HOW TO GET STARTED

 So, you are BRAND NEW to this whole meal-prepping thing.

Maybe you made up your mind to finally lose the extra weight you’ve always wanted to lose. Or maybe you are working out consistently but not seeing the results you want physically.

Either way, you are ready to take your goals seriously and want to start meal prepping. But where the heck do you start?!?

You see all these beautiful pictures on social media and people hash tagging #mealprepgamestrong but know that it took them a while to get their meal prep routine down. Also know it will take you some time too. You won’t be a pro right away but be proud you are starting!

Do not get overwhelmed! I repeat, do not get overwhelmed. A lot of people don’t want to meal prep because they think it is hard and very time consuming. It can be, but doesn’t have to be.

First Steps to Meal Prepping

1. Pick a Day

First you must pick the day, or days, you are going to prep and stick to it. If you say you will some time the coming weekend, things will come up and you won’t prep. Then Monday comes and you aren’t prepared for the week!

Decide on the exact day and time. Example: I start to prep Sunday afternoon between 1-3pm. It depends on if I go to brunch after church or not, but after church I go to the grocery store and then home to prep.I picked a day that works with my schedule and it has become routine.

Some people may pick a different day they have off work. Maybe you work weekends and have Tuesday and Wednesday off so you pick Wednesday to prep to prep all your food for your week.

Some pick two days a week to prep. They might prep Sunday for 3 days and then Wednesday for another 3 days. This allows them to prep different meals for the week and have fresher food.

Do whatever works for YOUR schedule.

2. Have Proper Supplies

Having all the right supplies to prep is essential to being efficient.

Storage Containers

This is by far the most important thing you will need to invest in! How you store your meals can make or break all your prepping efforts. If you just throw it all in a Tupperware, its not ready to grab on the go and will be mush by the end of the week. We don’t want all your hard work prepping to go to waste!

Here is what your containers need:

• Divided Sections
  • 1: If you’d like all your food mixed together.
  • 2: If you’d rather have some of your food separated.
  • 3: If you’d rather have all your food not touching.
• Dishwasher Safe, Microwave Safe
  • Important! You want them to last longer and be healthy.
• Stackable
  • Easier to store in fridge and take to work.
• BPA Free
  • Most are nowadays but still need to check!

Kitchen Scale

This makes sure you have the right amount of each food for every meal. This is HUGE! A lot of people might be eating healthy food but not realizing they are eating too much. Which then causes them to be in a calorie surplus, without even knowing it!

Cooking Pans

You will be cooking a lot of food all at once. If you only have one pan your meal prepping will take you hours and hours. Having multiple frying pans and cookie sheets, allows you to have all your food cooking at once and you can take out certain foods that need less time first while the other pans continue cooking.

• Frying pans: Great for stir-fries, pan frying meat or tofu, frozen rice, etc.
• Pots: For anything that needs to be boiled.
• Cookie Sheets: Great for roasting a lot of different veggies all at once in the oven or on the grill.

3. Decide On The Food

Keep it simple! Don’t try to something super elaborate you saw in Pintrest. Start with something basic or a recipe you already know how to make.

Be prepared and have a grocery list before going to the store. Figuring out your meal prep at the grocery store is a horrible idea and will take forever.

If you are following a meal plan, then you already know what you have to get. If you are just making generic meals, make sure you get enough food to have the right proportions.

Standard Meal:

½ of your meal should be veggies.

(About 1-2 cups or 8-12oz.)

¼ of your meal should be a protein.

(About 0.5 cup or 4-6 oz.)

¼ of your meal should be a starch.

(About 0.5 cup or 4-6 oz.)

Now, you are ready to get started on your meal prepping! You will love having all your healthy yummy food ready to go for the week and not have to think or do a thing. Be patient the first time can be hard, and also be so dang proud!!!