Meal prepping is one of those things you know you should do but don’t know where to start. Or you’re scared it will take too much out of your already busy day. We get it! School and work takes a lot out of the day. But what if I told you it isn’t as bad and as scary as you think it is? Here are 3 reasons meal prepping is worth your time to do:
1. Saves $$$
Eating out takes a toll out of your bank account a lot more than you think it does. You’ll save a lot even just by eating in 1-2 nights a week.
2. Saves Time
By planning your meals ahead of time, you won’t be sitting in front of the refrigerator wondering what your next meal should be. It’ll also help streamline your grocery list.
3. More nutritious
Lets you control what’s in your food, and is especially helpful when keeping track of your health
Overall, you’ll stress less about what you’re eating since it’s already been prepared! You don’t have to meal prep all the meals of the week. You can start small by preparing 1-3 meals and you’ll already be reaping the benefits.
Source: Bon Appetit
Now that you know it’s worth your time to do, where and how do you start? Here are some tips to kick start the prep:
1. Map out how much time you’re willing to commit to meal prepping:
This can vary every week! Plan when you can prep your meals for the week and stick to it
2. Plan out which meals (i.e. lunch, dinner) you should prep beforehand:
Perhaps you’ll be out the entire day and don’t have time to cook for the night, or you’ll be out all day studying and want to eat lunch without leaving your study spot.
3. Plan out the components of your meal
The 2019 Canada Food Guide released a guide on the construction of your plate to ensure a healthy variety of food groups to your meal. We also have some awesome resources on our nutrition section like The Balanced Plate on how to build your nutritious meal.
4. Pick simple or familiar recipes to try out first and create more portions for packing
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It’ll be much easier to adjust to scheduling and portion control.
But most importantly...HAVE FUN!
Instead of making it a chore, enjoy the cooking process and learning about different foods that you can easily make for the go!
