How to Meal Prep Healthy Recipes and Tips for Planning Meals
Preparing nutritious, filling meals each day can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Many health-conscious people over 50 embrace meal prepping as a way to make the process easier. Meal prepping can cut down on waste, save time and money, and prevent last-minute impulse eating. This leads to weight loss and better energy. Learn how to meal prep with confidence to reduce stress and enjoy more healthy recipes without spending hours in the kitchen.
Benefits of Meal Prepping
Meal prep is a new skill for many people. However, most soon realize that meal prepping comes with some major benefits.
Meal Prep Saves Money
Have you ever been facing the end of a long day, wondering what on earth to eat for dinner, when you decide to just give up and order takeout instead? Over the long run, prepackaged foods and restaurant meals can add up to big money. Prepping meals ahead saves money.
Meal Prep Saves Time
Some people worry that meal prep means spending an entire weekend day in the kitchen, prepping meals for the week ahead. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Meal prep ultimately saves most people time compared to preparing each meal individually.
Meal Prep Helps You Reach Your Goals
Meal planning helps you follow a healthy eating plan. Without last-minute impulse choices, meal prep ensures that you plan ahead for your food intake. Creating a meal plan allows you to find the optimal balance of nutrients you need, making your diet more balanced.
Meal Prep Helps with Weight Control
Many people find that prepping meals ahead of time helps them better control their portions. Over time, this contributes to healthy eating and weight loss.
How to Meal Plan for the Week
Different people use different strategies when meal prepping. Some prefer to buy all groceries for the week and prepare all meals ahead of time. Others may make a meal plan but only prep for the next 1-2 days. How you do it is up to your personal preference. Consider the typical rhythms of your week to avoid meal prepping on days that you tend to be busiest.
When planning meals for the week, make a spreadsheet or list for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you’re a creature of habit, you can make it easy on yourself by choosing the same meal prep recipes each week (e.g., every Tuesday is taco night, every Friday is fish and vegetables). If you prefer to switch it up, start listing meal prep recipes that appeal to you. Then, make a list of all of the ingredients you need when grocery shopping.
Keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules for meal prepping. You can start small by prepping all of your breakfasts for the week, for example, or go all in and prep every meal. Starting small allows you to make adjustments and learn how to incorporate this new skill into your routine.
How to Prep Ahead of Time
Set aside a specific meal prep time. Meal prep becomes easier as it is incorporated into your weekly rhythm. To get started, set aside more time than you think you’ll need. Building meal prep into your regular schedule will prevent it from becoming a last-minute frantic task.
Keep a Running List of Healthy Recipes You Enjoy
Staying organized while meal prepping will help you reduce stress and can be a huge time saver. You may choose to print out recipes and keep them in a binder, create a spreadsheet of favorite meal prep recipes, or save recipes to your phone. Saving plans from prior weeks can help you when you feel like you’re in a rut. Think creatively about sheet pan meals and other time saving recipes. The best meal prep recipes make multiple servings but don’t require a lot of hands-on time. Remember to include all of the major food groups, including whole grains, lean protein, vegetables, whole fruits, and healthy fats. Try out this heart healthy grocery list if you need some more ideas! This will promote weight loss and help you stick with your healthy eating plan.
Make Sure You Have Enough Meal Prep Containers
Meal prep containers don’t have to be fancy to be effective. However, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have enough to last the number of days you intend to prep for. Some people find it handy to keep leftover takeout containers as they get started with meal prep.
Stock Your Pantry Well
The better stocked your pantry, the easier it will be to meal prep food you’re actually excited to eat. Think through the major food groups: whole grains (e.g., brown rice, quinoa, rolled oats), legumes (canned and dried beans, lentils), canned goods (low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, tuna, salmon, chicken), oils (avocado oil or olive oil), shelf-stable vegetables like sweet potatoes or winter squash, nut butters, mixed nuts, dried fruit, and various spices that you enjoy.
Choose Meals That “Stack” Together
One of the benefits of making a meal plan is that you can plan meals ahead of time to get the maximum impact from the groceries you buy. This will save time and money. For example, perhaps you hard boiled eggs to make egg salad for lunch. You can use the extra hard boiled eggs on a hearty salad for dinner, or save some egg salad for breakfast the next day. Similarly, a cooked protein like roasted chicken breasts can be used for dinner one night, cubed for a breakfast omelet the next day, and shredded in tacos the following evening.
Use Your Freezer
Your freezer is a great tool for meal prep success. For example, you can prepare several slow cooker meals on the weekend by popping the ingredients in a freezer-safe bag and labeling it with cooking instructions. Alternatively, make a double batch of soup, lasagna, or breakfast burritos and save the extras for a subsequent meal.
Buy Foods That Make Your Life Easier.
Meal prepping doesn’t mean hours of drudgery as you chop a pile of vegetables for the week. Make life easier for yourself by purchasing pre-chopped vegetables or pre-shredded cheese. Or, use a food processor or similar tool to make the prep work go faster. Remember, meal prep should help you save time and money, not create extra work.
More Meal Prep from Mighty Health
With some trial and error, you’ll soon get in a meal prep routine that works for you and your family. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing an organized stack of meal prep containers in your refrigerator. Plus, you’ll save money, save time, and eat healthier, promoting weight loss and better well-being. If you need more meal prep inspiration, download the Mighty Health app for the best meal prep recipes for those over 50. We’re here to help you at every step of the journey.