Meal Prepping: Tips To Get Started

Meal prepping, batch cooking, bulk prepping. Call it what you may, the goal is the same. To ensure you are equipped to eat wholesome, nutrient-dense meals and snacks at all times, thereby limiting the consumption of take-out or highly processed junk foods. 

In this blog post, I want to address two topics I get asked about all the time – CONSISTENCY in maintaining healthy eating habits and CONQUERING CRAVINGS for junk food. I have addressed both in previous videos and social media posts, but today I want to talk about one practice I use to eat healthily consistently and conquer my cravings. Yes, I am talking about MEAL PREPPING. Now, if you're a busy mom and you want to ensure your family has healthy meals most nights, then you'll want to settle in with your cup of chai and read on. 

Okay, so any time meal prep is spoken of, what I hear from women is:

Will it take too much time?

I don't want to be slaving in the kitchen all day on my day off!

Well,  yes and no. Firstly, it’s all about mindset. If you feel like you’re “slaving,” it is unlikely the experience will be positive. Flip that script and think about how that effort in the kitchen will help save you time, money, and energy, and you will probably like it a whole lot better.

Below, I have six tips on making meal planning/prepping less of a chore and more of an essential tool in your wellness kit.  This is not an exhaustive list, but what has worked for me, and hopefully you'll walk away with some practical steps to get started meal prepping or improve on a system you already have in place.

Are you ready? Here goes:

TIPS TO GET STARTED MEAL PREPPING:

Do What Works For You

This is the first step in effective meal prepping. Figure out what your family’s needs are.  Look at your schedule. Do you have a hectic week ahead? It can even vary from week to week, and your meal prep doesn’t have to be the same throughout your life. There are different stages and different phases of life, and you should adjust accordingly. When I first came across the term “meal prep,” it mainly meant prepping containers with portioned-out chicken breast, broccoli, and rice. Now that may suit some, but not a family with different preferences and nutrient requirements. My meal prep looks very different as I share below and in this video.

Make The Time

No, this doesn’t mean spending all of Sunday in the kitchen if you don't want to. You can prep even in little pockets of 15-20 minutes if you wish. I do both; there are days I immerse myself in a whole day of batch cooking, and then there are days I'll make a few jars of my Keto Chia Pudding, which takes all of ten minutes. The call is yours. The point is to do some prep even if you start small, and so as not to overwhelm yourself, which totally defeats the purpose anyway. Once you are more comfortable with meal prepping, you can take on more. 

Semi-Prep/Bulk-Prep Food

If your family isn’t too keen on leftovers, you can always prep ingredients instead. Here’s how I prep them so that they are ready to go for weeknight cooking sessions. 

• I chop up some onions and store them in small portions, enough for one curry, in my freezer. This saves so much time when I am getting ready to cook. 
• I also make ginger and garlic much like this, especially since I want to avoid the store-bought varieties with preservatives and additives. There really is nothing quite like fresh garlic and ginger. They are medicinal and should be eaten fresh to take advantage of their anti-inflammatory properties.
• I cut up cucumbers and carrots and keep them in containers to have veggies on demand. It is much easier to eat your nutrients when they are in front of you rather than have them in some obscure corner of the produce drawer. 
• I marinate meats for dinner later on in the week.

As far as bulk prep goes:

• I often make granola bites or Date Balls so I have nutrient-dense snacks on hand when teenage hunger strikes between meals! 
• Make kebabs and chicken quesadillas, and freeze them so that the kids can take them out and heat them as required.
• I also like to make some chia pudding for myself. I'll make the pudding and store it, and then add fruit and nuts on top when I am ready to eat.

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Since my family is ok with leftovers, I often make a double batch of curry so I don't have to cook every day.  We’ll eat the meal again the next day, or recycle the chicken from the curry into quick quesadillas and salads for lunch. I also like to make some extra rice, lentils, and other grains so that I have some for the next couple of meals. I have a teenager in the house, and he often has leftovers for breakfast, so I always make some extra grains and store them in the refrigerator. 

Don't Be Afraid Of Frozen or Prepackaged Foods

Guess what? Meal prep doesn't necessarily mean everything has to be made from scratch!  Don’t have the time to wash and chop your own fruits and veggies? Get frozen ones. The frozen variety is picked at its peak and has the same amount of nutrients as its fresh version, if not more! Yes, you will have to pay a premium most of the time, but if you are diligent about sales and pressed for time, this is the way to go. 

I also buy prepackaged coleslaw and other pre-washed leafy greens. The one thing I would say, though, is that it is probably a good idea to rinse out said leafy greens, as you can't always guarantee how well they have been cleaned at the seller’s end.

Pantry items like canned beans, chickpeas, and tuna are also great to have on hand for quick lunches and salads. 

Invest In Good Quality Storage Containers

Glass containers are an excellent investment not only because they are BPA & BPS free, both endocrine disruptors, but also because they are suitable for the earth. I use Glasslock containers and mason jars, and I often recycle glass condiment jars. IKEA is also a great resource as their containers appeal to my love for simple, modern design.

 

Listen to a Podcast or Audiobook

This is something I have started doing lately. It is one of the few times I genuinely believe in multitasking. When mundane tasks such as chopping are involved, listening to your favorite podcast can make the time go by much faster. 

 

Alright! These were my tips for getting started with meal prepping. I hope they help you to get organized and reduce some of the overwhelm that comes with modern-day living! Have any tips you’d like to share? Let me know below! You can also follow me on Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter!