I’m commonly asked what my #1 biggest health tip is. I have to boil it down to preparation. It’s that age old tale, if you fail to prepare, you can prepare to fail.
I’ll be the first to admit – working a full time job, balancing a relationship, friends, family, and a side-hustle wears on me. Often times during those busy days, the last thing I want to do is cook up a fancy dinner, clean the kitchen, and pack up lunch for the next day… you know what i’m sayin?
Long story short: my #1 secret weapon for eating well and feeling amazing is healthy meal prep. I’m going to break down my top tips for healthy meal prep & how to make this a manageable weekend task (that can be fun too)!
Step By Step Guide to Meal Prep
1. Decide What You’re Going to Make by Picking a Few Key Recipes:
Pin some tasty instagram posts throughout the week or tab a few recipes from your favorite cookbooks. I don’t like to be bound to a formal “daily menu plan” for the week because I never know what i’ll be craving. I create a few very different options to serve whatever the day calls for.
Some of my favorite cookbooks for batch cooking recipes are:
2. Make Sure You’ve Got All the Proper Kitchen Equipment
(mmm I LOVE kitchen supplies)1
The Essentials
- Chopping board
- A good knife
- A large soup/stock pot
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spatula or stirring spoon
- Saute pan or frying pan (get the scoop on healthy, non-toxic cookware)
- Veggie steamer
- Box grater
- Veggie peeler
- A baking sheet or roasting tray
- Mason jars, stainless steel containers or glass containers
- Wide mouth funnel (for getting things into your jars with less mess!)
- Beeswax wraps (to replace your saran wrap)
- Mesh produce bags
- Salad spinner
- Parchment paper
The ‘Nice-to-Haves’
Here are some things that aren’t absolutely essential, but are handy to help you meal prep quickly and easily, and allow you to make a wide range of recipes.
- High-speed blender (this can double as a juicer)
- Food processor
- Muffin tin
- Loaf pan
- Rolling pin
- Spice grinder
3. Create Your Grocery List
In order to eliminate waist of your time AND your money, go to the grocery store with a prepared list in hand. Include everything you need to create your chosen recipes + extra protein + fresh snacks + veggie sides + juice/milks.
Think about what you know you’ll use outside of your prepped meals, and of course, include those things as well. For me, that’s lemons for water, avocados, gluten free crackers , grain free tortillas, fresh bread, cold brew, sandwich chicken, apples, eggs, and carrots for snacking on hummus. The goal is to get in and get out! Time is precious when you’re preppin’.
I create my list on my computer in “Notes” and then text it to my phone to take with me to the store.
4. Scrub em Good
I like to lay out all of my fresh produce on the counter, turn that faucet on, and scrum em all at the same time. Create an efficient assembly line with yourself or if you have a little helper, this is a great place to delegate some dirty work. I use this Trader Joes produce soap and this Full Circle brush. I love to do this so when the week comes you can grab a clean apple on the run or a few carrot sticks without worrying.
Tip: don’t bother washing veggies with a peel! At this time, I also peel my potatoes, carrots, beets… whatever is on the menu.
5. Get Cookin’! Keep a Variation.
Okay, so the time has finally come for you to put your cooking skills to work. If you don’t think you have many cooking skills…. keep your recipes SUPER simple like a bunch of grilled chicken, instant rice, and steamed veggies. Seriously, ANY one can do this if they’re committed to their health!
One very important factor that goes into what I cook is VARIATION. Anticipate that you are not going to eat the same things everyday… that’s just boring and life-less. I’ve also found that if I do the same meal prep 2 weeks in a row I get BORED so strive to keep changing this up.
I’ll help! Here are a few of my favorite meal prep ideas:
- Breakfast:
- Breakfast Hash: sweet potatoes or russet potatoes roasted with onion, spices, and kale. Crack a fresh egg over it in the morning.
- Overnight Oats
- Chia Pudding
- Pre-Frozen Smoothies: pre-freeze everything except for the milk in your smoothie in a freezer bag. When you’re ready, throw the frozen ingredients in the blender + milk!
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Say Jess Please Flaxseed Banana Breakfast Muffins
- Homemade Granola with berries
- Lunch:
- Veggie Fried Rice, option to add chicken or shrimp
- Soups: try my Gut Friendly Soup, Ina’s Chicken Meatball Wedding Soup, or a Healthy Chili
- Buddha Bowls: pack a container with loads ofneasonal veggies, a starch like a brown rice noodle or quinoa, protein, and some seeds to create the ultimate nutritional balance
- Mason Jar Salads pre-make a salad with all but the dressing and store in a mason jar with the lettuce on top so it doesn’t get wilted.
- Snack Ideas
- Energy Bites
- Hummus w/ Veggies
- Mixed Nuts
- Cleaned and Pre-Cut Veggies
- Nut & Seed Bars
- Dinner Ideas – full disclosure, I prefer dinner fresh whenever possible. Meal prep has, however, saved me maaaany times when i’m in a bind or just plain tired.
- Whole Roast Chicken & Veggies seems aggressive but it’s such a passive thing to cook, it’s one pot, and provides bones for bone broth so I like to do it on Sunday.
- Turkey Meatballs add spaghetti squash and fresh marinara for a yummy spaghetti lunch
- Pesto & Spagetti Squash with shrimp and cherry tomatoes
- Mushroom Risotto from Nutrition Stripped cookbook (also works as a good side at lunch)
- Dips, Dressing, Broth, Milks
- Asian dressing for my buddha bowl, curtesy of Nutrition Stripped cookbook
- Simple lemon, salt, pepper, rice wine, and EVOO dressing
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Say Jess Please Healthy Pesto
- Homemade Almond Milk
- Bone Broth
6. Be Sure to Store Everything Properly So It Lasts
I. Can. Not. Stand. To. Waist. Food.
I can’t tell you why. It just really bugs me! There are so many people without access to these wonderful, nutritious ingredients, It just kills me to throw away un-used/spoiled food.
SO, i’ve compiled a few resources to make food storage in your fridge and freezer optimal to keep them fresh, crunchy, and tasty for as long as possible!
I also try my best to only store in glass containers because I’ve recently learned that plastic leaves a toxic residue on our food that can disrupt our hormonal system and consequently our metabolism. We didn’t spend all of this time meal prepping to whack out our metabolism, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Bonus: Consider outsourcing the areas of meal prep that don’t feel achievable for you.
I am a huge fan of Pittsburgh Fresh. They do meal prep for you and deliver right to your door. While I always prefer my own freshly cooked meals, I started having Pittsburgh Fresh delivered to my office for my dad, brother, and I. Mostly because I was NOT about to meal prep for them and I know how much they appreciate the ease of the service and the ability to eat filling, healthy lunches without waisted time in transit for lunch. If your story is similar, find a local meal prep service. There are so many good options out there all over the country.
Finally…
I realize that my ideas for meals seems a little bit excessive, I never make ALL of those things. There are many weeks where I just roast up trays on trays of fresh veggies, lean meat, and some rice and make 5 days of meals with those limited ingredients. I just want to create a resource for ideas here! Feel free to share your favorites with me as well.
I hope you enjoyed this article! Comment below and share with me some tips and tricks in the meal planning space that have worked for you. I want to hear from you!
xx, jess
Sources:
(1) https://www.culinarynutrition.com/5-essential-meal-prepping-tip/
