Are you ready for meal prep but don't know how to start your journey on having a healthy food to consume everyday? It's okay we are here to help you. Keep reading below to find out meal prep routine along with some easy meal prep strategies to help you save time when you're first getting started.
Let's talk
about the five simple steps get you meal prepping let's start
1. Step 1: Choose
One Single Prep Meal
You don't
have to start prep all your meals but you can choose to prep your lunch to take
it up with you. For instance, start with single recipe meals instead of making
meals that require two to three recipes which can be very complicated. Make a
one meal dish that contains protein, carbs and vegetables and start with the
recipes that you already know.
This will give you more confidence in what you're cooking and eventually you can start to experiment with different recipes. You can checkout all recipe videos on our Instagram channel. We believe in keeping things simple because not everybody can cook. Remember take baby steps don't try to do too much that will overwhelm yourself so, start with one meal and eventually add another meal.
Step 2: Find Ingredients Through Recipes
The next step is to know your ingredients and cooking methods. When it comes to meal prepping, you want your meals to keep well for at least up to four days. By choosing ingredients that will not produce much liquid when cooked, can be kept, and reheated without losing much of their texture.
So let's start with vegetables!
Some really great vegetables include carrot, broccoli, pumpkin, potatoes, bell pepper, whole cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, leafy greens such as lettuce or spinach. Basically foods that will not produce too much liquid after cooking and can be kept for days. Saying that however you can still cook your vegetables and blend them up to make vegetable soups which it can be frozen and will last for many weeks and simply reheat one portion at a time.
Next is protein!
All protein are suitable such as chicken, beef, fish, eggs, tempeh, tofu, beans, or pulses. So, what are the cooking method for proteins? This really comes down to the cooking method in order for them to last-long and fully cooked. So, make scrambled eggs or hard boiled eggs and keep them with a shell on rather than soft boiled or poached. Same goes to chicken beef or even fish. Fully cook them and avoid consuming medium rare or raw. As for beans and pulses, keeping them dry will be the best option as you can simply toss them onto salad and take them out with you.
Now let's move on to greens!
All greens are suitable for meal prepping such as rice, quinoa, pasta or couscous. The key to making them last long is to store them separately from any sources and only portion you want to eat at that time and add a splash of water to avoid them being too dry.
Finally, fruits!
When it comes to fruit the best is to choose low maintenance
fruits. Basically fruits such as apples, pears or bananas will keep well and last for a long time and can be eaten whole fruits, such as grapes and berries
can also be added into your meal prep but be sure to chill them in the fridge.
Step 3: Plan Your Meal
Now that you've identified the ingredients and cooking methods, it is time to write a plan! Ask yourself how often do you want to cook and how many meals in a day. Take a look at your schedule and work with what's realistic for you. For instance, cook twice weekly and every time you meal prep it will be enough for three days. Let's say two hours aside on Sunday to prep my meals for Monday to Wednesday and on Wednesday prep meals for Thursday until Saturday. On Sunday it's just a day to take it easy and enjoy meals out. In total you only spending 4 hours every week to prepare your meals.
If you think about it it is not demanding at all it is just about making this your priority. Another important tip is to think of your meals in three parts see your protein, carbs, and also vegetables. Write down what will your protein, carbs, and vegetables be. Remember, keep it simple. Don't have too many varieties and repeat in your ingredients.
Step 4: Go Grocery Shopping
Now, that you know what you plan to cook. Write a shopping list an let's go grocery shopping!
The last thing you want is to walk into a grocery store feeling lost and clueless or even missing out on an important ingredient. Later on, remember it is about being efficient. When you have a grocery list it will help you to stay on track and only buy ingredients you need and avoid unnecessary temptations or buying junk foods. Do your grocery shopping and cooking on the same day. This allows you to set a time aside and know that it will only be working with fresh ingredients.
Step 5: Start To Cook!
Now that you have all ingredients, this is the final and most important step. You have to prepare the ingredients like chopping garlic, your vegetables, washing them, or marinate your meat. You may want to pre-heat the oven if you're using them. While you're prepping your ingredients, to save time so, start up with foods that require the longest cooking time followed by the easier meals. For instance, for meal prep start by pre-heating the oven and chop up all the vegetables.
Start by cooking meal that takes longer time to prepare which is dinner. While waiting the dishes to cook, you can prep your lunch and if it's not require you to cook just put the ingredients together. Now that lunch is ready you can move on to prep snacks.
Tips for stroring and reheat
Storing and reheating your meals to keep them fresh. Generally, all fishes can be stored in the fridge for up to four days if you plan to store them for more than four days then it is best to freeze your meals.
When it comes to freezing some foods, work better than others cooked meals tend to freeze well in airtight containers foods. With high moisture content such as greens, tomatoes or zucchinis are not recommended as they tend to become mushy when frozen and thought consume high liquid ingredients within four days.
As for reheating your meals, stove is the best way to heat foods evenly and preserve texture if you plan to take your meals out then you can microwave your meals for one to two minutes. But using plastic containers is not recommended. I really hope these tips and steps have given you some useful insights to get you started on new prepping.
Remember keep it simple and there is no one correct method as this differs based on your food preferences, cooking ability, schedules and your personal goals. The long term benefits of meal prep are so worth the effort not only it will save time but you will start to eat better and live healthier.
For more recipes and ideas for your meal prep, visit our Instagram, Masak Masak or click here.
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