My Weekly Meal Prep Routine!

If you’re intimidated by the idea of meal prepping, you’re not alone. If you plan out all the dishes you’ll make for the week, it’ll be easier than having to decide what to make every day. This is something that anyone can do, not just Instagram influencers.

If you’re looking to meal prep in order to stay on top of your health and fitness goals, Kelly Jones, RD, sports dietician and owner of Student Athlete Nutrition, explains that it’s a great idea. “Everyone can benefit from meal prepping,” she says.

The app provides an easy way to take control of your meals without having to worry about what to make for dinner. This could potentially save you work in the future.

“You don’t have to have these lofty goals. You don’t have to have a super crazy schedule,” Jones explains. “You can just be someone who’s looking to do a little bit in advance or take advantage of extra time on the weekend (or whatever day of the week you might have free) to set yourself up for more success later on.”

Now, there’s just the matter of where to start. If you’ve never meal-prepped before, the idea of filling endless containers with food might be overwhelming. But, breathe. It’s easier than you imagine.

There’s no doubt that I love getting my Sunday meal prep done! Eating healthy is the number one way I stay on track. It also sets a healthy and fresh mindset for the week. When I have all my meals planned out and my fridge is full of delicious food, I get really excited for my workouts that week. Remember if you “fail to plan, plan to fail!”

Meal prepping is a great way to make sure you have healthy, homemade meals on hand at all times. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get started with meal prepping, as well as which foods should be included in your meal plan.

What is meal prepping?

Jones explains that meal prep can be any level of preparation done in advance for the week to make meals and snacks easier.

Good Housekeeping says that there is more than one way to meal prep. Some popular techniques include:

• Ingredient prepping, or washing, peeling, dicing, roasting, or getting your ingredients ready in some other way to be made into meals.

• Batch cooking, or making a large batch of something delicious that can be frozen in individual portions or saved another way to eat later (think soups, chilis, etc.).

• Make-ahead meals, or cooking entire meals and dividing them into containers that you can grab and reheat easily whenever you’re hungry (think protein + rice, for example).

My Weekly Meal Prep Routine

I make meal plans for the upcoming week and list the corresponding workouts in my notebook. I create a grocery list with all the necessary ingredients for the planned meals.

I go to the store either Saturday afternoon or first thing Sunday morning. I like going at 8 am on Sunday mornings because all the fresh veggies are fully stocked.

After I go to the store, I come home and begin by starting the crock pot if I have any meals that need it, and then move on to chopping.

I will roast my veggies while other things are cooking on the stove, like hard boiled eggs, quinoa, or even chicken. I like to bake breakfast muffins, like banana or protein muffins, at the beginning of the week.

I usually finish everything I need to do by noon, and still have the rest of the day to enjoy! If this is your first time doing this, it’s normal to take longer. Don’t worry, you’ll get into a routine as the weeks go on and it’ll become second nature. Crafting batch after batch of healthy meals felt like it took forever, but I was proud of myself when I was done. I felt ready to take on the week ahead.

One way I make meal prep easier is by only making breakfasts and lunches on Sundays, and then cooking dinner as usual each night during the week.

I prefer cooking dinner myself if I have the time because it tastes much better than food that has been cooked ahead of time. Although you can purchase all your weekly ingredients on Sunday, I prefer to do my meal planning throughout the week. This allows me to be more spontaneous with my recipes and I can take advantage of any sales that pop up. You should do what works for you, since everyone has different schedules each week.

Benefits to Meal Prepping

Less cheating! Yep this is sooo true guys. When I cook my meals every Sunday, I make sure to only buy those items that are on my grocery list. This helps keep me from eating something I shouldn’t because if it’s not in my house, then I can’t eat it!

Saves you money. At least this is true for us! We used to just make whatever we felt like every night, either by getting takeout, going out to eat, or running to the store after work. This is also true for our lunches! My husband and I were spending a lot of money on lunches and dinners because he works in the city and I work next to a Chipotle. We can now plan to spend around $100 each week on breakfast, lunch, dinner, and healthy snacks. We don’t waste as much food now either!

HUGE time saver. Meal prepping not only helps us eat healthier, but also gives us more time in the evening to work out, relax, or do whatever else we want rather than rushing home to cook. This is a real game changer because it means that I can go to the gym after work without having to worry about what I’m going to eat for dinner. I can just order take out and not worry about getting home in time to cook. So this is huge!

