In today's society, people are constantly on the go and keeping busy. Who has time to sit down and make a filling, healthy meal every single night? Most people have limited time to eat lunch and breakfast as well. It is much more easy to drive through a fast food chain than to cook while in a hurry. This can also explain why fast food chains are becoming so accessible and successful. Most people want to make the change to a healthier lifestyle, they just don't know how to do it. This is where meal prep comes in handy. Meal prep is a new trend that many health nuts, athletes, and body builders have caught on to, but it is so simple that anybody can do it. If you have two hours maximum of free time on the weekends, then you have enough time to make simple, healthy meals to last throughout the week. The only investments that you will need to make are a fridge/freezer, proportioned Tupperware, plastic baggies, and the healthy ingredients to make your food.
Meal prepping is all about making your healthy food at one time, and then putting it into pre-portioned containers for the week. Fast food chains fail to portion size the meals and leave us eating more than we need. Fast food also fails to provide the nutrients that our bodies need. While meal prepping, I always try to include foods from each food group that are nutrient rich and easy to prepare. Personally, I like to start out my day with some protein. For my breakfast meal prep this week, I made Egg Muffin Omelets.
I mixed about 10-12 eggs, onions, green peppers, and spinach in a bowl and then poured them into a greased muffin tin. I then sprinkled some cheese on the top and popped them into a 390 degrees preheated oven for about 15 minutes. You can also add ham, bacon, sausage, and essentially whatever veggies you would like. I now have healthy breakfast ready for me to eat for at least the next week.
Another easy food that I love to make when I'm meal prepping is lemon-pepper seasoned chicken. This chicken tastes great on top of salads, mixed with some quinoa or brown rice, or even just eaten plain. All I do is dice some chicken breast and rub it in lemon pepper seasoning. Then I just cook it in a skillet on the stove top using some extra virgin olive oil.
One serving size of chicken breast is 4 oz., which is about half a cup. It is important to keep track of how many serving sizes you should be eating. Being an athlete, I try to make sure that I eat plenty of protein rich foods in order to replenish my muscles.
Fruits and veggies are easy! Just throw them into some snack size Ziploc baggies and you've got a great side or snack that you can grab on the go. Remember to choose the ones that have the most vibrant colors, those typically are more nutrient rich.
Meal prep saves you time and money. It also brings you one step closer to a healthier lifestyle. There are millions of healthy recipes out there on this wonderful thing we have on the internet. It is up to you to put in the work and effort to make healthy decisions. I hope that through the use of meal prep. I have convinced you to start being more mindful about what you eat when running low on time. :)
