#1 TIP FOR EATING HEALTHFULLY

Hi Friends! 
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2017 is in full swing! Today, I wanted to share with you one of our top tips for eating healthfully throughout the entire week (and year). Keep scrolling.

FOOD PREP

Food prep is my #1 tool to eat more healthfully throughout the week. Let's be real. Life gets busy and we don't have the time to make this delicious and healthy meal from start to finish one night after work. Amiright? BUT - with a little food prep you'll be able to, but with much less stress and time. 

What does food prep even mean? 

Food prep is essentially the preparation of foods to be eaten throughout the week. I like to think of this as meal components, but not complete meals. Let me explain. Often times, we see on social media, the internet, wherever, meal prep being done as complete meals cooked and stored for each day of the week. This definitely works. But, our lives typically don't look the same everyday. So why should our food? Our tastes and preferences can change daily, too. 

By incorporating food prep you are able to tailor the foods you have ready to your day, your family and what you are in the mood to eat. Below, I am sharing 3 tips + some food ideas to get started food prepping today. 

1

MIX & MATCH

As mentioned above, prepping meal components is a quick and easy way to tailor the meal to the day. Think of it this way: 1 food = multiple recipe ideas. For example, you cook rice on your food prep day. This can turn into a burrito bowl for one day, a side dish the next and even turned into dessert for a rice pudding. 1 dish = 3 ways (or more...)

Eating the same thing over and over and over and over again is going to get real boring real fast. By using 1 ingredient, multiple ways this helps to increase variety in your eating. 

2

YOU GOT TIME

Time is one of the biggest barriers we hear. And we get it. Life is busy. That's why this can actually save you time in the long run. Trust us on this and give it a chance. Food prep does not have to be an all day ordeal. It truly can be 15-30 minutes. Whatever time you have, use it!

What can I do in 30 minutes you may ask?

1. Preheat oven and cook a protein such as chicken in the oven (or crockpot!) (~30 min)
2. Hard boil eggs. (~20 min)
3. Chop your veggies such as onion, bell pepper, celery, etc. (~15 min)
4. Cook quinoa on the stovetop. (~20 min)

That's a lot of food in a short amount of time. 

3

BE PREPARED

Being prepared. What I mean by this is having the storage capacity and containers for the food prep that you do. We love Pyrex and mason jars here at MPM. Having the rights storage containers and equipment makes food prep even easier. We suggest to get glass and plastic of all different sizes. Check out this post for some of our Essentials.

SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED:

5 ingredient homemade hummus
Essentials
​Food Prep using the muffin pan
Snacks to Pack
No Bake Bites
​Breakfast Ideas

Like this post? Here at The Meal Planning Method, we have been working hard behind the scenes to bring you tips, resources and materials to master meal planning this year! Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to learn about what we're cooking up! (pun intended😉)
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christy