Meal prepping is something I absolutely love to do and find a complete necessity in life! I have become more and more of a meal-prepper for several reasons.
1. I notice a HUGE difference in what I eat during weeks when I do meal prep vs. weeks when I don’t.
2. I spend LESS money at the grocery store because there is zero guess work in what I will be eating for the week.
3. Less food waste.
4. It promotes family time because we all pitch in (even my nearly 4 year old!).
5. It makes my life EASIER because I cook and clean less on a daily basis! Who doesn’t want to make life easier?
The above photo is my menu for the week as to what I will be prepping. I always end up cooking small side dishes or snacks here and there, but this is pretty much what I will be consuming as far as meals go. Let me break down for you the basics of how I prep each of these.
Grilled chicken – this is pretty self explanatory. We buy a couple pounds of free range chicken, coat it with the 21 Day Fix southwestern seasoning (because it’s AMAZING) and grill it to perfection! This chicken can be used as a main meal dish, cut up and thrown into a wrap, on salads, the kids eat on it, etc. Store the chicken in an airtight bag to take up less space in the fridge as you eat on it.
Homemade beans – beans are super easy to make and also a versatile food once cooked. We make pinto or black beans and eat them as a main dish, add them to salads, make clean eating Mexican style meals, etc. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber too! Store in one large container or individual portion sized containers.
Broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus – all we do with these veggies is steam them to where the fork goes in with a little force. Usually, when you steam veggies they are considered done when the fork goes in easy. But you have to consider you will be reheating them and they will turn to mush if you overcook them initially. Store in an airtight container.
Quinoa – follow box directions, let it cool, then store in an airtight container! I mix quinoa with oatmeal, eggs, beans, use it as a side dish, add to salads, etc. It’s SUCH a versatile food!
Hard boiled eggs – boil a full dozen for the week and eat 2 a day! Makes it easy to get the amazing nutrients eggs can bring for times when you don’t have time to scramble or fry them. Plus, my husband and I just love hard boiled eggs so we like having plenty on hand! Dress them with cholula and serve with a piece of toast as a tasty breakfast.
Romaine lettuce – you might be wondering why I’m putting this on my list. Here’s the real deal – if I don’t clean and cut my lettuce when I’m meal prepping, I’m too lazy to do it later. And that means the lettuce will go bad and I will end up throwing it away. If it’s cleaned and ready to use, then I will absolutely use it!
Shakeology – Ok, I don’t REALLY have to meal prep this but it is an AMAZING meal replacement. It just makes my week even easier because it’s one less thing I have to worry about prepping or cooking. Plus, it’s FULL of the nutrients my body needs!
Variety of Fruit – same deal as the Romaine lettuce! If I don’t clean it or cut it up right away, there is a good chance it will go bad. And that means food waste AND money waste. So we go ahead and clean our fruit, and if it needs cutting we do that too. Examples of fruit we clean but leave in tact are strawberries, blueberries, apples, raspberries, grapes. Examples of fruit we cut up right away are cantaloupe and watermelon.
What are you meal prepping this week? Let’s get to cooking!
Laura
