Meal Prepping

Meal prepping is a great way for people the be healthy and to eliminate the need to cook all the time. Anyone can meal prep, it is not only for athletes. It is also great for college students, people who work a lot, or anyone that just does not have time to make three meals a day. Meal prepping is very simple depending on what you decide to make. When you have a day free you can cook enough meals to last you a week or two. You do not want to cook food for more than two weeks. The food could go bad or lose the nutrients that were in the food beforehand. Then once you finish cooking the food you place the food in containers and put them in the fridge or freezer. I recommend putting the food you are going to eat first in the fridge and the food you are going to eat later in the week in the freezer. The freezer will help to preserve the nutrients in the food. When you are ready to eat, you then can enjoy the food until you run out and need to meal prep again.  

When I meal prep I try to meet the dietary guidelines in order to make sure that I can getting in a variety of nutrients so that I feel healthy. Typically, for dinners I chose chicken breast as my protein, rice as my carbohydrate, and a variety of vegetables in addition to this. Examples of vegetables I typically use are: broccoli, asparagus, spinach, green beans, carrots, peas, and corn.  

For lunches I usually try to get in fruit, nuts, and any additional carbs that I can burn off throughout the day. An example of my lunches day-to-day are strawberries, blueberries, almonds, pecans, sandwiches (with particular breads and meats), and carrots with hummus.  

Although I am not a typical breakfast eater, I tend to do a variety of things in the morning when I have the time. Meal prepping is a good way that I typically create a meal that I can build upon as things that I eat in the morning do not taste as good when they are premade. To make my mornings easier, I precut fruit and plan ahead for meals that may take 5-10 minutes to make. My breakfast typically looks like strawberries, blueberries, eggs, toast, and a meat for the day. I like to have my “heavier” foods in the morning so that I can burn these off. Although these foods are not as easy to meal prep, they are typically easier to make in the mornings. 

Overall, meal prepping is an easy way for a person to eat healthier on the go. Having the mindset of setting aside 3-5 hours a week to prepare meals for a week or two, in addition to preparing foods for the person to snack on or to make later that week makes it easier for them to have healthier meals and also spend less time focusing on making food then eating it on a day-to-day basis. It is important to acknowledge that meal prepping isn’t for everyone, but it can be adjusted to fit anyone’s needs and there is not a correct or incorrect way to do it as everyone is different.