4 Items for your Next Meal Prep

I feel like whenever someone hears the words “meal prep” they run in the other direction!  To be honest, I used to do the same thing!

It always seemed like this long, daunting task that would consume hours of my day and leave my kitchen sink full of dishes that would take another 30 minutes to clean.  Then I would think to myself is it even worth it?! 

However, over the years I’ve come to realize you really DON’T need to prep an entire week's worth of food for successful meal prep.  I’ve found that prepping only a couple of items helps me create several different meals that are not only delicious but can help me reach my nutritional goals of consuming more veggies and protein throughout the day!

When it comes to meal prepping here’s what I like to keep in mind:

Protein:  Prep myself with a protein source that I can disperse over different meals.  Whether that be chicken, ground turkey, shrimp, eggs, etc.

Produce:  Wash, cut, and store fruits and veggies that I can keep on hand for easy snacking and viewing.  If it’s in my fridge and I can’t see it, I’m not going to eat it.

Complex Carb:  I love prepping a little rice or sweet potatoes for bowls and salads.  Again, can be super simple to either bowl rice or cube and roast a couple of sweet potatoes for the week.

Something Sweet:  This is completely optional, but I think it makes the world of a difference to prep something delicious that you can put a healthy spin on rather than buy something off the shelf!  I’d much rather grab one of my healthy banana oat chocolate chip muffins over a store-bought cookie with all the unnecessary ingredients!

Now with the protein, produce, and carb, you can easily create fun and healthy meals for the whole week.  

A few of my favorites include: 

• Rice bowl with protein and one veggie (sautéed) then topped with soy sauce or coconut aminos

• Big ol’ Salad with prepped protein and/or hard-boiled egg topped with veggies and complex carb

•  Adult Lunch box with protein, complex carb, and veggies, add dips and fruit to complete it

• Lettuce Wrap with protein, and complex carb and topped with a sauce with a side of veggies or fruit

• Burrito with protein, complex carb, veggies, and choice of sauce

Then snack on your “something sweet” whenever you’re feeling a sweet craving coming on!

I honestly love this so much more than prepping the same, exact meal to eat over and over again all week.  Although, sometimes I end up choosing to do that anyways!  This also gives you the freedom to try different protein sources and produce each week that you may not normally choose.

I hope this helps reduce the overwhelm that sometimes comes with meal prepping.  I know it still requires some work, but so does everything that comes worth having!  Have fun with it, get creative, and most importantly, ENJOY the foods you’re consuming!