Meal Prep Monday: Easy Meal Prep Tips from a Pro

   After giving you a glimpse into my weekly grocery haul, I feel like it’s only appropriate to give you a few ideas as to what “meal prep” actually looks like for both Matt and I. As I mentioned yesterday, Sunday’s typically involve a walk around the neighborhood, football, grocery shopping…and meal prep.  I’ll actually give total creds to my hubs for getting me into the meal prep thing. Prior to taking up residence with Matt, the microwave was my best friend. I spent way too much money on things that were “pre-cooked” or processed (but still healthy in my eyes) just so I didn’t have to touch the stove. #truth. But times have changed..and despite the fact that I still burn eggs when I cook them, I’ve come a long way. While we have a lot of different foods we prep, I’ll focus on the two main pieces of our prep: meat and veggies. I say this because these two tend to be the easiest to ignore during the week. I’ve also included a few other time saving tips to set you up for a healthy week…so continue reading to the bottom for a few of my quick tips! Let’s get into it:

Quick and Easy Meal Prep Tips:

1. Roasted Vegetables: I prefer the majority of my vegetables to be cooked. I digest cooked vegetables better than I digest MOST raw vegetables. There is some back and forth about whether or not you should cook your vegetables because in SOME, the cooking process can reduce the nutrient content. The loss is not significant, specifically when roasted or steamed, and it’s better than avoiding vegetables or feeling like poop after eating them.  If you struggle to get your veggies in because you often feel bloated or have an upset stomach after eating them, you may want to try cooking them and monitor for a change in digestion. For meal prep, I choose to roast mine sans oil because it’s fast, easy, and allows me to save my healthy fats for other yummy things. For the vegetables we eat at dinner time, we’ll typically roast with a little bit (like a tablespoon) of EVOO spread over the whole bag of veggies and a little black pepper.
   • Preheat the oven to 400
   • Place vegetables on a tin-foil lined, non-stick sprayed cooking tray (pro-hack: using tinfoil keep that baking sheet clean and easier to maintain)
   • Cook for 45 minutes (Broccoli) to an hour (Brussel Sprouts). Cooking time will vary from vegetable to vegetable. I could literally do a whole other blog post on how to roast and cook different types of vegetables. But, for now, my best piece of advice is to monitor the cooking process and look for a little char on top of the vegetable.

* Time Saver Tip: Cook multiple sheets of veggies at a time. You can literally cook a weeks worth of veggies at one time and either heat them up in the microwave or eat them chilled (that’s typically what I do).

2. Crockpot Chicken: While I typically favor grilled chicken or fish as my prepped “meat of the week”, Matt enjoys making a big pot of crockpot chicken on Sundays. He made this transition after realizing how much sodium and other preservatives are in your typical deli meat. Plus, and perhaps more importantly to my dear husband, he saves money! I will forwarn, this makes a LOT of shredded chicken. I would cut this in half for my meal prep, but he also eats twice as much as me, so…there ya go.
   • Take 3 pounds of  boneless, skinless chicken and after cleaning off the excess fat (or as my husband refers to it, “the gross stuff”), drop them in the crockpot.
   • Season liberally with onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, ground cayenne pepper.  
   • Use your freshly washed hands to make sure all of the chicken breasts are coated well. Wash hands again after as a safety measure please.
   • Cook for 4 hours on high.  
   • After 4 hours, turn off crockpot and pull chicken with a fork until it is shredded.  During this process it will reabsorb the liquid that came out of the chicken.  You should be left with about 2.5 pounds of chicken. (again, feel free to ½ this recipe or use it as part of a meal prep for 2!)  

* I eat this as is, but Matt likes to add 32 grams (one serving) of Stubbs Spicy BBQ sauce (which, for a BBQ sauce is pretty solid with only 4g sugar, 6 carbs, and 250 mgs of sodium)  to each serving before eating it. He also likes to heat it up. But, it’s good cold as well!   

3. Grilling with my buddy George: Not sure about you, but there’s nothing quite like a good char on a juicy piece of meat (that sounded a little creepy..but you get what I’m sayin’). Investing in a Foreman is totally, 100% worth it. You can cook anything from peppers and onions to pineapple, to fish and chicken on this little baby. And it takes minutes to complete. I don’t think this requires a tutorial, but just know that this is an excellent, low-fat way of cooking your meats and vegetables. When first working with the Foreman, it may take a little trial and error to figure out how long to cook something for (since the food is receiving heat from both the top and the bottom, it will typically cook faster than a traditional grill.

Other Time-Saving Hacks

• Proats: My solid wintertime go-to for a post workout meal/breakfast. I mix 1 scoop of protein powder with 1 serving of old fashioned oats for a quick and easy meal. It’s a great combination of healthy carbs and protein. Divvy out your oats and protein powder into little ziploc bags. That way, you can literally grab them and toss in your lunch box and voila! You can add water and heat in the micro at work. Breakfast done for the week. Bam.
• Pre-Cut and Wash Raw Vegetables: One of the reasons we tend to reach for candy bars and chips is the convenience factor. We know that it’s not the healthiest choice, but it’s literally right there. If your vegetables are already pre-chopped and ready to go, it leaves less time for excuse making.
• Portion out other snacks ahead of time: Who doesn’t like the occasional snack that’s not a fruit or vegetable? There are so many great options for healthier snacks..from whole grain crackers to nuts to popcorn. My problem is, and I’m sure this resonates with a few of you out there, it’s difficult to stop eating them once you start. In order to keep track of portions, divvy out the appropriate portion sizes into little baggies again. Do it all at once so that you don’t have to keep opening the bag or box or can. You’re basically creating portion controlled snack packs for yourself. And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than buying them at the store. I include nuts in here because, while they are way more filling than say a chip, they are really high in fat and calories and it can be difficult to know just how small a real portion is.
• Create a meal plan for the week: One of the best ways I’ve stayed on track is to plan out my week to the best of my ability, especially when I was going through my wedding prep. When we have a plan, it takes the stress and panic out of wondering what to eat next. Again, I can create a whole different post on meal planning. Just be sure to have an open mind. Sometimes, your week will change. It’s ok to switch things up a bit. Don’t feel guilty if things didn’t go exactly according to plan. Take each day as it comes. By having an idea of what you (and perhaps your family) will be eating, you’ll save time, money, and sanity.
• Buy bagged/pre-cut veggies when you need to: Don’t be afraid to spend a little extra on buying the pre-washed and pre-cut vegetables if you need to. Trust me. If a few extra dollars saves your sanity and allows you to feel prepared, it’s totally worth it.

For more tips, specifically for those on the go, check out my On-The-Go Meal Prep post.

If you really feel like you’re struggling to find time to prepare and cook delicious meals, there are some healthy meal prep and meal delivery services out there. You’ll definitely be paying for that luxury, but it’s totally worth it if you’d just be spending that money on fast food and convenience store treats anyway. Someone once said (or I just saw this quote online): “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Don’t be that guy (or girl).

~Christina