I recently started to meal prep – and most importantly snack prep. If you follow me on Instagram I have shared a couple shots of what I eat there. I figured I could dive a little deeper and share my meal prep plan.
First off there are a few gadgets I use a lot to help with my meal prep go quicker and smoother. I have a couple posts about them, HERE and HERE, if you want to check that out!
My Meal Prep Plans Include:
- A large dish of veggies. I cut up about 2 cucumbers, 2 celery, and about 2lbs of carrots. I throw them all in a large container and add some water (to keep them fresh!). This last almost about a week.
- A dish of strawberries. I buy 1 or two quarts of strawberries at a time. To make them last longer I soak them in a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water for about 5minutes. Then I rinse them with water and put them in a dish lined with paper towel. You can do this with any fresh berries, and I do this with grapes sometimes too.
- Protein Balls. I make a batch once a week and I eat two almost daily. They are only 60cals each and have fiber and protein. They also taste AMAZING! They are the perfect snack for when I am craving chocolate.
- Chicken. I usually will cook about 5 chicken breasts at a time to last through the week. I eat it with salad, in a sandwich, or in a wrap with mushrooms. Chicken is a great to have on hand, especially when you are busy because it is so versatile.
- Bananas. I usually only eat bananas in smoothies, so if I buy too many at once they end up going bad. I usually buy a bunch, cut them in half, and freeze them for smoothies. Sometimes I will let them sit though – so I can use them in recipes when they have browned.
- Yogurt Jars. This is a great way to save time and money. I buy the small, 4oz mason jars and put yogurt in them. Buying the individually cupped yogurts are more expensive then buying a tub, and I can easily add granola or fruit to the mason jar.
- Salad Jars. When I buy romaine lettuce I buy at least 3 at a time. To make sure my lettuce lasts, I chop, wash, and put them in large mason jars. This makes my lettuce last longer and it’s super easy to grab a salad or add lettuce to a meal.
After buying groceries, my meal prep takes about 2~3 hours and while that seems like a lot of time – it’s really not in the long run. It’s much quicker when I want to grab a snack or I have to pack a lunch quickly. Plus, if I am feeling lazy having something in the fridge ready to go keeps me from buying fast food!
Just put on some Netflix and binge watch your fav. show while you prep!
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