Meal prep

Plan each week

Intentionally stocking your refrigerator, pantry, and freezer with nutritious foods provides healthier options when the craving for a snack or meal hits.

Preparing quick healthy meals and snacks will become less of a hassle when you have nutritious ingredients at your fingertips.  Once your fridge is cleaned and organised you will soon realise how much easier it is to grab a few ingredients and whip something up

It is a good idea to pick a day and time each week that fits in with your schedule for you to do your meal prep. It may be easier to plan what your going to prep. Start by looking at what ingredient you have on hand, what you can easily pick up and what type of meals you want to be eating for that week.

It is also a great idea to work out what fruits and vegetables are in season, as this is when they taste their best and are selling at the best price. Figure out what you can create and cook that is in season will save you money and time searching for it!

I like to meal prep on a Saturday or Sunday, depending on clients I have or my kids sports. I usually am looking at what I can make, with hubby’s help, and we try to make meals for at least 2 nights/dinners, for the busiest days of the week.

I am all about healthy habits. Having things that we do as a daily routine means we are being consistent in our health and self care. When we implement food prep and planning each week, we take control of what we are eating and how we feel.

Being organised also means you enjoy your meals more because you don’t have to stress or worry about what your eating or what to cook each day.

Step 1 Start -

Get yourself a meal planner either a downloadable one such as this one, or grab one from your fav stationary store! Another option, one that alot of my Improve Yourself Cleanse clients use, is the Plan to Eat website or app.

Ask family members if they would pitch in cooking, one of the weeknights! This is a great option to not only take the pressure off of cooking every night, but it also helps improve other family members cooking skills. I know that when my kids move out of home, they have learnt the foundations of how to cook for themselves.

Step 2 -

Planning your meals can be fun because you can get excited about your meals, take the ‘chore’ away from cooking!

Make sure your meal plan provides easy-to prepare recipes and make your weekly meal plan suit you and your family, your budget and your time commitments.

Step 3 -

Create a designated meal prep day. I shop at the Farmers Markets on Saturday mornings, so Saturdays work best for me. Saying that, we also do a some on Sundays too, or if we are too busy on Saturdays. I believe that if you have a designated day, you are more likely to stick to it each week, creating a locked in habit, and making your upcoming week organised.

Step 4 -

Get your fridge and pantry clean and organised! This is my fav thing to do BECAUSE I then know what is in my fridge and pantry, I can write out a list (or keep it in the notes section on my phone) anything that is needing to be replaced or topped up, I suggest putting all the healthy produce and snacks at the front of the fridge and pantry where you can see them and any ‘unhealthy’ foods hidden at the back.

I would also like to add, that if you don’t have many ‘bad sugary foods’ or ‘unhealthy’ food in your home, you take out the temptation to eat it!! When we get a craving for something sweet, we know we have to go into the kitchen and make ourselves something. It means we are more likely to eat some fruit or nuts because we don’t have the packets of chips and blocks of chocolate to indulge in. Remove temptation!

Step 5 -

You don’t have to create involved, detailed meals. Healthy eating can be as simple as a salad or veggies and some grilled fish in home made crumbing. Choose meats and seafood that can be grilled or pan fried quickly and pair with one a healthy and simple salads or vegetable dish and some healthy fats like avocado etc.

Step 6 -

Sometimes you won’t have time to prepare full meals during your allocated prep session. This is where you can prepare certain ingredients that you can have in advance. Spend some time making things such as, big dry crunchy salad with a separate home made dressing, Cook some sweet potato or pumpkin in coconut oil and add some Himalayan salt and herbs and pop in sealed container. Chop vegetable sticks and have then in sealed glass jars, make some hummus and guacamole for snacking, adding as salad dressing or popping on top of rice crackers with salad. Cook up a cup of brown rice and quinoa and when cooled pop in sealed glass container to add to your weekday meals, such as salads, curries, soups etc

Step 7 -

If time permits, plan to make enough for dinner to use in leftovers for lunches the next day or the day after. This saves time and money. Whenever prepping for meals, think cook once, eat twice, whenever possible!

Step 8 -

Fresh is best! I cannot say this enough!! Meet the people at the local farmers markets, get food delivered from local fresh growers or join a co-op!! You will notice a difference in how long it lasts and how much better it tastes!

Need more help ?

If meal prep, or creating healthy meals each night has you overwhelmed, then you may need the help and support from a Nutrition + Health Coach. To see more of the online health packages offered click here or maybe you would prefer one on one support so you have some accountability and can reach your goals - click here