Kat (@katalysthealth on instagram and proud mama of Katalyst Health) is a certified health coach, soon to be personal trainer, and queen of creating delicious sugar free recipes. Here she shares her top tips to staying on track with meal tracking!
Fad or not, meal prepping seems to be the one trend that isn’t going away, even as a New Year begins. If you've always wanted to give meal prepping a try but have been wavering on the fence about it, we've got some tips and tricks to help you meal prep with the best of them!
Meal Prepping for Beginners
1. Start Simple
Planning and prepping your meals ahead of time is a great way to make healthier choices as well as save some money, but it can get overwhelming if you try to take on too much too soon. Instead, start by prepping only one or two days' worth of meals at a time or focus just on one meal that tends to give you the most trouble.
For example, if breakfast is typically your downfall, start by meal prepping your breakfasts for one week. Basic recipes like our 3 Ingredient Pancakes or the Basic Overnight Oats from our Recipes page are great recipes to start with!
2. Write out a Meal Plan
The best foods to meal prep are the ones that can be made in large batches and used in multiple ways. For this you can either prep a large batch of your favorite meal to eat throughout the week or mix and match ingredients, which allows for more of a variety of options.
Write down the meals you are going to prep, which foods you are going to be making and finally, write up the grocery list for the ingredients you will need. Be sure to check the sales at your local stores as well!
Word of Advice: Start with recipes that you are familiar with and ingredients you know how to work with, then add on from there. The point of meal prepping is to make things easier for you, not more complicated!
3. Pick a Day to Prep - or Several!
Depending on just how many meals you are prepping, you want to make sure that you have plenty of time set aside. A Saturday or Sunday typically works best as a meal prep day, however you can also do mini meal prepping during the week to help. In addition to your main prep day where you might prepare a few breakfasts or lunches, during the week you can make extra servings of dinners - instant meal prep!
4. Not All Meal Prepping Looks the Same
Meal prepping looks different for everyone. Some people like to pre-cook and portion out each one of their meals for the week, while others simply like to prep a few meals a day or two at a time. Meal prep can also include simply cutting up vegetables and fruits for future use, chopping chicken or beef for dinner later in the week or even portioning out nuts or crackers for easy serving size snacks.
5. There is No Right or Wrong
The great thing about meal prepping is there is no right or wrong way to do it. As long as it is sustainable and beneficial to you and your schedule, meal prepping is whatever you make it to be. However that looks is completely up to you!
