Meal prepping has become significantly more popular over the years. Eating nutritious meals is very important, and meal prepping makes this easy. If you have not hopped on the meal prep life or feel overwhelmed by the task, we have eight helpful tips to get you started!
Start small
Developing a meal planning habit is no different than making any other positive change in your life. Starting small and slowly building confidence is a great way to ensure your new practice is sustainable. Begin by planning a few meals or snacks for the week ahead. Eventually, you’ll figure out which planning strategies work best, and you can slowly build upon your plan by adding more meals as you see fit. Shop delicious easy prep cuts: SHOP NOW
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Consider each food group
Whether you’re preparing meals for a week, month, or just a few days, you must ensure each food group is represented in your plan. The healthiest meal plan emphasizes whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, high-quality protein, and healthy fats, while limiting sources of refined grains, added sugars, and excess salt (Trusted Source).
As you search through your favorite recipes, think about each food group. If any of them are missing, make a point to fill in the gaps. Certified Piedmontese beef is an excellent, quality source of lean protein to add to your meal prep recipes.
Get organized
Good organization is a critical component of any successful meal plan. An organized kitchen, pantry, and refrigerator make everything from menu creation to grocery shopping and meal prep a breeze. You will know what you have on hand and where your tools and ingredients are. There is no right or wrong way to organize your meal prep spaces. Just make sure it’s a system that works for you.
Consistently make time
The best way to integrate a meal planning routine into your lifestyle is to prioritize it. It can help regularly carve out a block of time solely dedicated to planning. Crafting a meal plan can take 10–15 minutes a week. Some people crafting a meal plan can take as little as 10–15 minutes per week. If your plan also includes preparing some food items ahead of time or pre-portioning meals and snacks, you may need a few hours. Regardless of your specific strategy, making time and staying consistent is crucial to success.
Plan for and repurpose leftovers
If you want to start small and don’t feel like spending time cooking every day of the week, plan to make enough to have leftovers. Making a few extra servings of whatever you’re cooking for dinner is a great way to have lunch for tomorrow without any extra effort. If you’re not a fan of leftovers, think about how you can repurpose them so they don’t feel like leftovers.
Prep smart, not hard
Don’t be afraid to acknowledge the need to cut corners. If you’re not great at chopping vegetables or don’t have time to batch cook and pre-portion your meals, there are likely some healthy, prepared options at your local grocery store. Pre-cut fruits and vegetables or prepared meals are usually more expensive, but if the convenience factor is what it takes to reduce stress or get you to eat more greens, it may be well worth it.
Certified Piedmontese beef, which can be conveniently shipped to your door, is a great help. Even better, if you need thin strips or cubed meat, we have a variety of assorted cuts on our website just for this purpose. Remember, not everyone’s meal planning and preparation processes look the same. Having the wisdom to know when you need to scale back and improve efficiency can help you stick to your goals in the long term.
Invest in the right containers
Proper food storage containers allow you to reheat your meals and eat from them — and they last forever. Purchase glass containers that will enable you to portion-size your meals quickly. There are various containers for salads and snacks like yogurt, fruit, and zip-lock bags for dry snacks.
Go crazy with the spices
To switch things around, you can always add new spices and flavors. If you don’t like what you’re eating, your plan will not be sustainable. We offer a variety of seasonings on our website, perfect for our Certified Piedmontese beef.
We hope these tips help ease your way into the healthy habit of meal prepping!
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