A Guide: How to Meal Prep Step by Step
Most of us have heard about it before, but maybe we haven’t mastered it? It’s the world of meal prepping! There are a lot of buzz phrases out there like meal planning, meal prepping, and that can be easily mixed up.
Meal prepping, put simply, is the act of making meals ahead of time. It’s cooked, in a tupperware, and ready to eat or heat up for a matter of minutes. It can be your food for tomorrow or your lunches and dinners for the entire week! Most elements of meal prepping I see done on the weekends so you can go into the work week prepared.
For any busy human out there, (Hello all moms, working people, likely all of you!) meal prepping can be a HUGE key to success when it comes to nailing down healthy eating habits. Here are just a few benefits of meal prepping.
It can help save you HOURS of time during the week (less cooking, doing dishes, traveling and waiting to pick up a meal, etc. on the daily).
It can save money by encouraging you to purchase only what you’re going to eat (and not all the fund end cap items at the store or the snickers bar at check out..)
It can save you mental and physical energy. Decision fatigue is a THING people. Don’t let multiple food decisions a day take up space in your mind. You have plenty of other things to think about!
It can help you stay on track by making healthier, more conscious food choices since you’re planning ahead vs. deciding in the moment with potential limited options.
The great thing about meal prepping is that it’s super simple! There’s no crazy science behind it or fancy tools you need. All you need to do is practice planning and preparation.
How to Meal Prep Step by Step
I wanted to create a space to make it as simple as possible for you! Below I’ve included some basic steps on where you can get started with meal prepping and how to efficiently prepare food for yourself (and/or others in your household). Know that this is here to serve as a guide. Don’t be afraid to adjust things as you need that fit you, your lifestyle, and your goals. Let’s dive in!
To keep things simple. Let’s break this down in steps and make sure you have all the right tools. Here’s the game plan!
Create a Schedule / Routine (for each step below)
Plan out your Meals
Go Grocery Shopping
Time to Get Cookin’!
Portion and Pack in Containers
Time to Store Away
Some helpful tools and resources to have as you get started.
A Calendar (to keep yourself organized)
A good notepad or template to take notes while planning (sign up for my email list here to receive my customized template for you!)
Your local grocery store app (in case you like to shop curbside)
Some high quality storage containers (avoid plastics if possible and opt for glass)
Step One: Create a Schedule or Routine
One big key to successfully meal prepping is making sure you carve out the time in your schedule. It takes time to think out what you want to eat, write out all the items on a list, go to the store and get them, drive back, prepare ingredients while cooking, and put it all away! For each Steps 2-6 above, where in your schedule does it make the most sense to do it? Are you doing all 6 steps all day on Sunday? Are you planning Friday, picking up Saturday, and cooking Sunday? Find out the routine that works for you and put it on your calendar like an appointment!
Step Two: Plan out your Meals
Once you’ve got your schedule or routine laid out, it’s time to plan your meals! It’s a good idea to consider your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any snacks you may have and write out a menu for yourself. Here’s an example of some meal prep ideas in menu form.
Breakfast: Egg muffin bites with mushrooms and peppers
Snack: Apple with Almond Butter
Lunch: Shredded Chicken with Rice and Brussel Sprouts
Snack: Green Protein Smoothie
Dinner: Chicken Stir Fry
Snack: Yogurt with Strawberries and Granola
Once you write out your menu for the day, it’s time to make a list of all the ingredients you’ll need! By the way, if you’re getting stuck on recipe ideas, take some time to list out some meal prep recipes that you and your family like that you can pick from for future weeks ahead! Be sure to have an idea of the portions you’ll need for one day, then multiply that by how many days you’re preparing for. EXAMPLE: If you plan on having 3 eggs a day at breakfast time, and you’re planning for 6 days worth of meals, you’ll need to have 18 eggs.
Step Three: Go Grocery Shopping
Moving right along! Now that you have your menu for the week and shopping list together, it’s time to go get it! If you want to save yourself extra time and avoid purchasing things you don’t need, I find that curbside pick up is a GAME CHANGER! Since having my son, I have not stepped inside the grocery store. I’ve saved money on my weekly grocery spending and so much time and hassle of walking through the store, and waiting in line to check out. Instead, I save my usual grocery lists on the app, place my order, and go pick up when it’s ready!
