How to Meal Prep: The Best Food for Meal Prepping and the Easiest Ways to Do It
When you’ve made the decision to live a healthier lifestyle, it’s highly recommended you consider meal prepping. This is a fantastic way to monitor and manage your calories on a daily basis so you lose more weight in less time. However, meal prep is arguably one of the toughest parts of a healthier lifestyle. It takes a lot of time and requires a lot of preparation.
With the help of these tips, you’ll not only learn how to meal prep, but also the best foods to use when prepping your meals for the week.
Tips for Meal Prepping
The main thing to remember with meal prep is that it requires a lot of planning. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be.
Tip 1: Create Menus
It can be highly beneficial to create menus every week with foods that you intend on eating. After a month, you’ll have multiple menus that you can simply cycle through instead of having to come up with brand new lunches and dinners on a daily basis. You’ll want to make this process as simple as possible so that it consumes far less time.
Tip 2: Make a Grocery List
You’d be surprised at how easy it is to walk into the grocery store and pick up foods that are likely not a part of your diet. It’s imperative that you prevent junk food from getting into your shopping cart, which means, you have to stick to your grocery list.
After you’ve created your menu for the week, create a shopping list that you’ll use when you get to the store. You’ll also find that sticking to your list will help you to save money.
Tip 3: Cook Everything At Once
This is one of the most talked about tips when it comes to meal prepping. It is incredibly convenient to do all of your meals for the week at one time. Not only does this save you time during the week, but it also helps to keep your dieting in order. Choose one day out of the week when you will do all of the meal prep, such as Sunday, and that is when you’re going to cook everything.
After it’s finished, divide everything into their respective containers so that all you have to do is take a container for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Tip 4: Don’t Be Afraid of Change
If there’s one thing you’ll likely experience, it’s boredom with your food. Over time, eating the same things will become unappetizing, which may lead you to fall off of the healthy eating bandwagon.
It’s always a good idea to revitalize your menu and come up with cool and unique foods that you can prepare in advance and enjoy throughout the week. Remember, meal prepping can help you to achieve your desired body in no time.
The Best Foods for Meal Prepping
Now that you know all of the best tips and tricks for getting into the meal prepping spirit, it’s time to think about the types of foods you should get your hands on. You’re going to want items that are easy to prepare, readily available, and are still affordable.
✓ Eggs
Eggs are incredibly good sources of protein and healthy fatty acids. They can also be cooked in a wide variety of ways so you’ll always have a new way to enjoy them. For example, hardboiled eggs are very popular, but on the rare occasion, you might want to substitute them for scrambled instead. Eggs can be eaten alone, in a salad, or even on a sandwich.
✓ Brown Rice
With the help of a rice cooker, rice is an incredibly easy side dish to add to your meals throughout the week. It’s one of the heartier whole grains that you can use to help lose weight, especially when compared to white rice.
According to the International Journal of Preventative Medicine, brown rice retains all of the healthy components that white rice loses after it has been bleached.
✓ Roasted Vegetables
There’s nothing quite like indulging in a plate of roasted vegetables in the middle of the day or with your dinner. Not to mention there are dozens of different vegetables you can roast, ranging from tomatoes to potatoes. With a couple of seasonings for extra flavor and a small squirt of olive oil, you’ll have the perfect side dish or a full meal to indulge in.
✓ Ground Meat
Another essential for meal prepping is ground meat, whether it’s beef, turkey, or chicken. It’s something that can be added to absolutely any meal prep dish, including brown rice and peppers.
You can even take the ground meat and seasoning to make your own hamburger patties, without the bun. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can add it to a pasta dish for the perfect amount of protein.
✓ Grilled Chicken Breasts
If you have spent any time looking at health enthusiasts’ social media pages, you’ll see that chicken is one of the largest staples of their daily diet. As an incredibly lean ingredient, the chicken goes with just about everything and it’s also one of the easiest things to prepare.
With the ability to throw it in the oven or cook it directly on the grill, you can add it into salads or eat it on its own. It’s delicious, nutritious, and the type of ingredient that will make your meal prepping much easier.
✓ Hummus
Perfect for people who feel like they constantly snack throughout the day, hummus is a solution to your needs. With a cup of sliced vegetables and a couple of tablespoons of hummus, you’ll have a savory treat to keep you satisfied until your next meal.
There are plenty of different types of hummus to choose from as well ranging from roasted red pepper to garlic. It’s a healthy and delicious snack to get your hands on.
When learning how to meal prep, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Each person is different and you’ll find various ways to make it work for you. With the help of these tips and the recommended foods to have on hand, you’ll easily be able to start meal prepping in no time.
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