Meal Prep

 

Meal Prep = Heaven, basically.

Meal prep is going to be your best friend on your road to eating clean. Essentially, meal prep is choosing one night a week (I use Mondays because it fits best in my schedule) to do your cooking for the whole week. Then, you pre-package it to make your clean eating less of a hassle throughout the rest of the week. First, you have to calculate about how much you eat in a normal day. It should be somewhere close to five to six small meals, although I don't prep my breakfast because I usually just eat cereal or yogurt with granola. Next, add it all up to see about how much of each food group you need to cook (meat, veggies, grains). Next comes the cooking. Although you are cooking in bulk, you want to try to have as much of a variety as you can, so you don't get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. After all, the more enjoyable your food is, the more likely you are to stick with your diet. This is the first time I personally have done meal prep, but I'm two days in and going strong. The top picture is the food my gym buddy Brian and I prepared for this week.

 

Protein:

lemon pepper chicken, orange almond crusted chicken, teriyaki chicken with peppers

 and onions, and Caribbean chicken with mango salsa (all baked).

 

Veggies:

Steamed broccoli, grilled green beans, grilled zucchini, and grilled asparagus.

 

Grains:

Brown rice, Quinoa, Lentils

 

Snacks:

Fruit salad (pears, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes),

Cucumbers, carrots, granola, yogurt, and peanut butter.

 

The second picture shows my meals after I have portioned them out. This was enough for yesterday and today, along with my breakfasts and snacks. I spent about 3-4 hours cooking, prepping, and packaging my food on Monday, but have only spent a few minutes tops microwaving it since then. This makes healthy eating so much more convenient, and ensures that you will stick to your meal plan. I definitely recommend weekly meal prep, and will share what I whip up next week!