Step Four: Time to Get Cookin’!
Here comes the prepping part! It’s time to cook. The goal is to eliminate as many steps as possible ahead of time. Have as many prepped ingredients as possible like chopping veggies and fruits. Any prepared foods that you can cook or portion out, DO IT! I don’t know about you, but asking me to cook EVERY DAY at the end of a long day is like asking me to run a marathon in 100 degree weather. I ain’t doin’ it. LOL. The more we can do now, and less later, the better!
Step Five: Portion your food in Containers
Now that all the food has been cooked, it’s time to create your meals! Portion out all your food out into the amounts you’ll have for a given meal (i.e. 3 egg bites in each container, 1 serving of your sheet pan meal in each container, etc.). The key here is to not put ALL of one item in a big tupperware. This leaves you with having to pull out multiple containers and portioning out in a bowl. We don’t want to do buffet style at home. It takes time! Save yourself the hassle and individually portion your food so you’re not having to spoon out your rice, veggies, and protein daily. And if you’re looking for some high quality glass containers over plastic, check out these Caraway Glass Containers right here. :)
Step Six: Time to Store Away.
And last but not least, it’s time to store away! Stack those containers in your fridge or freezer so they’re ready to rock and roll for the week. :)
Benefits of Meal Prepping
You did it! You have successfully prepared meals and are ready to tackle the week ahead. :) Meal Prepping can seem like a daunting task and difficult to achieve, but let me tell ya, the weeks where I am able to meal prep, I get through it feeling SO much better! My nutrition is on point, and my time is more efficiently used during the work week. Here’s just a few reasons why meal prepping will benefit you.
Number One: It Saves you Time
It may take some time to meal prep, but it takes way less time for batch cooking once a week vs. cooking meals 7 days a week. It also saves you from having to do all those pesky cooking dishes on the daily. And if that’s not enough, if you’re not eating from home, odds are you are going to pick up something to eat. To leave the house or office, get in line, pick it up and come back takes TIME. Sometimes 30-45 minutes! Meal prep once done, takes 0-3 minutes to pull it out of the fridge, microwave if needed, and wala! You have your food. Saving time (one of our most precious resources) is a HUGE deal!
Number Two: It Saves you Money
Eager to save a couple of dollars? (or more like tens or hundreds!). Meal prepping will save you TONS of money. Forbes found that a meal delivered can cost you 5x what it does to eat a home cooked meal and meal kit service can cost you 3x what it does to eat a home cooked meal. The Financial AND Fitness Coach side of me would call meal prepping a win win! You can also check out my other blog, 11 ways to eat healthy on a budget to save both money and feel good about what you eat! :)
Number Three: It Saves you Mental and Physical Energy
This one may seem silly, but it’s so true! The energy it takes to decide what you’re going to eat multiple times a day is a lot. Meal Prepping saves you from having to think about this amongst taking your kids to practice, meeting your work timelines, and spending time with family; A.K.A the important things!
Number Four: It Helps you Stay on Track
And last but not least, meal prepping can help you stay on track with any nutrition goal you’re working on! Trying to boost your protein intake? Lowering your sugar or salt intake? When we cook from home, and prepare food ahead of time, we can more easily measure what we are having and we KNOW what’s in the food we cook. When we eat out, how it’s prepared is always going to be a mystery.
Hopefully by this point you’re convinced and excited to start meal prepping! It has helped me and so many of my clients to help see progress with any health and fitness goal that you’re working towards, but also just make day to day life much easier. As you get started, don’t be afraid to start small! You don’t need to plan out every meal for the week right out of the gates. Maybe you’re just making your breakfast the night before for the morning ahead. Don’t feel like you have to conquer mount everest in a day!
If you’re struggling to figure out a meal prepping routine that works for you, Let’s chat more about your nutrition goals and create a plan together to get there! I offer complimentary consultations to learn more about you, your goals, and if coaching is the right fit for you :)
