Meal Prep Made Simple!
Jul 31, 2019Meal Prep doesn’t have to be a pain in the butt!
Once you establish a routine that takes the guesswork out of it, everything becomes SO much easier.
Here’s how I personally meal prep every week👇🏻
Step 1: Take Inventory 🔍
Go through your fridge, freezer, and pantry and make a list of what you have available (meats, veggies, condiments, etc.). I always keep my freezer stocked with quality meats and seafood from ButcherBox and lots of frozen organic veggies like cauliflower rice, asparagus, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, etc. from places like Costco, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or Sprouts.
Step 2: Make A Plan 📝
Now that you have an idea of what’s already in the house, start to put together a plan for what you want to eat during the week.
I always start with figuring out what protein source I’ll eat at each meal, then I choose my veggies, then I figure out what healthy fat I’m going to add or cook with, and finally, I’ll make sure I have a few snack options on hand in case I need them.
If I’m tracking my macros for a specific goal, I’ll open up my tracking app and plan out 2 full days of meals according to my macro goals for that week. This allows me to:
- Know exactly what I'll be eating every day so I don't have to worry about it during the busy work week.
- Gives me some variety day-to-day without making things too complicated.
- Allows me to figure out the exact amount of food/ingredients I'll need to prep for that week.
Step 3: Do Some Math ⚖️
Now that you know what you have available, what you need to go shopping for, and how much you’ll be eating each day...get out your calculator and do a little math.
For example, let's say you plan to eat the following meal for dinner on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday:
- 4 ounces of sirloin
- 1 cup cauliflower rice
- 1/2 cup shredded Brussels
- All cooked in 1 tablespoon butter
Then, you know for those 4 lunch meals, you need a total of:
- 1 pound (16 oz.) Sirloin
- 4 cups rice cauliflower
- 2 cups shredded Brussels
- 4 tbsp. butter
Simply repeat this strategy for your other meals and tally everything up.
Step 4: Shop and Cook 🛒♨️
Now it's time to execute!
Make a list of the items you don't have already and go shopping (preferably not during 'grocery store' rush hour if you want to keep your sanity).
Then, set aside some time to bulk cook your veggies and meat. I usually prep and cook my veggies Sunday morning and grill all of my meat Sunday afternoon. This is just how I like to do it because it breaks up the cooking time and allows me to enjoy my Sunday a bit more.
Step 5: Divide and Conquer (AKA Put It Away) 🥡
Store your food in airtight containers (I recommend using glass, not plastic..I use these).
You can either portion out your specific meals in smaller containers to grab-and-go OR you can do what I did here and store them in bulk with a note of how much you'll be eating at each meal.
That's it folks!
It may seem a tad overwhelming at first, but once you have a system in place and learn how to execute efficiently, it becomes very simple and streamlined as the weeks go on!
Here's a list of what I cooked up for this week:
- Grilled Organic Chicken Breast
- Flank Steak
- Pork Chops
- 96/4 Ground Beef
- Turkey Tenderloin
- 10-Minute Cauliflower Brussel Rice
- Braised Red Cabbage
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes (for pre/post-workout)
- Grilled Zucchini
I seasoned all of my meat and veggies with Redmond Real Salt & Spices.
Happy meal prepping!
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