When you’re on the go as much as me, it’s best to try and bring your own food as much as possible. I like packing my own lunches which means I prep my food in advance so I can take it with me to work. I don’t meal prep for an entire week. I just go along with the flow and stock up whenever possible, so I always have some quick and easy foods on hand. Here’s how I meal prep.
Meal prepping: it’s easy and time saving
1.) Buy smart
Meal prepping starts with grocery shopping. I only go to my supermarket once a week. Yep, just the one time. And that’s when I buy all the foods I need. I just make a list and think of what meals to make and eat throughout the week. From main meals to snacks. There’s a few items I will always buy and there are a few items that I change up from time to time. But in any case, my meal prepping starts by planning out what I want to buy and thus eat.
2.) Cook smart
If you think that means I spend a lot of time in the kitchen… Think again! On average I am in my kitchen once a week preparing foods. That is when I prep a main meal. If it’s a salad I will have it for the next few days as it’s perishable and so it only lasts so long. However, cooked meals, I make in bulk and store in my freezer. For most nights I will have something quick and easy. Since I eat salads, smoothies or hot meals for lunch, I don’t require much of anything by the time I get home meaning that some crisp bread might suffice for dinner.
3.) Pack smart
When bringing foods along with you, it is essential that you keep them in sturdy, easy to clean containers that protect your foods from leaking, spilling and spoiling. Most containers I use, are mostly plastic free. Yes, I lug around smoothies in a glass jar, drink water from a stainless steel water bottle and eat salads and hot meals from a microwave safe glass container. I even have a little weck jar for having foods like yoghurt on the go. It may seem like a bit much, but it keeps foods so much better than plastics and the best part: it is much easier to clean as well! I showed you my on the go food containers in this blog post.
4.) Snack smart
Preparing snacks doesn’t have to cost you much time and effort. Sure, I went through a phase where I thought I’d have to bake nothing but ‘healthy’ goodies for me to bring along, whereas you could just make life a lot easier by bringing foods that are easy to pack. Apples and pears are great on the go snacks as they can pretty much be chucked into a bag. I also like to bring some veggies to snack on as well. I just give them a good wash and when you bring a small knife, you won’t even have to bother cutting them up beforehand!
5.) Eat smart
No time to cook? When you meal prep, all you have to do is reach into your freezer. No time to prepare lunch: have all the ingredients for a smoothie ready to go and all you have to do is toss things in a blender and let is spin for a few minutes. Need a protein kick before a work out? Try some precooked falafel balls that can be fried up in 5 minutes. Raw foods make great, easy snacks, as does a jar of peanut butter for satisfying that semi-sweet tooth. All you have to be is be a bit smart and put some thought in what you store in your cupboards. And that way you can still eat delicious foods, while not spending hours in the kitchen.
Do you meal prep?