3 Tips to Successfully Begin Meal Prepping

By Amanda Adams-Welligee Coach

You may have every intention of eating well in the coming week, and then the week happens. You have some late nights at work, you’re running around picking up the kids, or simply, you’re just too tired! It is often in these times that we turn towards poor eating choices to save ourselves the time and energy. If we go into the week feeling prepared, this can alleviate a lot of the last minute mishaps.

Try these three tips to get the meal prep ball rolling. Figure out what works best for you and what does not. Before you know it, you will be a meal prepping machine!

1. Do not try new recipes
If you are new to the meal prepping concept, it is best to start off with meals that are tried and true for you and your family. Most often, this is what you are most confident making and will reduce the opportunity for a failed cooking attempt. This way, you will see the benefits of preparedness and you can progress from there. After having a couple of prep sessions under your belt, begin incorporating some new items into the mix.

2. Focus on meals that will make the biggest difference
Do you have a recurring problem meal? Are you short on time for breakfast? Is dinnertime always a struggle after a long day? Or maybe it is that you are always coming and going and mindless snacking here and there is adding up on you. Do not overwhelm yourself thinking you have to prep every single meal. Hone in on a problem area and meal prep accordingly. Bonus alert! Some recipes can double as breakfasts, lunches, or dinners! Make larger batches of these and the options multiply!

3. Grocery shop with a game plan
If you wait until you are at the grocery store to plan out which meals you are going to prepare, this leads to disordered planning, forgotten ingredients, and often wasted time walking aimlessly down every aisle, sometimes multiple times. Make a list! This way, shopping is organized and efficient. If you choose recipes that call for similar ingredients, even better! Purchasing bulk ingredients that can span across multiple meals will cut down your shopping time even more. When all else fails, load up on versatile ingredients (produce, meat, quinoa, etc.) that can be incorporated into multiple meals and snacks throughout the week.