Many people cringe at the thought of meal planning and preparation. That comes from a misunderstanding of why you should include this into your life as part of your self care routine. Meal plan ‘n prep not only results in healthier meal options for you and your family, it also reduces the stress of eating. By putting in a little hard work up front, you are paving the way for success for years to come.
Step 1 – How to Plan
Start by looking at your lifestyle. Understand if you are able to commit to cooking your own meals for most of the week. If you are in a sports league and are there twice a week during the dinner hour, then those nights might have to be a leftover night or takeout. Knowing when you have the time to cook and enjoy your meal is important for your planning. Then looking at whether you do meal prep once or twice a week. Most foods can last up to four days in the fridge. But do your homework to ensure that the foods you have chosen don’t have a shorter Best By date.
The next step in planning, is looking at your nutritional needs. Do you require a diet higher in protein? Are there new dietary restrictions you need to consider? Do you have variety in your go-to dishes to ensure you have proper nutritional intake? Based on these answers, start to then look at the dishes you already know how to prepare. Then add some new dishes into your rotation. I recommend having at least two weeks worth of meals so that you have variety from a nutritional intake, and to keep eating fun and exciting.
Step 2 – How to Meal Prep
Once you know which dishes you want to make, you need to make a list of ingredients. Figure out what you can do in advance to help you reduce time dedicated to meal preparation. Three main methods of meal prep include batch cooking, individually portioned meals, and ingredient preparation.
Some recipes work well to freeze. You can make bigger batches of them, and then freeze some for another date. Depending on what you are cooking, always look into recommended times to freeze certain ingredients. Some may just lose their flavour over time, but you also don’t want to risk an illness. Key to success is making sure you understand safe food handling methods to properly prepare and cool foods before freezing, and seal the foods airtight to keep bacteria out. There are plenty of sources of information online that can help you understand the process. Look at one recipe/ingredient at a time to not get overwhelmed. Batch freezing guarantees you can always have a healthy meal ready to go for those days when you are too busy to make anything from scratch.
Another method using the big batch concept is using up all the food in the coming days, but you portion it out for yourself in advance. This is a great way to prepare lunches in advance. It ensures that your morning rush doesn’t have to mean compromising a healthy meal at break time. If you are busy in the evenings, this is also a good way to come home to a good meal at the end of the day. It also helps control those cravings to just eat junk food. This method is also a great way to control your portion sizes to avoid overeating.
Finally, my favourite way of getting my meals ready for the week, peeling and slicing all of my ingredients for the dishes I will make in the upcoming 3-4 days. I tend to use many of the same ingredients in my cooking, but the method in which I prepare them, and the other ingredients that go into each dish can dramatically change the profile. Some people take it one step further and roast big batches of veggies and/or meat.
Benefits of Meal Plan ‘N Prep
Besides being an excellent way to improve your self care nutritional intake, meal planning and preparation also saves time and money. These are two factors that aggravate stress and impact your overall quality of life. By deciding in advance what you are making, it also reduces the stress of having to decide what to make at the end of a long day when you can’t think straight. This ensures you don’t compromise what you are consuming, and don’t cave and order something from a restaurant. By preparing your own meals, you know exactly what you are consuming. This gives you better control on the outcomes you are seeking.
Inspiration
If meal planning is new to you, start by focusing on one meal a day, and then you can add the others to ensure you don’t fail right out of the gate. There are a ton of videos and blogs online that can give you ideas on where to start. There are also apps that can help guide you, and meal kits that can also streamline the planning for you. Kits could be an easier way to get you into the routine of cooking regularly. But the drawbacks are that they are more costly and limited when you have dietary restrictions or limited preferences.
Having the right containers to store ingredients and meals is also important. Spend a little time exploring some options to see which containers are best for your needs. When making new purchases, also consider if some of these containers will be used for reheating your meals. Opt for glass containers reducing any harmful effects you could otherwise see from heating plastics.
Start your meal prep ‘n plan today!
By committing to a meal plan, you are making a conscious choice of prioritizing your self care through nutrition. It isn’t easy to do, it is a skill that needs to be developed over time, but worth the investment. Start small and scale-up to ensure you are building the right foundation. Start with meals you already know, and add a few new ones to keep your meals enjoyable. Repetition can become monotonous so reviewing your core meal rotation options regularly can help sustain the behaviour. Get the whole family to help out. By sharing this core self care skill with your kids, you are supporting a healthy relationship with food.
IMAGE CREDIT: Unsplash | Ello.