For those with busy schedules, it is always easier to opt for grab-and-go meals or fast food. It saves the time of having to cook and buy groceries every day. However, doing this is not always the healthiest, or even if it is, it can be quite expensive. Eating home-cooked meals is the best way to save money and eat healthily, but the only problem is the amount of time spent. Here’s how to meal prep to help you save money and time.
You only need to spend a day to prep for the entire week. In this article, let’s explore what meal prep is in this beginner’s guide, how you can meal prep for weight loss, and if it’s safe to prep for a longer period of time.
Key Takeaways
- Meal prep is a way of preparing and storing a large portion of food in advance.
- It’s a good way to save money, and eat healthier without stressing about what to eat and avoiding unhealthy fast food or takeouts.
- To meal prep for weight loss, you need to first know your daily calorie and macronutrient requirement. From there, you can plan out your meals and prepare your shopping list for the days or weeks of meal planning.
- You can also find some easy recipes to meal prep in this article.
What is Meal Prep?
Meal prep is the practice of preparing and storing a large portion of full meals or snacks in advance so that you can easily heat and enjoy them throughout the week or even longer.
Why Should You Meal Prep?
It’s a great strategy for anyone looking for convenience, to save money, or for those trying to eat healthier without the stress of what to eat or having to rely on takeouts that often lack balanced nutrition, including healthy fats.
Preparing your meals gives you full control over the ingredients, portions, and nutrition in each meal. If you have a specific health goal to lose weight, gain weight, or gain muscle, it makes it much easier for you to stay aligned with it.
A study suggests that the meals consumed outside in restaurants tend not to provide the essential nutrients that your body needs [1]. It’s estimated that less than 0.1% of consumed foods from full-service restaurants and fast-food restaurants meet the ideal nutrition quality. This meant that the foods either did not contain a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish and seafood, or nuts.
Meals by large chain restaurants in the U.S. were often found to be high in calories, sodium, saturated fat, and sugar.
Main benefits of meal prepping:
- Helps to save time
- Helps to save money
- Prevents food waste
- Plays a role in weight control
- Allows you to create nutritionally balanced meals
- Reduces stress and decision fatigue on what to eat
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Download Eato For FreeHow to Start a Meal Prep: What to Know
There are a few different ways to go about meal prepping for the first time. What we recommend is for you to start small and simple.
Step 1: Choose your meal prep style
The first step is to choose how you want to meal prep. Is it making a big batch of food at once so that you can freeze and reheat, is it portioning out multiple meals into containers, or is it only prepping ingredients for faster cooking later?
Step 2: Plan your meals and timings
Once you have an idea of how you want to meal prep, then it’s time to think about whether you will be preparing for breakfast, lunch, or dinner or for all the meal timings.
Step 3: Set aside a prep day
From there, choose a day of the week to set aside for planning the food menu, creating a grocery list, and grocery shopping for all the ingredients, followed by the actual food prep. If you aren’t sure what to make, you can use the meal plan feature in the Eato app for some quick inspiration.
Step 4: Be efficient during prep
On prep day, you want to see how you can make the process more efficient by multitasking. Perhaps while waiting for an ingredient to boil, you can chop up vegetables or fruits. Also, you want to consider focusing on foods that take a long time to cook first.
Step 5: Store your meals properly
After all your ingredients or food have been prepped, you can proceed to store them in airtight food containers to be kept in the freezer. Anytime you want to consume it, you only need to defrost and reheat it for consumption.
How to Meal Prep for Weight Loss?
Meal preparation for weight reduction follows the same methods as in the previous section. However, the primary distinction is that you must pay careful attention to your calorie and macronutrient requirements.
To help you out, here’s a short guide on how to meal prep for weight loss:
Calculate your daily calorie and macronutrient needs
Sustaining a calorie deficit is necessary for weight loss. You may use a calorie calculator to get your maintenance calories or the number of calories required to produce a deficit. Rinse and repeat to find your daily macronutrient needs.
Create a balanced and nutritious meal plan
Now that you know the calorie budget you have and macronutrient ratios to meet for your own body, think about the type of foods you can include. High-protein or low-carb recipes, depending on your goals, are usually popular for people to start off with.
Portion your meals properly
Once you’ve prepared your meals, remember to divide them into individual portions based on your calorie or macro goals. Double-check the portion, calorie, and macronutrient count with a food scanner app like Eato.
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Download Eato For FreeHow to Meal Prep for the Week Ahead?
Preparing your meals for the week ahead typically involves a lot of organizing, shopping, and prep time.
The planning part is usually the most tedious process because it involves you having to know what your schedule will be like for the week or month, so you can determine how much and how often to prepare your meals.
After doing so, you will still need to create a proper food menu for each day of the meal plan, and come up with a shopping list based on it. Only then can you do the shopping, start preparing, and store your meals ahead of time.
Is it safe to meal prep for 7 days?
In general, if you are handling and cooking your ingredients properly, they should be good and safe to last for 4 days. This is assuming you plan on storing your food in airtight, meal prep containers inside the fridge.
