March 31, 2024: Meal Prep
My weekly Get Your Stuff Together Sunday email series gives you one actionable focus for the week that will make your life a little easier.
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“What’s for dinner?” This dreaded question leads to many arguments and even more pizza delivery. How much easier would it be to just open your refrigerator and find a week’s worth of healthy, delicious food that’s fully prepped and ready to be eaten? This week, we’re going to talk about how you can answer the dreaded “What’s for dinner?” question.
With meal preparation, the answer to the “what’s for dinner” question is right in front of your eyes. By prepping all of your meals ahead of time, you are able to keep yourself on track throughout the entire week and eliminate the stress of finding dinner after a long day.
The goal is to plan out all of your meals over the weekend, then do your shopping and prep all at one time for the entire week. With one labor-intensive day, your refrigerator is full with ready-to-eat food for the next full week.
Step One: Plan out your week
Grab your calendar, a piece of paper, your phone or iPad. It’s time to get started. Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you get started:
How many meals do you actually need?
Who are you cooking for this week?
Will you be eating at home for every meal?
Are there any special events you need to be aware of?
What do you have time for?
Step Two: Grab the Recipes
Now that you know how many meals to prep and how many mouths you need to feed, it’s time to put your plan in action and select recipes for the week.
Check out your favorite recipe sites, Pinterest, or my blog
Flip through your favorite cookbooks and family recipes
Plan recipes that use similar ingredients
Make extra proteins that can be used for additional recipes
Step Three: Create Your Grocery List
Now that you know what you’re cooking, you need to make a list of the ingredients you don’t have on hand.
Are you going to double a recipe? Make sure you have sufficient ingredients on hand to cover the extra size.
Check the freezer and the pantry for items you may already have.
Step Four: Time to Shop!
With your list in hand, grab only what you need to make meals for the week.
Step Five: Prep Time
You don’t have to fully cook every meal for the week ahead of time. But, to save time, chop all of your vegetables, put together all of the seasonings, and pre-cook at least two meals for the week.
Meal preparation can save you time, money, and a lot of headaches when trying to stick with your nutrition plan with a busy schedule. Ensure that you are choosing meals that fit into your nutrition plan while remaining easy to cook and plan in advance. You’ll appreciate it in the long run!
Next Sunday, we’ll talk about how you can use compression to relieve and manage pain.
Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again. Love reading? I have books, too. Check out my books!
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I hope you have a wonderful week,
Kelly
My weekly GYSTS email give you one actionable thing to do for the week that will make you life a little easier. As "they" say, "Fail to plan; plan to fail." Get these emails (and more!) delivered right to your inbox by clicking HERE.