Eating healthy is the first step towards leading a prosperous and healthy life. Your body is made up of the things that you eat. The healthier you eat, the better your immune system would be.
A great way of eating healthy is by preparing a weekly meal plan. A meal plan consists of healthy food that you are going to eat in the next week. If you want to take a step further, you can make all the weekly meals in one day beforehand. This act makes it easier for you to follow the meal because it is all prepared.
Different Ways of Meal Prep
You don’t have to cook all your meals from A to Z necessarily. There are quite a few ways you can do meal prep.
Make Entire Meals
You can cook your complete meals and freeze it so each day, you just have to take out the meal of the day, and heat it.
Make It in Batches
Make large batches of a recipe and then split it into different containers that you can eat over the week.
Portioned Meals
These meals consist of fresh food that you pack for each day. These are grab-and-go meals.
Ready the Ingredients
Only prepare the ingredients of the recipes you are going to use in the next week. You will be making the meals each day, but it will take less time because all the veggies are already cut and ready.
You can opt for any of these options according to what suits you best.
Pick the Right Containers
After you have decided on how you want to prepare for the week, choose your containers for the meals. If your containers are not air-tight, or freezer-safe, it can make your veggies etc. stale. Your meal containers can make all the difference between a good and a below-average meal.
How to Prepare Weekly Meals?
The next question for all the beginners is how to prepare their meals before the week starts? It depends on every individual separately.
Before you prepare your meals, you need to get your ingredients ready. There are a number of recipes you can try once you get used to the task. There are easy and quick Italian recipes like Italian cannoli which is filled with nutrients and is easy to make. Some people prefer to eat roasted chicken with boiled rice and steamed vegetables.
Your recipes depend on your likes and dislikes. Until the time you have decided on your preferences, we have a simple meal plan for you to kick start the routine. Here are some ideas for all the ingredients you should get.
- There is a chance that some of your recipes will include chicken in them. Get enough boneless chicken for the week.
- Green vegetables are a must. There is hardly going to be a recipe that will not involve any vegetables. People who are on a diet plan are recommended green leafy vegetables, and that is why you should get 2 or 3 pounds of them.
- You don’t have to eat green leafy vegetables only. Choose the veggies that you love the most to add color to your meals. For example, carrots are a great addition to your meals.
- Boiled and mashed potatoes are going to be included in one or two meals of the week, so better get some potatoes!
After you have collected the ingredients, it is time to prepare them.
- The great thing about vegetables is that they don’t need much time. You just have to wash them and steam them, and they are ready.
- After the vegetables, it is time to wash and steam the potatoes. To save your time, do this step while you are steaming the veggies.
- Roast and slice the chicken. To do that, you can lay the chicken on the baking sheet and season it with salt and pepper. If you need to add flavor, you can improvise. After baking the chicken breast, slice it.
Once your ingredients are ready, ready your meal containers. Place a slice of chicken breast with potatoes and veggies in each container and freeze it. When you have to eat the meals, heat them in the oven and enjoy with your favorite sauce!
Benefits of a Healthy Meal Plan
Now that you know about a week of healthy meal prep, let’s talk about how it benefits you.
Saves You Time
When you prepare your next week’s meal at one time, it saves you a lot of time. You don’t have to spend hours every day to prepare your breakfast, lunch or dinner. You don’t have to decide what your day’s menu is going to be. You can simply take out your breakfast and lunch, and take it with you to work.
After you get back from work, your dinner will be ready, and you can relax instead of slaving away in the kitchen.
Saves You Money
When you don’t spend money on extra snacks, you will save money. Buying in bulk, and making your meals, saves more money as compared to doing grocery shopping every time you have to cook food.
Most of the time we spend money on our lunch while we are in the workplace. When you already have a meal prepared, you won’t eat from restaurants, cafes etc.
Less Cheating On Healthy Meals
We all know how tempting it can get during the day to cheat on your meal. Getting snacks and processed food makes you cheat on your healthy meal plan, and that is a big no-no.
When your meals are prepared, you don’t get a chance to buy junk food because you have it all in your hands. There are no excuses for you to go against your plan.
You Stay Healthy
The biggest benefit of weekly meal preparations is that you stay healthy. All of the above-mentioned benefits lead to one end; a better and healthy body! Preparing and planning your weekly meals helps you learn portion control. Your body gets the required nutrients and energy, which otherwise you won’t get.
Weekly meal prep will change your life for the better! Good Luck!