Meal Prep 101
In our house, meal planning and prepping for the week is our secret to saving time and money, reducing food waste and helping us stay on track with our nutrition. If we don’t plan things out, shop with a list, and do at least a bit of batch cooking on Sundays…then I can guarantee you we end up eating take-out or unhealthy meals.
Why should you consider meal prep for your family?
1. Emotional well-being.
I write this with a touch of humor, but deep down, we all know the value of this scenario. Picture this: you arrive home after a long, stressful day and manage to dodge the inevitable "discussion" with your spouse about "what's for dinner?" How? Because it's already decided and ready to go! Imagine the immense sigh of relief that would bring!
2. Meal prepping serves as a powerful tool to eliminate impulsive food choices and the dreaded feeling of being “hangry”.
Impulsive food choices tend to be more prevalent when you're extremely hungry. Low glucose (sugar) levels in such situations can lead to impulsive choices, with your brain seeking quick energy, often in the form of simple carbohydrates. Meal prepping helps combat these urges by providing you with nutritious, pre-planned options, ensuring you make healthier choices even when hunger strikes.
3. Meal prepping can significantly decrease food waste.
How many times have you ventured into a grocery store without a plan, only to have much of the food you bought go untouched and spoil? Meal prepping puts an end to this vicious cycle, ensuring that you use all the ingredients you purchase and reducing food waste in the process. In our house, we have “leftover Thursdays” where we make some sort of supper out of leftovers - usually a stir fried rice, veggie and leftover meat dish with an egg thrown in for good measure.
4. Meal Prepping Tends to Save Money.
Meal prepping serves as a cost-effective strategy for saving money on groceries. And we could all use that right about now! By encouraging intentional choices and mindful spending, meal prepping ensures you make the most out of your hard-earned cash while still enjoying delicious and nutritious meals.
5. Meal prepping not only helps you save time but also keeps you organized.
Research shows that a busy schedule often leads people to choose quick takeout meals. If you're questioning how cooking can be more time-efficient than grabbing takeout, consider this: you don't have to spend time prepping food daily or cleaning up afterward. By setting aside one day each week to prep your meals, you can efficiently plan, cook, and store your food. This approach eliminates the need for daily food prep and cleaning, enabling you to enjoy time-saving benefits throughout the entire week.
Embracing the practice of meal prepping might feel overwhelming at first, especially if you're not used to making grocery lists. However, with time and practice, it becomes significantly easier, I promise!
Getting Started
1. Select a specific day to:
Plan the menu: Outline your meals for the week (or even the entire month) detailing what you'll prepare each day.
Write out your grocery list: Based on your planned menu, create a comprehensive list of all the ingredients you'll need for your meals.
Food shop: Dedicate this day to visiting the grocery store or shopping online to gather all the items on your list.
Meal prep or cook most of your meals: Set aside time for preparing and cooking your meals in bulk. This can involve chopping vegetables, marinating proteins, or even fully cooking and portioning your meals for the upcoming days.
While some of these tasks can overlap if you prefer, breaking them down into specific days can make meal planning more manageable and organized. OK, so you’ve set aside the day each week to do the planning and prep. That’s half the battle!
2. Once you identify your favorite 'prep-able' meals or establish consistent menus, keep an eye out for sales to stock up on frequently used shelf-stable ingredients. By taking advantage of discounts, you can build a well-stocked pantry, ensuring you always have the necessary ingredients on hand for your meal prepping needs. I like to use the “Flipp” app (check it out here) to find local specials. It’s a really great app to look for sales across all the stores. I also have a subscription with Rise Market to buy organic and healthy non-perishables online. I’ve been saving up to 40% on some stuff by using this service. I’m not affiliated with either, by the way - I just want to share what works for me. Alright, now let’s get to work on prepping that food.
3. On your meal prep day, focus on cooking up your proteins and whole grains. I like to roast several chicken breasts and then use them for salads, main courses, stir-fry, etc. I also like to cook up a whole grain like brown rice or quinoa and then I’ll usually roast a pan of root veggies. These can be delicious add-ons for a breakfast hash, as a side, pureed to make a soup or piled on lentil burgers with some hummus and quick pickles.
I often cook other protein on the day I’m planning to eat it, but on prep day I’ll marinate it or clean and cut it up, so it’s ready in the fridge for later in the week.
On meal prep day I’ll also prep some other staples like washed greens for a salad, hardboiled eggs (for an on-the-go snack or added to salads), a bowl of chopped fruit, a bunch of chopped veg (great with hummus as I prep dinner!) and often I will soak and cook some beans.
Another thing I love to do on Sundays is make a huge batch of spaghetti sauce. We’ll have that one night, then make some sort of baked pasta dish another night with the sauce and finally, my husband will whip up a batch of his delicious chili with the leftovers. We can have that for lunches or we’ll freeze it up for another time.
4. For lunches and snacks, get a head-start on prep day and use individual meal containers. Divide cooked food into the containers on prep day. I often make up my veggie and hummus containers, portion out yogurt and fruit, etc. This can be helpful for grab and go lunch making.
Make sure to stock up on these essential items for your meal prep:
Oats
Quinoa
Brown rice
Spices and herbs
Canned beans
Dried beans
Whole-grain pasta (or gluten-free!)
Unsweetened nut butter
Raw nuts and seeds
Olive oil and olive oil spray
Healthy broths (or make your own!)
Canned fish like tuna and salmon
Having these ingredients readily available will provide you with a variety of options for creating nutritious and delicious meals during your meal prep sessions.
Where do I find ideas for meal planning?
Cookbooks! There is nothing I love more than making a hot cup of tea and flipping through my cookbooks for inspiration on a Sunday morning…
Here are a few of my favorite websites for recipes (some are vegan, which I am not, but I modify as I need to):
I also use a meal planning software which auto-generates meal plans, recipes and grocery lists for me.
If you are a client of Nicole Schur Wellness, this is all done for you as part of the THRIVE Package!
Every week you’ll get a meal plan, list of recipes and a grocery shopping list tailored to your needs and portioned for your family.
We work our way towards compiling a recipe database for you and then I teach you how to do this on your own.
If you are interested in learning more about what it might look like to work with me, you can book your free 20-minute Discovery Call here:
This blog post was orginally released as a newsletter to my subscribers & they all received a FREE one week meal plan (21 meals and 7 snacks) complete with all the recipes and a grocery list. That’s the kind of things you can expect as a newsletter subscriber…so sign up today to get connected. I send the newsletter out once a week and it’s always jam-packed with useful info like this.
And yes, if you want a copy of that FREE One Week Meal Plan...you can still have it! Just sign up for the newsletter and let me that you’d like a copy.
