The Roadmap to Meal prep
Food and how we fuel our body plays a key role in optimal health and wellbeing. If our food isn’t where it should be, it has a flow on effect to other areas of our health i.e. poor sleep, poor blood sugar control and sugar cravings, stress, and relationships. So we need to set ourselves up for success.
WHY MEAL PREP?
The idea behind meal prep is to have healthy, quick and easy meals at the ready for when life gets a bit crazy. Whether this be work, family, friends, or socialising, we live in a world where everyone is busy or feels time poor. The aim with meal prep is to take some of the stress out of organising healthy food every day of the week for ourselves andour families. By being a little more organised we can have meals set in the fridge or freezer that can be ready in 10 minutes for the nights time seems to disappear. Having a series of healthy homemade meals is a much healthier option rather than picking up takeaway three times a week on your way home because you know there is no food in the house and can’t be bothered to make a meal from scratch.
MAIN GOALS WITH MEAL PREP
Reduce takeaway food and processed food – homemade meals will generally have a higher nutrient content, keep you feeling fuller for longer, and you know its food that you enjoy eating.
Save time, money, stress – this means less supermarket shops, less food wastage, and not having to decide what you and the family want to eat each night for dinner/making 5 different dinners for a fussy family.
Minimise food wastage – if you plan your week out you’ll find you should have little to no food leftover at the end of the week!
Tasty, easy, homemade meals in the fridge for when life gets a bit crazy.
Get the family and kids cooking – more chefs = less work!
3 TOP MEAL PREP TIPS
Healthy snacks on hand! For my busy mums having pre-made bliss balls, nut mix, mini muffins, veggie stick with hummus and crackers sorted in your fridge at the start of the week will save you from the mid-afternoon crash where you want to reach for the biscuits/chips/chocolate. An afternoon snack should have a good source of healthy fats – nuts, nut butter, coconut, avocado, olive oil, yoghurt (along with a small amount of carbs or protein) to leave you feeling satiated until dinner time.
Make your own salad dressings. The majority of salad dressings sold in supermarkets have a high sugar content and a long list of ingredients you either can’t pronounce or don’t know what they are. Making salad dressings are super simple, and you can tailor make them to your taste. If you are stuck here let me know and I’ll pass on some great salad dressings of my own and from recipes I’ve found.
Breakfast prep – I love making a batch of porridge or granola and putting it into little jars (I’d only do max 3 days at a time for porridge or oats. Granola will keep for weeks in an airtight container) in the fridge that you can take with you/eat before/on the way/or at work. Add your toppings the morning your going to eat it but reheat before you add them if you want warm porridge. Alternatively if you are at home for breakfast you may opt for a savoury option i.e. piece of toast with avo, tomato, goats cheese and a fried egg drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. I find savoury breakfasts start my day right, especially if you experience sugar cravings.
Happy prepping!
