• HOME
• FOOD
• RECIPES
• DINING
• DRINKS
• SHOP
• TRAVEL
• ABOUT

Living a healthy life means living a wholesome life. That means besides hitting the gym and counting calories, you need to know what goes into the meals that are served at your table. Many people consider prepping healthy meals as such a tedious and time-consuming process but what most people don’t realize is, it could easily take just as much time as ordering take out. The best way to complete your healthy life routine is by eating healthy meals and not so many options are available if you expect to get this from a restaurant. Most people shy away from cooking because it seems like a time-consuming task but what if you already prepped your meal ideas. Meal prepping is something you can do at once for a whole week in half an hour or less on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Meal prepping will save you nearly half the time, and all you will be left with is the actual cooking.

Below are some helpful tips for healthy meal prepping that will save you time and enable you to achieve your goals easily:

Come up with some food ideas

The first step in your healthy meal prepping is to write down some food ideas. This will be your guide on what to cook and also what to buy when shopping for groceries. Shopping without a list might get you shopping for unhealthy food on impulse. Besides, you do not have to come up with a meal plan every week. You can create several weekly meal plans that you can rotate for months.

Invest in good quality meal prepping containers

Meal prepping is supposed to make life easier. Things will backfire if you try to prep food once a week without prior experience. Containers are useful for food storage. Good containers will keep the food fresh for the period you intend to keep them and will also be useful in keeping the place neat. Go for containers that are BPA free to ensure they do not melt in the oven; you can also use glass containers. A good tip on shopping for containers would be that you go for containers that are of the same shapes and sizes to avoid confusion. You can also use labels on the containers or color coordinate depending on use.

Start at your own pace

This process is meant to make your life simpler. You might easily give up if you start at such a high pace especially when you do not have any experience. You can start by prepping for a couple of days in a week to test how costly and how time-consuming the process is then learn and grow from your own experience.

Once you have prepared the meals, you can start cooking them in advance

Invest in a food scale

This will be an important tool especially for those on a weight loss journey. Some believe it is important to count calories and you may not be able to do this with your bare eye. You, therefore, need to get a weighing scale to get your portions accurate. This will also enable you to get the job done all at once as you can weigh all the portions once or twice a week.

Do not go for new recipes all the time

You can try new recipes every once in a while when cooking in advance. Trying new recipes may kill your expectation as it may take longer than you expected or they may not turn out as you had anticipated. Simply stick with the recipes that you are used to, and the truth is, you do not need hundreds of recipes to make your healthy journey possible. Just ensure you eat balanced and nutritious foods.

Always chop the veggies ahead of time

Meal prepping is not all about cooking but the entire process. Chopping the vegetable and fruits ahead of time will save you a lot of time. This will also instil a sense of discipline that will enable you to eat your veggies even when you do not want to.

Start with prepping the complicated dishes first

You can prepare all the complicated dishes and have them packed and stored on a Sunday and then you can delve into all the other dishes as the week progresses. You may also want to check out ideas through the internet to match your specific needs; there are those offering recipes for magnesium rich foods , rich with iron, etc. It is just like working out, small warm up-cutting veggies, then the intense workout which we can equate to cooking the difficult dishes.

Store healthy snacks in the house

Snacking on healthy foods can help control your cravings and keep you on track. You should have fruits, nuts, eggs, and veggies accessible whenever you feel hungry.

Don’t have the ‘all or nothing’ mentality

Just because you had a lot of errands to run on Sunday afternoon doesn’t mean that you should not find another time to meal prep. You can do this any day of the week. Just be open-minded and always remember the goals.

Store your salads in a glass jar

Carrying a salad to work seems odd but what if you had it in a cute glass jar. This will enable them to stay longer, and you can also have the salad dressing at the bottom of the glass jar then layer the vegetables starting with the peppers and beets at the bottom and the leafy greens at the top.

Combine different veggies together

You can roast veggies that have the same cooking duration at once to save on time. For instance, carrots, onions, potatoes, parsnips, and cauliflower have the same cooking time.

In conclusion, the process is enjoyable and you will get healthier while doing it. It should not be like a dose timetable but an enjoyable exercise. Throw in some tips and tricks of your own. You can also involve other members of the family or your friends, especially on days when you feel too lazy to go through the process. Master the tricks of healthy meal mapping and have fun as
you acquire good health.