Food Prep/Planning Tips
- Jessica Stewart
- Sep 5, 2014
- 3 min read
It’s hard to prepare food in advance, I understand. It requires thought, advance thought at that, planning, buying, prepping, storing, etc. It’s a pain when you’re not used to it.
I want to make it so you are used to it and it is a part of your daily life. Prepping and planning is
like music to my ears. It signifies that you are ready to take on your food, your body, and your goals. It signifies that you mean business because you are serious on what you are putting in your mouth.
If you are a person that can fly by the seat of their pants, make food choices on the go and don’t have any issues about your weight or health, then keep doing what you’re doing. I do not fly by the seat of my pants at any time. Well-thought out processes is the name of my game. And my food is something that has always been super important to me, because what I ingest greatly affects my entire body, mind, and general attitude.
So here are some tips that may make your life easier when trying to make fabulous meals!
1. Plan ahead.
Don’t just plan for this week but plan for next week or the next couple. If you KNOW you are going to be going out of town, then make some extra muffins/pancakes/frozen bacon, etc so that you can take some along with you in a cooler. If you know you will be gone next weekend and back home late Sunday night, have a meal already prepared and frozen so that you don’t have to worry about Monday rushing out to make dinner.
2. Use your crockpot.
It is not that scary. Make soups, meats, oatmeal, eggs, etc. It is a great resource that can make prepping so much easier. I recommend making WAY more chicken/protein than needed, put into airtight containers and freeze. That way you can bring out a dish or two as needed. Lookout for websites containing “Healthy Crockpot recipes” because a lot of them are a load of crock. High quality ingredients.
3. Make bulk.
More the merrier. If you have the money and storage to buy more food than what you need at the moment, then I highly recommend this. This helps when there is a great sale, too. Make more muffins, more chicken, more bacon, and more chopped veggies for the freezer. You’re going to use them so make more so you don’t have to do it later. Make a bigger salad than normal so you can take some to work the next day.
4. If you have time, cook.
Just because my meals/snacks/food is ready for the next two days does not mean I can’t start thinking about what I’m going to do on that third day. It saves me time, energy, and hassle on the third day when I have to make something in a hurry. Bring meat out of the freezer ahead of time. Utilize overripe fruit to freeze for smoothies. Throw some meat in the crockpot or something so you can freeze it for the next week.
5. Utensils
Airtight containers
Freezer Ziploc bags
Muffin tin and silicone liners
Julienne peeler
Food processor-game changer
Parchment paper, aluminum foil, saran wrap
Bread pan and baking sheets
Meat thermometer
Some people do not like to think about what they are going to eat tomorrow because that takes away from today. I love to think about two days from now because today and tomorrow are already planned out. Not always, don’t think I’m some crazy woman because I have days that are definitely not planned. And that’s okay!
I don’t have to stress about what I’m going to eat. I don’t have the excuse of “Well, I didn’t have anything so I had to go out to eat.” I don’t go to work and not have snacks. I feel that I have enough to worry about that the last thing I need is to eat crap food when I want to look and feel a certain way. If you have kids then I think planning needs to be pretty high on your list. Obviously, there are days that are not planned and life happens. Take it and go with the flow on those days.
Here’s to lovely, planned food!
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