Meal prepping goes beyond health benefits. It saves you time and money after all.
Meal prepping can bring a ton of benefits for your health, your pocket, and your lifestyle. When you choose every ingredient that’s going into your meal, you can rest assured about quality and precedent. Above all, meal prepping prevents expenses with pricey last-minute takeout, and food and time waste.
I get it! Spending time in the kitchen when you already have a busy life is not what you probably want to be doing with your free time. But let me tell you… if you figure out a good system to meal prep, at the end of the day (or month), you are going to end up with more free time than if you were just cooking as needed.
My favorite benefit about meal prepping isn’t really saving time though, it is EATING HEALTHIER. Homemade meals are associated with diet and health improvements. Why? When we cook at home, there are no hidden ingredients, and we can consciously choose exactly what you want in our dishes. Hopefully, you are going to choose high-quality ingredients, which include: unrefined, minimally processed foods, such as whole grains, vegetables and fruits, healthy fats, and healthy sources of protein. It might take some time for you to figure out what options at the grocery store are really high quality and whatnot, but you have to start somewhere. I’d say, just get curious about it! First, read the nutrition facts label, check your options, and go from there. Also, you should visit your local health food store to see what they can provide.
A great source to get informed about minimally processed and ultra-processed (poor quality) foods is the NOVA classification of foods, created in 2009 and updated in 2019, in an attempt to unify terms and requirements to classify food groups. I think it’s a great resource, especially for those wanting to learn more. Check the summed-up document here NOVA Reference Sheet. If you would like more info, check the full document here NOVA Food Classification System.
Having healthy options for food available at home makes it more convenient for you to go for them. Consequently, over time, your diet will improve as you keep choosing what’s best for you. Of course, we all go out to eat and have to satisfy cravings occasionally, but sticking with consistency, and eating mostly healthy options, WILL bring you results. Just like most things in life, right?
Let’s say you need to have lunch every day at work and instead of going out every time, you bring your homemade meals. This is consistently eating healthier and saving some money since lunch will cost you an average of $15, which is probably worth 3 days of homemade meals. Saving money is another benefit. In case you’re not worried about it, I’d recommend you invest in all organic and local groceries to get even more benefits of homemade meals: pesticides free, local community support, and environmentally friendly. It all affects your health directly or indirectly.
Even if you’re not a master chef, there’s A LOT you can do in the kitchen, and you can turn cooking into valuable time spent with your family or with yourself. There are a few tools and appliances available out there that can facilitate your life in the kitchen. Pots and pans are a must, mixing bowls, mason jars and glass containers are some of my favorites when thinking about meal prepping. If you’re like me, tossing and mixing everything in a bowl rules the kitchen. I just pop it in the oven and am done. Glass jars and containers make packing and reheating meals, soups, smoothies, and snacks more practical for individual portions or family portions. They also make your fridge look good!
I could talk about meal prep for days, it happened to be my job for several years when I managed a meal prep business and figured out a system that allowed us to cook thousands of meals every month and pretty much no waste. The key to meal prepping is planning ahead! Then be consistent and give yourself some time to practice and adjust as you go.
I must say that the same habits lead to the same results, so if you want different results, you need to be willing to change some habits and compromise. For example, taking an evening to cook meals for the work week, or eating the same protein for a few days. Get on this mindset!
I put together a meal prep guide to give you all my valuable tips from a meal prep enthusiast and nutritionist perspective. I believe that upping your meal prep game might be what you need to eat healthier and feel better. I invite you to download my guide and I hope it can inspire you to get started in the kitchen or bring more insight into what you’ve already been doing. Meal prepping doesn’t have to be perfect, start slow, enjoy the process, get creative, and make it work for whatever your needs are.
Download “The Ultimate Meal Prep Guide” here.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Here are 3 things for you to start right away:
1 – From now on, read the nutrition facts label. Look for the list of ingredients, sodium, and sugar.
2 – Go to the fresh produce section first when you go grocery shopping and spend more time there.
3 – Next time you cook anything, try packing a couple of individual meals for you to eat in the next few days.