Helps meet your fitness goals. I cannot stress enough how important this is. When you plan your meals in advance, you not only learn portion control, but you also give your body the wholesome, nutritional food it needs to fuel your workouts! It’s so true when they say that “abs are made in the kitchen” – your body requires healthy food for endurance, strength and even weight loss so it’s a no-brainer that consistent meal planning should coincide with your fitness routine. I find it helpful to plan out my workouts for the week in the same notebook that I use to record all my meals. Doing this helps me stay motivated and on track.

Gives a great variety! I usually have a few meals that I really like to make and eat, but I am trying to make at least one or two new recipes each week. We’ll only make a dish again if we like it. If we don’t, we won’t make it again. I mean hey, at least we tried something new! I really enjoy finding new healthy recipes on Pinterest and then trying them out.

It’s not difficult to live a healthy lifestyle; you just need to be committed to it and have a plan. You can start by finding some of your favorite healthy dishes either on Pinterest or on my blog. Then, you can plan your dinners by picking out some of those dishes. After you plan your dinners, think about which ones would make good leftovers for the next day’s lunch. This way, you won’t waste food, and you can save time in the kitchen! If you have a cute notebook or calendar, it will be much easier and more fun.

What kind of foods can you use to meal prep?

Certain foods are better suited for meal prepping than others. Jones believes that it is important to think about how long in advance you want to eat the food you are cooking. She suggests targeting meat or animal heavy products earlier in the week. If you want to prepare some grains in advance for later in the week, bulgar, farro, or rice are all good options.

A good rule of thumb? Fish lasts for two days while meat like chicken or beef can last up to three days. According to Jones, plant-based foods (such as tofu) may still be eaten on the fourth day.

It’s also all about nutrient density. If you chop up your veggies and they stay that way for too long, they can lose their nutrients. To prevent this, consider getting miniature versions of your favorite veggies that will last longer, she explains. Next time you’re at the grocery store, consider buying miniature bell peppers instead of larger ones. mini bell peppers contain more vitamin C than their larger counterparts.

Here’s a list of foods that all make great options for meal prepping:

• Frozen vegetables like sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower
• Mushrooms
• Tofu
• Eggs
• Canned or dried beans
• Oats
• Fruits, like berries and bananas
• Whole grains, like quinoa, farro, and bulgar
• Pasta
• Fish, like salmon or tilapia
• Meats, like chicken or steak

So, how do you meal prep?

Get some airtight containers that are flat to fit in your fridge. This meal prep set comes with dividers and compartments for sides or toppings, so you’ll never have to worry about soggy croutons again!

Get a color-coded set so you can better plan each day. This 24-piece set has every size of container you’ll ever need if you’re feeling really ambitious.

Set aside time to prep on the same day each week.

It doesn’t have to be a weekend, Jones advises. You can prepare meals for the upcoming week on the same day you go grocery shopping, or whenever you have time. This way, it won’t feel like such a chore.

Plan out your menu in advance.

This not only provides you with daily motivation, but also enables you to budget and plan for each grocery store trip. Collect all of your favorite recipes, or experiment with some new ones. Either way, future you will thank you!

Let your kitchen gadgets do the work.

Meal prepping doesn’t require any fancy equipment, Jones explains, but you do need the basics. At the very least, you will need a cutting board and knife, as well as two pots and pans. A baking sheet and a muffin tin are both great to have on hand. You can use them to make egg bites.

Beyond that, Jones recommends investing in a slow cooker. A lot of people just want to have their dinner ready when they come home from work. Slow cookers are great for that, and also for breakfast recipes that you can make overnight.

A good food processor can also act as a blender, which can be very useful to have around the kitchen. According to Jones, you can make a lot of different things with a food processor, like energy bites or hummus.

Variety is important.

Make sure you’re not over-prepping, Jones warns. They’re not sustainable The meal plans that suggest eating the same dish for an extended period of time are not practical or realistic. They’re not worth it, in the long run.

“It might be easy to just eat the same thing every day, but you’re not getting a lot of nutrients that way,” Jones says. One of the most important things to do is to get a variety of foods in our diet. This doesn’t mean you should have a different meal for every day of the week, but try playing around with the foods you’re already making.

According to Jones, if you’re an oatmeal fan, you should change up your toppings every day. If you are interested in eggs, try pairing them with a different vegetable every morning.