How To Prep Meals To Meet Your Diet Goals

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or eat healthier to manage a health condition, meal prep is one of the best ways to meet your diet goals. Meal prepping can help you avoid drive-thru temptations, package food cravings and nutrient deficiencies. Regularly measuring foods will help you learn what serving sizes look like. Matching up foods to everyday objects like a baseball, cup or plate can also help you gauge portion size.

1. Plan Your Meals

Meal planning is a great way to reduce decision fatigue and save time when it comes to making healthy eating choices. Once you determine your goals and how much time you have available to meal prep, create a plan for the week. If you’re a newbie to meal prepping, try starting with one or two recipes that are easy and familiar. Make a grocery list and include items that are staples for your diet (think leafy greens, lean protein, whole grains). Keep in mind that calories varies by individual, so it’s important to use a calculator or app to get an idea of what the right portion sizes should look like.

When you shop with a plan, it’s less likely that you will buy foods that will go to waste. Plus, you won’t be tempted to grab that snack or hit the drive-thru when hunger hits and your willpower is depleted. This may also help you stay within your budget.

2. Prepare Your Ingredients

Spending a little time tailoring your nutrition to your lifestyle goals is one of the best ways to show yourself some self-care. Having a healthy meal waiting for you in the fridge or freezer will make reaching for a fried chicken sandwich or a sugar-laden muffin at the corner deli much less appealing. If you’re a beginner, start with breakfast and work your way up to lunch and dinner. This will help you learn how to plan meals, and make it easier for you to stick to a schedule over time.

Make sure you cook enough to last the week, and freeze any leftovers. This will help prevent you from over-prepping and wasting food that ends up in the trash. Also, remember to label your prepared foods and rotate them so the oldest ones are at the front of the fridge or freezer for easy access. This will help reduce food waste and keep your refrigerator and freezer organized.

3. Cook Your Meals

Achieving your diet goals can be stressful. Having healthy meals ready to go reduces the stress of thinking about what’s for dinner, and can help you stay on track with your nutrition goals. Start small and choose one mealtime, such as quick breakfasts, lunches or healthy dinners, to prepare for each week. Once you’ve mastered that meal, move onto the next. It can be overwhelming to cook for the entire week when you’re new to prep meals, so it’s best to start with just a few recipes.

Labeling your food containers is a great way to keep track of what’s in each dish and when you made it. It also saves you time when you’re trying to figure out what to make for dinner on a busy night! Try these free labels to get you started.

4. Store Your Meals

There’s no one-size-fits-all meal preparation method. It all depends on your cooking expertise and schedule. You might choose to cook full meals ahead of time that can be refrigerated and reheated at mealtimes, or you may prefer individual grab-and-go portions like salads and stir fries in plastic containers. You can also prep ingredients that can be used in multiple recipes, such as chopped fruits and vegetables or cooked rotisserie chicken, or you can opt for convenience items like pre-chopped veggies, instant oatmeal or ready-to-eat rice (Minute Rice makes single-serve cups that cook in the microwave in just a minute).

Meal prepping is a great way to boost your nutrition by keeping whole foods on hand that are loaded with lean proteins, veggies and healthy fats instead of processed snack foods and frozen entrees that can be high in sodium and added sugars. Plus, it can help you regulate portion size so you don’t eat too much and overindulge.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, meal prepping is a powerful tool to align your diet with specific goals. By customizing your meals to meet nutritional requirements, portion sizes, and dietary preferences, meal prep ensures that you stay on track and make progress towards your health and fitness objectives.