Fitness Friday #54: 5 Meal Prep Tips

For the past several weeks, I’ve been posting my weekly Sunday meal prep sessions.

Mostly to keep organized, keep my sanity, and for the safety of others (being hangry is no joke), I started prepping meal boxes for my on-the-go meal needs during the week.

Are you interested in meal planning, but maybe you’ve tried and this happened to you?? 

I’m here to help! I’ve been getting lots of great questions about them, so I thought I’d share a few of my tips as well as some photos of recent meal prep sessions with you!

5 Meal Prepping Tips

• Start small, plan 1-3 days, then increase 

If you’ve never tried prepping meals before, it’s silly to go ALL in and plan the entire week. That’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, start small. Plan your Monday breakfast and lunch or perhaps lunch or breakfast for two days in the week. If that works, and you like what you’ve prepared, it fills you and fuels you, then slowly increase to other days.

• Pack items you like, not items you HOPE you’ll like

This one sounds funny, but it’s SO true. Just because you think you should pack all kinds of fruit doesn’t mean you’ll want to eat all of it in one sitting or that you’ll feel full eating just fruit. Your packed meal should include items you WILL eat. That’s the point – it’s your meal. By all means, try a new recipe, but make sure it’s something you’ll want to eat and not something that you’ll push aside and have to go grab food elsewhere, or worse, not eat at all.

• Plan some double recipes so you can freeze items to use later

I didn’t figure this one out until I was well into prepping all of my breakfast and lunch meals. This is so helpful. I made a double batch of birthday protein cookies, and enjoyed them during my birthday week and then again two weeks later. I like to wait a week in between using the same recipe, just to mix up the meals.

• Base your meal on your day – Workout? Big meeting?

Make sure your meals coordinate with your schedule. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have 3-4 classes and training sessions, so I’m hungry. I pack a little more for those days because I know I’ll want it. Most of the food I pack does not require the use of utensils, but that’s something to take into consideration, too. Where will you be eating your lunch? Also, do you have a big meeting? Maybe it’s a good idea to avoid extra garlic that day. Plan thoughtfully.

• Pack the protein – it will keep your energy up and fill you up

For me, my boxes are all about the protein. I try to plan a good balance of protein and fresh fruit/veggies because I know that combination works well for me. I want my packed meals to last me 3-4 hours in between eating, because that’s how my work schedule flows. So, adding half a boiled egg, or a date stuffed with nut butter, or some nuts really helps keep me going between meals and helps keep a solid energy level.

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