full. If you find yourself feeling “overstuffed” at lunch, you can re-balance your prepped meals by adding or subtracting fruits, veggies, and proteins until you consistently feel full until your next meal.
Plan What Meals
Find some time in your day, sit down, and jot down your weekly meal plan before you start preparing the meals. Create a calendar for your week and pick your favorite nutritious meals to have during those days! Do this on the same day every week for added consistency to the routine.
Don’t Go Overboard
Like the above tip states, plan out your meals at a comfortable pace, but don’t go too crazy! You don’t need to be sweating in the kitchen, whipping together 8 different dishes at the same time for your week. Experiment with recipes that can be created with one sheet pan, one crock pot, and even one instant pot.
Separate Right After Preparing
If you prepare your dish, and then wait until you’re ready to eat it to cut out a portion, then you risk serving yourself too much or too little. Separate your portions immediately after preparing to be sure that you are divvying everything up equally.
Write Your List
It’s time to write up your shopping list! Jot down all of your ingredients to have an idea of how easy a meal would be to prepare. Once shopping, you’ll start to remember the cost of ingredients, and be able to gauge your spending a bit more.
There you go! Meal prepping can give you a sense of calm and control in the midst of an otherwise chaotic life, now get prepping!
Dr. Barbara R. Edwards, a Princeton MD is the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, providing quality care to uninsured and under-insured New Jersey residents in Mercer and Middlesex counties.