Food Prep: My Tips & Tricks

Have you ever heard that quote, "Fail to plan and plan to fail"?

Well, for me this is totally true when it comes to food prep.
As you know, I am all about saving time and money. When I fail to meal prep and am left with out prepared food for school then I easily get off course with my diet or spend unnecessary money on meals, so I try really hard to have easily accessible food in my fridge.

I am going to discuss my personal tips and tricks for successful meal prep. I hope this helps some of you!

TIP #1: Bulk Cook

I know you have all heard it. Everyone bulk cooks, but this especially works well for me because I don't mind eating the same things for lunch. On Monday I bulk cook a whole bag of chicken breasts in the crock pot. This will get me about 4 days worth of lunch meat. I will pair it with a salad or veggies of some sort. I also bulk cook my egg whites. I have not seen a lot of people do this, but for me it is a total time saver. My mornings are usually very busy getting all dolled up for school (we have to dress nice and style our hair EVERY day) so when it comes to breakfast I want something quick and delicious. I make about 12-14 eggs at a time. I cook them with spinach and keep them in a large container in the fridge. That gives me eggs for about 3 days. I often add hot sauce or salsa to the top of them but I never get sick of eggs with spinach.

 

I also bulk cook veggies from time to time! I paired this zucchini with my Italian Style Chicken a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

TIP #2: Invest in tupperware and baggies

I love tupperware and tupperware of all sizes! Using the appropriate size for the appropriate item is great for portion control. I know what container is perfect for 1/2 c of cottage cheese and so on. I recommend using the extra small containers for a small amount of salad dressing, the small containers for greek yogurt or cottage cheese, medium sized for veggies, tuna or meat and of course the large ones for bulk cooked items and whole meals. I also love baggies. I use the snack bags the most and recommend reusing them when possible! I use them for dry almonds, protein powder, carrot sticks, celery, apple slices etc. I use the large bags for marinating and freezing meat, chopped up romaine etc.

Here I chopped up an apple and put 1/4 into a snack bag with cinnamon. I have been obsessed with adding them to my oats and it limits my fruit. This saves me time in the morning when making my oats because slicing apples is just not realistic on a time crunch!

TIP #3: Buy a large cooler/lunch bag

Yes, those 6 pack coolers are amazing and I want one but I don't have one and I am getting along just fine! I got my large lunch cooler from target for about $15. It is deep and fits all my containers and has a zipper front for utensils. The inside also comes out so I can wash it out and disinfect it easily.

My awesome cooler and a variety of tupperware!

TIP #4: Schedule a Time to Prep

I know a lot of people like to prep on Sundays. If that works for you because you work Monday-Friday then that is great. For me personally, I prep on Mondays because I go to school Tuesday-Saturday. I usually prep my bulk foods Monday afternoon and take the time to pack my meals for the next day that evening. The rest of the week I try to pre-pack my meals after dinner so around 6pm. We work-out around 7pm so I am more likely to pack my food if I just get it done after dinner vs after the gym when I am ready to shower and get to bed. This also saves me time in the morning because my cooler is already ready to grab from the fridge with my snacks and lunch.

TIP #5: Pack Enough Food

The worst thing you can do is not pack enough food. This can cause you to get off track or buy snacks that aren't necessary. I make sure my portions are realistic and I make sure I pack enough water to keep me from getting too hungry between meals. I also like to pack extra baggies of almonds and protein powder in my zipper compartment of my cooler for "just in case" moments. You will be happy you did when you end up out later than expected and need an extra meal.

So there you have it, my top 5 tips for meal prep! Did I miss anything? What do you do differently?

I hope everyone had a great Monday! My goal for this week is to add AM cardio to help get ready for my birthday! Only 7 days away :)

XOXO,
E