Let’s be real for a minute…
Meal prepping takes time and work, there is no way around it. BUT there are ways to make meal prepping easy, fun and helpful to future you.
Ok, now that we have got that realness out of the way and we all understand that meal prep takes time and work, we are ready to get our hands dirty, literally.
Look at the Week AND Month Ahead
- What do you have coming up this month: Weekends away? Dinners with friends? Sunday plans that might throw off your standard meal prep times?
- What does you week look like? Who is going to be around for dinners on what night? Will you be getting home later on Tuesdays because of Move Strong class?
The answers to these questions will be crucial to know when planning your weekly menu. Being armed with this knowledge and building it into your meal plan will have huge payoffs as the week and month rolls along.
Set a Routine – For your When, Where and How
A routine is key to making your weekly meal plan, grocery list and hitting the grocery store. On Saturday I like to take 30 minutes to myself to plan out meals for the week, usually with either a coffee or a glass of wine in my hand.
Routine of When:
Give yourself 30 – 40 minutes to make the meal plan and grocery list (I like to do this the day before).
Hit the grocery store or local shops.
Based on your schedule and how much time you need to fully prep, plan when you are going to do work in the kitchen. For me, I love to pop on a rom-com or my most recent binge show. This mutli-tasking at it finest: catching up on my shows and meals ready for the week. Now if some of you are more intellectually curious while in the kitchen you can pop on a podcast, documentary, the news…whatever floats your boat.
Routine of Where:
Where are you going to get your recipes from! Finding recipes can be a real ‘bee with a itch’ when you aren’t feeling motivated.
Start by accessing the screenshots I know you have of ‘interesting recipes I will definitely make’, your Food pinterest boards or those cookbooks and Food & Drink magazines that ‘add a pop of colour to my bookshelf’. There is also the All Day Fit blog filled with delicious recipes created by my girl, Brooke Enchin.
I frequently reference Half Baked Harvest or Cookie + Kate for easy and fast recipes. I will typically modify the amount of sugar or premade sauces these recipes call for.
When selecting recipes – remember to reference your weekly schedule:
How much time do you have on Sunday to dedicate to prep? Will this mean you pick simple recipes for the week? Or only make your breakfast & lunches on Sunday and deal with dinner each day?
Who is going to be around for meals?
How much time do you have or want to allot towards making dinner each night?
Are you ok with eating the same thing for lunches for the week? If so, making 1 big batch of something and portioning it out is an easy win.
Routine of How:
You have to do what works for you! Just because Saturday and Sunday work for me doesn’t mean it will work for you.
Based on what you are cooking and how much time you have, get organized for your kitchen session. Can you pop some veggies in the oven to roast while you prep a different recipe?
What kitchen tools and utensils do you need to execute these recipes!? I like to make sure all the tools I need are clean, laid out and ready to be used. I used to always try to use the least amount bowls, spatulas, knives etc…now I firmly believe in using the right utensils for the job. It makes cooking SO MUCH easier when you use the proper tools.
SAMPLE TIME!
Here’s how I do it, an exact replica of a week this past summer:
Meal Plan & Grocery List
Sunday Meal Prep:
- Spice and cook chicken thighs – 10 mins prep, 35-40 mins cook
- Roast sweet potatoes – 10 mins prep, 1 hour cook (same temp as chicken thighs)
- Make lamb meatballs – 30 minutes prep time
- Make protein pancakes – 10 min prep, 20 min cook
- Make hard boiled eggs – 2 min prep, 10 min cook
- Chop veggies & cook meat (if wanted) for portobello pizzas – 40 mins
Total Prep Time:
- ~ 2 hours (including the clean up and package for breakfast and lunch)
- Average Rom Com length: 1.5 hour (fill that extra 30 minutes with some jams)
- Number of Netflix shows you can watch 2 hours: six 20 minute shows OR three 40 min shows
Good luck!! Shoot me an email if you have any questions…I am always happy to chat cooking and prepping.
Babs
barbara@alldayfit.com
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