Tips for Preparing Healthy Meals for the Week
If you’re like me, making meals ahead of time is a big help when it comes to living healthy. I find that it’s easier to stick to my goals and eat healthy if I plan my meals ahead of time.
Get your food ready ahead of time.
The best way to make sure you eat healthy and stay on track is to plan your meals ahead of time. Here are some tips for getting meals ready ahead of time:
Make a few different recipes at once and put them in the freezer for later. This is especially helpful if you want to cook extra food for dinner one night but don’t have the time or energy to make it again until later in the week. (or month). Just take the dish out of its container and heat it up when you’re ready.
Use the extras for lunch during the week. If you have leftover chicken breasts from Sunday night’s dinner, cut them into smaller pieces and pack them with some vegetables or salad greens for Monday’s lunch. This will make sure that each meal tastes great even though there isn’t much difference from day to day.
Get the things you need to cook before you start.
Make sure to do the following before you go shopping:
Don’t go shopping when you’re in a hurry or hungry. This will stop you from buying things on a whim and spending too much money on things you don’t need. You’ll also be able to pay more attention to what you need instead of being sidetracked by things like hunger or stress.
Look online for sales and deals! Signing up for an email list at many grocery places lets you get coupons and discounts. (and they usually give away freebies as well). Also, some stores have deals every week based on what’s in season or about to go bad, so keep an eye out for those prices.
Don’t just go to one store. Look around until you find the best deal overall. Depending on where your office is, you may have different choices in different areas or cities.
Find the right tools.
Use a good board for cutting.
Get a knife that is sharp. The better, the clearer!
If you don’t have one already, buy a food processor so you can chop vegetables and make sauces. (and maybe even nut butters). If you cook often, it’s worth it to buy this tool because it will save you so much time and work. And if you want to make things even easier on yourself, think about getting an Instant Pot or slow cooker. Both of these are great ways to cook big pieces of meat without having to stand over them while they cook (or worse, overcook them!).
Spend money on good containers.
Buy containers that can go in the microwave and the dishwasher, so you can quickly reheat your food.
Buy the right size for your meals so you don’t waste food or make too much, which means you’ll have more extras.
Look for lids that are easy to store and open, and maybe even ones that can be locked if you’re going to put them in a drawer or closet instead of leaving them on your counter all week.
Make sure they don’t have BPA in them. If they do, they might leak dangerous chemicals into what’s inside, which no one wants.
Use a meal plan to make cooking easy and quick.
A meal plan is a great way to make cooking easy and quick. A good meal plan will have these things:
Recipes that you can make ahead for each day of the week
You’ll need to buy or pick up the ingredients for these recipes at the store before cooking.
Information about how long it takes to make each dish so that you can plan your time accordingly (if there’s one thing we’ve learned from our own experience with meal prep, it’s that you should never underestimate how long it will take!)
Prepping meals is a great way to be ready for the week ahead.
Prepping meals is a great way to be ready for the week ahead. You can eat better, save time and money, and have fun while doing it.
Here are some tips:
Make plans. Before you start cooking or baking, make sure you have everything you need. This way, if something goes wrong while cooking, nothing will be forgotten or thrown away.
As soon as you can, put leftovers in the freezer so they don’t go bad before you can eat them again later in the week. (or month). They’ll taste better than if you warmed them, because frozen food keeps its flavor better than fresh food does when it’s thawed out later. It also saves space in your fridge.
Prepping your meals can save you time and money, and it can also help you eat better.
Prepping meals is a great way to save time, save money, and eat better.
First of all, making meals ahead of time saves time! All of your meals are already made, so you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen every night after work or on the weekends. This means that if you get hungry during the day (or even at midnight), you don’t have to order takeout or eat junk food. You can just grab one of those healthy meal prep packages from the fridge and heat it up in the microwave. It’s really that simple!
Getting ready for a meal doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.
Make sure you’ve got the right tools. Depending on what you’re making, you might need a knife, a cutting board, and a pan or pot.
Make sure all of your containers are in good shape and won’t leak when you put them in the fridge, freezer, or on the floor of your car.
When you plan your meals for the week, don’t forget to account for leftovers. If there are any items that won’t last more than 3 days, make sure you use them up first.
If you can avoid it, don’t use paper towels or napkins as liners inside plastic storage bags. They can trap moisture, which can lead to mold growth over time if bread crumbs or nuts, which have oils that draw moisture from their surroundings, are kept with them.
Having these items on hand will make making healthy meals easier and more tasty.
Having these items on hand will make making healthy meals easier and more tasty.
Quinoa, brown rice, and farro that have been cooked (or another whole grain)
Frozen broccoli or cauliflower sprouts that have been chopped
Pods of frozen edamame (or fresh shelled beans)
Follow these 5 tips to make it easy to plan and prepare healthy meals.
With these 5 tips, it’s easy to plan and prepare healthy meals.
Meals should be made ahead of time. This is the best way to make sure you have healthy food on hand all week. Having your goods ready will make your meals easy and quick, so you won’t have to make last-minute trips to the store or spend a lot of money on takeout.
Get the food you need ahead of time. You’ll want to get everything ready before you start cooking. That way, when it’s time for dinner (or lunch), you can just throw everything into one pan or pot. If you can, shop at stores that sell pre-cut veggies so that you can start cooking as soon as you get them home and put them in your cabinets, freezer, refrigerator, etc.
Putting together meals won’t be hard if you use these tips and tricks. At first look, it might seem hard or time-consuming, but it’s not. For example, making meals ahead of time will be much easier if you already have all the fixings. Also, remember that prepping for just one person is still helpful because it gives them more power over what they eat and how much time they spend in the kitchen each day. Check out our recipe gallery if you need some ideas for what to eat for each meal during the week.
