How To Meal Prep For The Week In 5 Easy Steps

When we look at living a healthy lifestyle, nutrition is at the top of the list. Some of the most healthy people meal prep all or some of their healthy meals each week.

Are you looking to improve your healthy lifestyle, save money, or both? If so, then you should start meal prepping! By meal prepping, you can ensure that you have healthy and affordable food options that you absolutely love. An entire week’s worth of meals will be cooked, it will be super convenient to take one meal to eat for lunch each day, or put all the meals in the fridge for quick dinners. Batch cooking saves cooking time in the long run and sets you up for the whole week with all your meals.

In this blog post, we will discuss how to meal prep for the week in 5 easy steps.

What is Healthy Meal Prep?

Healthy meal prep is the act of preparing healthy meals in advance of eating them. This can be done by cooking entire meals, portioning out ingredients to put meals together at a later time, or simply packing up snacks for the week ahead.

Saves you time during the week
Can help you save money
Helps you make healthier choices
Gives you a sense of control and peace of mind

Meal prepping is an excellent way to eat healthy and to save time for busy people, but knowing how to get started can be difficult. Coming up with healthy meal prep ideas is sometimes what holds people back from trying to meal prep. You may think it’s easier to eat restaurant meals or use a meal delivery service. In some situations, the meal delivery service could be a great idea, but restaurant meals are often high in sodium and processed ingredients therefore, you will eat healthier by learning to make meals ahead and even making a healthier version of your favorite take-out spot.

Without further ado, let us cover these five simple steps to show you an easy way to get started with meal prep!

Meal Prep Step #1: Pick 3 Staple Meal Prep Recipes That Look Good To You

Pick Two: Protein Recipes

Pulled Chicken (you can use a rotisserie chicken)
Meatloaf Muffins

Pick One: Starch Recipe

Cilantro Lime Quinoa (you can also us brown rice)

PRO TIP

Use the plate method to help with meal prep ideas! Doing so will make a huge difference when trying to get in a balanced amount of carbs, protein and fat. The plate helps you portion out your macronutrients so you aren’t getting too much or too little of each.

Most people are more interested in eating healthy rather than measuring the exact macros they are consuming daily, therefore we suggest using the plate method when meal planning, and even when eating fast food.

(The plate method works for recipes as well, one just has to be a little bit more resourceful when considering what macros the recipes included.)

One great question to ask yourself when considering the plate method is, does my meal have a carb, a protein and a fat? If not – add what’s missing to your plate in order to make your meal “balanced”.

Meal Prep Step #2: Plan Your Staples, Snacks & Veggies

After you choose a few meal prep recipes to make, step 2 involves picking a few stand-alone options for veggies, starches, fruits, and fats that you make ahead and may later pair with your main healthy meals or simply eat as a snack. All this talk about food is making me hungry!

Below are some examples of staples, snacks, and veggies.

Veggies

Peppers
Cucumber
Carrots
Cauliflower rice

Fruits

Berries
Oranges
Apples
Banana
Grapes

Starches/Starchy Veggies

Sweet potato
Black beans
Butternut squash
Dave’s Killer Bread
pre riced cauliflower

Healthy Fats

Olive oil
Nuts
Avocado
Peanut Butter

On The Go Snacks

There is nothing worse than feeling hangry…anyone else hear me?

Part of being healthy is being prepared not only at meal times but at snack food times too. By planning your food for snacks ahead of time, you ensure that you will eat healthier all week rather than eating lunch at the local Kwik Star. Many of these snacks you are going to pack don’t require cooking and are very delicious.

Examples: (I can go on and on with healthy snack ideas)

Greek yogurt (watch the added sugar)
RX Bars
Perfect bars
Turkey Jerky with fruit
Turkey roll ups with avocado & peppers
Hard boiled eggs with fruit
Hummus and your favorite veggies with an egg
Peanut Butter, apple & hard boiled egg
Kodiak protein cakes with some low sugar maple syrup
Protein shake

With busy schedules, prepping food for snacks that don’t require cooking is key. Purchasing a quality cooler is also very beneficial to pack your meals on the go.