I stopped meal prepping when I was traveling a lot last fall because I wasn’t home. I stopped a lot of things and it made life a lot harder. It suddenly became easier to pick up something on the way home. Since Willie got into his cooking though, things have changed. I’m not just meal prepping by myself. I have a partner in the kitchen now. Willie and I discussed some changes we wanted in our lives and getting back to meal prepping was big deal. We also started making our own lunches instead of eating a Healthy Choice meal everyday. We just needed to mix things up. Last week was my first week making lunches so when Sunday rolled around this past weekend, I already knew what I was doing.
I meal prepped!
I just wanted to drop some quick tips on meal prepping:
1. Do it. It makes life so much easier because everything is already together and you don’t have to worry about reaching for something unhealthy.
2. Make the space in your refrigerator. Everyone always tells me they don’t have room for all that, but you have to make room. No lie, our fridge is filled to the brim but the stuff is already made.
3. Leftovers make great lunches.
4. Make things that will hold the entire week: rice, quinoa, beans, sweet potatoes, steamed veggies, and a lean meat protein. Willie was on sauce duty this week and he tore it up. Be sure to always have rice/quinoa and beans on hand because it’s always a quick way to make a meal.
5. You can always have a salad in a jar. I find these things super helpful and always come through in a pinch.
6. Make sure you have the right containers for your food storage because they will get reused a lot. Also, make sure those containers are microwave safe.
7. Frozen veggies work just as well as the fresh stuff. Plus you can get things when they aren’t in season because it’s already frozen. Frozen veggies are a lifesaver!
So what meals do we prep?
I prep every meal that I can. Breakfast is always done in advance with overnight oats and a egg muffin. We just started the lunch thing, but most nights dinner is pre-made on Sunday or the parts are made so it’s easy to put it together. And if all else fails, we throw a quick salad together with what’s left over in the fridge.
I’ve said it before, but left overs are amazing!
Do you meal prep? What kind of meals do you prep?