If you are meal prepping for 7 days or longer and want it to last, you should cook and store them properly in the freezer. Freezing your food will stop the growth and reproduction of bacteria throughout the time it’s frozen.
Just so you know, bacterial growth starts the moment that your food begins to cool towards room temperature.
Healthy Meal Prep Recipes Examples
Still don’t know what to make? You can consider making these healthy recipes for clean eating:
a) Peanut butter banana overnight oats
Overnight oats are one of the simplest foods to make. You can make them the night before and have them for breakfast or lunch when you’re feeling lazy to come up with something complicated.
Ingredients:
- 50g of rolled oats
- 250ml of almond milk
- 30g of peanut butter
- 1 whole banana
- 15g of chia seeds
How to meal prep peanut butter banana overnight oats:
- In a jar, mix the rolled oats, almond milk, chia seeds, and add a scoop of peanut butter.
- Mix well, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
b) Vanilla chia seed pudding
You can also start your day with a chia seed pudding recipe. You can make different variations of chia seed pudding by switching up the fruits, the flavor of yogurt, or adding additional toppings.
Ingredients:
- 30g of chia seeds
- 240ml of almond milk
- 5g of vanilla extract
- 15g of honey
How to meal prep vanilla chia seed pudding:
- Mix all the ingredients in a jar. Ensure that you stir well so that it is thoroughly combined.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you can stir before serving.
c) Chicken avocado salad
This protein-packed salad is an easy and filling meal you can prep in under 15 minutes. It’s a great go-to when you want something healthy without spending too much time in the kitchen. You can also feel free to add in some brown rice to pair with your salad.
Ingredients:
- 200g of grilled chicken
- 1 pc of avocado
- 50g of cherry tomatoes
- 50g of mixed salad greens
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 whole lemon
- a pinch of salt and pepper
How to meal prep chicken avocado salad:
- In a heated pan, add the chicken that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. You can also season it with some fresh herbs, but it’s entirely optional. Grill it on each side for 3-4 mins.
- Once it’s cooked all the way through and no longer pink, slice the chicken into smaller pieces with your knife.
- Slice up a piece of avocado into smaller slices.
- In a bowl, mix the salad greens, chicken, avocado, and cherry tomatoes.
- Drizzle the mixed salad with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
d) Berry protein smoothie
This smoothie is a quick and nutritious option, especially when you’re on the go. You can blend it up in minutes for a refreshing breakfast or post-workout snack.
Ingredients:
- 200 ml of almond milk
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- 100g of mixed berries
- 1 tbsp of chia seeds
How to meal prep berry protein smoothie:
- To a blender, add a glass of almond milk, protein powder, mixed berries, and chia seeds. Blend it for a few minutes until smooth.
- Pour the smooth and creamy mixture into a glass and serve immediately. You can also add some ice cubes so it’s cool to drink.
e) Mediterranean quinoa salad
Quinoa salads are great if you want something light but filling. This Mediterranean-inspired version is full of colorful veggies and can be made ahead for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients:
- 100g of cooked quinoa
- 50g of diced cucumbers
- 50g of cherry tomatoes
- 50 g of chopped bell peppers
- 30g of feta cheese
- 20g of olives
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 30 ml of lemon juice
- a pinch of salt
How to meal prep Mediterranean quinoa salad:
- Chop up the bell peppers, dice the cucumbers and slice up the cherry tomatoes, and olives.
- In a pot of boiling water, add your quinoa and allow it to cook for 12 to 20 minutes. Once done, let it stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
- In a bowl, add and combine quinoa, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, feta cheese, and olives together.
- Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine well before serving.
f) Almond butter on toast
If you’re in a rush but still want something wholesome, this almond butter toast is a great pick. It only takes a few minutes and gives you a good mix of fiber, protein, and healthy fats.
Ingredients:
- 1 slice of wholegrain bread
- 2 tbsp of almond butter
- 1 slice of banana
- a sprinkle of chia seeds
How to meal prep almond butter on toast:
- Heat a pan and place the slice of bread in it. Toast the bread until you reach your preferred level of crunchiness.
- Place the toasted bread on a plate. Using a butter knife, spread the almond butter across the bread.
- Top it off with banana slices and a sprinkle of chia seeds to serve.
The Final Takeaway: How to Meal Prep?
So, if you strongly value convenience and cost savings while trying to lose weight, then meal prep could be a great way for you to achieve those things. It’s less stress and less work to think about when you only have to do it once every few days. But of course, meal prepping may not be for everyone. Especially if you don’t fancy eating leftovers or the same foods for a few days in a row.
Say you do want to try out meal prepping for weight loss, but you don’t know where to start, or maybe you don’t know how to correctly count the calories in each meal, then Eato is the solution for you. With the Eato app, you’ll only need to snap a photo or scan a food label to get precise nutritional information for each food item. You can also generate a meal plan for up to 4 weeks if you want to skip the tedious planning. Try it today for free!
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