"There is no one size fits all approach to a healthy lifestyle"
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Meal Prep Made Easy - Keep It Simple Silly !
If meal prepping ALL your food for the entire week seems overwhelming, find a routine that works for YOU and your lifestyle/schedule!
I have been Meal Prepping since I was in college. Almost five years later and it is STILL something I continue to do every single weekend or through out the week, but as my responsibilities and schedule have changed, so has my routine and method of prepping. For a while, too much of my time on the weekends was spent prepping for during the week, SO today, as I managed to get everything done BEFORE 7AM while still having a social life all weekend long- I thought to myself, while giving myself an imaginary pat on the back "why not share with the wonderful world wide web my latest meal prep updates" I bulk prep what I can greens and grain wise on the weekends and then cook once or twice during the week!
I've gone into detail in many other posts on How to Set up a Meal Prep Plan and How to Set Up a Meal Prep Schedule BUT I thought it might be helpful for others to see a realistic and manageable approach to meal prepping partially on the weekends AND cooking once or twice during the week while STILL being able to have a social life, go to the gym, and manage working a full time job and workload!
The saying, "the early bird gets the worm" rings true here...
In 90 minutes I was able to prep all my Greens, Grains, Oats:
Notice - there are NO meats made for the week, yet. I wasn't home to cook, Saturday I was gone all day until 5:30, and had left overs for dinner and today - my husband and I are heading to his parents house for dinner. Having Sunday dinners elsewhere used to "throw off" my meal prep routine, and quite frankly, stress me out...sounds silly but it's true. Since returning from my Honeymoon - I've become SO MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE and I love it (I posted about it on instagram here)
Tomorrow, I will be making my Crockpot Balsamic Chicken - I'll be setting it up when I get home from work and allowing it to cook on high while I watch my husband coach soccer. This will enable us to have 3 meals for ourselves of this through out the week - divided up between Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday, we'll grill Teriyaki Salmon and eat it as left overs on Thursday. Now, sometimes when I'm feeling adventurous I'll upgrade my left overs and make Teriyaki Fried Quinoa with the salmon or switch up how I'm eating my proteins and greens by making a stir-fry, but really once your meats, grains, and greens are made - the possibilities are endless!
Whatever you choose to do, or how to prep, make it something that works for YOU and your schedule and needs - just remember, Keep It Simple Silly - if it's not manageable or seems too overwhelming, you won't do it, SO make it something that IS manageable so you can stick with a healthy plan and spend more time sipping cider and enjoying sunshine and less time in the kitchen stressing about what to eat for dinner!
If meal prepping ALL your food for the entire week seems overwhelming, find a routine that works for YOU and your lifestyle/schedule!
I have been Meal Prepping since I was in college. Almost five years later and it is STILL something I continue to do every single weekend or through out the week, but as my responsibilities and schedule have changed, so has my routine and method of prepping. For a while, too much of my time on the weekends was spent prepping for during the week, SO today, as I managed to get everything done BEFORE 7AM while still having a social life all weekend long- I thought to myself, while giving myself an imaginary pat on the back "why not share with the wonderful world wide web my latest meal prep updates" I bulk prep what I can greens and grain wise on the weekends and then cook once or twice during the week!
I've gone into detail in many other posts on How to Set up a Meal Prep Plan and How to Set Up a Meal Prep Schedule BUT I thought it might be helpful for others to see a realistic and manageable approach to meal prepping partially on the weekends AND cooking once or twice during the week while STILL being able to have a social life, go to the gym, and manage working a full time job and workload!
The saying, "the early bird gets the worm" rings true here...
In 90 minutes I was able to prep all my Greens, Grains, Oats:
- Broiled Kale
- Steamed Green Beans
- Cut up Cucumbers (to eat with baby carrots already pre cut and washed in my lunches)
- Overnight Oats for the week - I just add frozen berries and 1 Tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
- Lunch for the next two days, I make my lunch daily, or every two days - and it's a Toufayan gluten free wrap, with chicken breast coldcut, lettuce, and tomato - usually paired with gluten free pretzels and some sort of sweet snack - luna bar, apple, sweet peppers...
Notice - there are NO meats made for the week, yet. I wasn't home to cook, Saturday I was gone all day until 5:30, and had left overs for dinner and today - my husband and I are heading to his parents house for dinner. Having Sunday dinners elsewhere used to "throw off" my meal prep routine, and quite frankly, stress me out...sounds silly but it's true. Since returning from my Honeymoon - I've become SO MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE and I love it (I posted about it on instagram here)
Tomorrow, I will be making my Crockpot Balsamic Chicken - I'll be setting it up when I get home from work and allowing it to cook on high while I watch my husband coach soccer. This will enable us to have 3 meals for ourselves of this through out the week - divided up between Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday, we'll grill Teriyaki Salmon and eat it as left overs on Thursday. Now, sometimes when I'm feeling adventurous I'll upgrade my left overs and make Teriyaki Fried Quinoa with the salmon or switch up how I'm eating my proteins and greens by making a stir-fry, but really once your meats, grains, and greens are made - the possibilities are endless!
Whatever you choose to do, or how to prep, make it something that works for YOU and your schedule and needs - just remember, Keep It Simple Silly - if it's not manageable or seems too overwhelming, you won't do it, SO make it something that IS manageable so you can stick with a healthy plan and spend more time sipping cider and enjoying sunshine and less time in the kitchen stressing about what to eat for dinner!
- This type of post - helpful to read?
- Does having a healthy lifestyle sometimes cut into your social life? How have you changed this?
- Meal Prep - have you jumped on the bandwagon just yet?
- K.I.S.S. love using this phrase in so many areas of life - what's your "go to" phrase ?
