Prep For Success
Meal prep can help you save time and stay on track!
Many people find it difficult to stick to healthy eating habits. We are all busy; work, school, kids, chores, activities, etc. It's hard enough to find time to squeeze in a workout, so who has time to cook gourmet meals?
Most of us don't have that kind of time. This can lead to grabbing convenience foods and less healthy options because they are more handy and, well, convenient.
Many experts believe that nutrition/food is 70% of what will make your fitness goals successful. With this being said, those quick, convenient foods may hinder your progress.
The solution to this is meal preparation. I know you are thinking, 'if I don't time time to cook one meal, how do I have time to cook many?' Most of us have a weekend, or one or two days off during the week. I usually meal prep on Sundays. It takes me under an hour and a half to make 3 full days worth of meals for myself, and that includes all 5 meals that I eat everyday. If you do the math, you will see that I can make 15 meals in under an hour and a half. For those of you prepping for a family, allow yourself 3 hours give or take. You could probably even prep for more than 3 days in that time, but I personally have a weird "3 day rule" for food in my fridge.
You may be a 3 large-meal-per-day person. You may be a 5 or 6-small-meals-per-day person. It doesn't matter. Anyone can prepare meals for the week.
What kinds of things can I prep?
Well, anything really, but I am going to list examples that will save you the most time and will be versatile to combine for more meal options. I'll also give ideas on how to season and combine them, so you don't have to eat the same thing all of the time. I'm not including recipes or how-tos here, but you can find everything you need to know on Google. Just type in "easy" along with what you are looking for, so that you'll find time-saving options. *Now please bear in mind that some of these tips are meant to save you time, not money. Therefore, there may be less expensive options, but they would be more labor intensive.
Breakfast Ideas
- Overnight Oats
- Smoothies (Place your fruit, protein powder and other ingredients of choice in containers or baggies. Just add milk, non-dairy milk or water and blend in the before drinking)
- Tofu Scramble (or egg white scramble for non-vegans)
- Breakfast Sandwiches or Burritos
- Fruit & Nuts
- Fruit salad (berries such as strawberries and blueberries-even grapes-can be soaked for 30 minutes in an extra large bowl of water with 4 tbs apple cider vinegar. Dry in a strainer after soaking. Doing this keeps them fresh for up to 2 weeks).
Lunch Ideas
- Sandwiches
- Salads
- Zombiecado dressing
- Wraps
- Pasta salad
- Quinoa or rice
Snack Ideas (Pre-portion into single servings. This is not only convenient, but helps with portion control)
- Nuts/dried fruit/trail mix
- Crackers or pretzels & hummus
- Carrot, celery or cucumber sticks
- Cheese (vegan or not) & crackers or rice cakes
- Mini PB&J sandwiches on sprouted bread
- Fruit
- Edamame
- Apple slices with peanut butter
- Orange slices
- Fruit salad
- Pita bread & hummus or peanut butter
Dinner Ideas
- Sandwiches
- Salads
- Zombiecado dressing
- Wraps
- Pasta (boiled heart-healthy variety or make your own spiralized veggie pasta from zucchini, broccoli stalks or eggplant)
- Quinoa or rice
Lean Protein Ideas (season mildly, broil, bake or pan fry without oil. Heavier seasoning will follow in one of the sections below)
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- TVP (vegan ground beef)
- Seitan
- Beans
- Lentils
- Packaged proteins, such as Gardein or Beyond Meat
- Non-vegan lean proteins such as chicken, pork, ground turkey
Veggie Ideas (chop or dice, store them together in a large mixed bag or container)
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Spinach
- Asparagus
- Brocolli
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Make a huge salad and dip into it as you need to
Handy items to keep in your pantry, fridge or freezer to save you from chopping!
- Canned tomatoes
- Canned hot peppers
- Jar of garlic
- Pre-sliced carrots
- Packaged organic salad mixes
- Steel cut oats
- Canned beans
- Frozen onions
- Frozen peppers
- Frozen mixed vegetables
Combine!
Now that you have prepped a lot of ingredients, combine and season them to make meals.
- Mix Mexican seasoning in with a single portion of TVP, add rice or quinoa, add chopped veggies and Zombiecado dressing for a burrito or quesadilla. Eat with a side salad.
- Mix Italian seasoning with tofu or Beyond Chicken. Add to pasta, mix in chopped veggies, and top with a bit of sauce.
- Mix Cajun seasoning with rice and TVP, add chopped vegetables for a faux jambalaya.
- Mix Italian seasoning with Quinoa, add chopped veggies. Add some of the same seasoning and Balsamic Vinegar to chicken or tofu or tempeh. Serve with a side salad.
- Add any lean protein to a salad for a meal, and top with Zombicado dressing.
- Make a wrap with the lean protein of your choice, chopped vegetables or salad, add optional grains and top with Zombiecado dressing.
You can see that a bit of time can yield endless mix-and-match possibilities! You can store your prepared foods in bulk, or in convenient, single-serving storage containers.
Now what are you going to do with all of the time you just saved?
