Meal Prep

April 17, 2016 Leave a Comment

Hi, hope your well and your reading this because you love food; but you’re strapped for time, money or just want to make the right decisions. Personally I prep my lunches, I tend to eat 5 meals a day > Breakfast, Lunch 1, Lunch 2, Dinner and an Evening snack/dessert. I’m not saying this is the best method I just find it works for me.

On Sunday I prep Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays Lunches that’s 6 meals and on Wednesday I prep Thursday, Friday and Saturdays lunches. I eat whatever is left in the fridge on a Sunday and I prep my breakfast the night before in the weekdays.

So how do I go about meal prep, I always have balanced meals i.e. A carb source, a protein source, a veggie and some fats. Examples include:

Protein: Turkey Mince, Tinned Tuna, Tinned Salmon, Tinned sardines, Chicken, Eggs, Puy lentils
Carbs: Bulgur Wheat, Pearl Barley, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Sweet Potato, Kidney beans, Borlotti beans
Veggies: Broccoli, Leeks, Green Beans
Fats: Almonds, Avocado

Firstly, I weigh out my grains/carbohydrate sources and put them on the hob.
Whilst they are cooking away, I chop my vegetables up and steam them
I then chop the mince/chicken, scramble the eggs or open the tins
Cook the meat or eggs
Then divide the veggies into the Tupperware, add the grains and then the protein
Depending on what’s in the meal I will measure and add the fat sources
Leave to cool before putting the lid on the Tupperware if possible and then put them in the fridge
Take as you need throughout the week

I know some people say that what I eat is very boring, it’s always the same things and that’s because it’s simple and tasty. I find that even if I’m having the same lunches by varying my dinner, breakfast and snacks it keeps my overall diet diverse. There are numerous things you can do for meal prep though, make more at dinner time and split it in two, half for your dinner and half for your lunch.

Other meal ideas include:

Fajita bowls (rice, veggies, chicken)
Omelette

The reason I meal prep my breakfast the night before is because I train early in the morning so I want my breakfast as quickly as possible. I usually have oats and therefore need to soak them overnight. Soaking oats overnight reduces phytic acid and breaks down the starches to make them easier to digest. However the scientific research on this is not conclusive so don’t panic if you don’t soak your oats, you will be fine.

See, meal prep can be easy and save you both time and money so set aside some time, buy your ingredients and prep.