Healthy Meal Planning Tips

Healthy Meal Planning Tips

January 2023

6 Time-Saving Tips on How to Meal Prep Like a Pro!

Assembly-Line Your Prep Time: Don’t fix one meal from start to finish and then move to the next one. Complete all the similar tasks together. For example, wash all your veggies at once. Then chop all of them. Then roast them at the same time. Afterward, portion them out and assemble your meals. 

Repeat Recipes: I like to make one lunch recipe per week. This way, I can bulk cook all my ingredients, portion them out, and finish all my lunch prep in record time. If only one lunch sounds too monotonous for you, try prepping two lunch recipes and having dinner leftovers one of the days.

Sub-in Your Slow-Cooker: Slow or pressure cooker meals are quick to prep and easy to cook. Throw your ingredients into a large freezer bag, chop any fresh toppings, and you’re done prepping dinner in 10 minutes. 

Prep Smart Snacks: If you know you’ll need a snack in the afternoon, pick grab-and-go options that combine produce and protein. Try having an apple and peanut butter, cottage cheese and berries, or carrots and hummus. Wash, peel, and slice your produce. Put your prepped veggies in a jar of water in the fridge to keep them fresh. 

Freeze Your Favorites: Which recipes do you and your family love to eat over and over again? When you prep those recipes, prep double and freeze the second batch. Next week, one dinner will be ready for you.

Start Small: Meal planning involves a lot of moving parts. If you’re new to meal planning, start with just prepping your lunches and one dinner each week. 

Article credit: Amanda Nighbert, Registered Dietician