What is meal prep?
Meal prep is the process of planning and preparing meals for the days to come. Prepping gives total control and awareness to what you eat. The meals are perfectly portioned and ready to eat so it’s not a guessing game.
From bodybuilders to beginners, meal prep makes hitting your macro intake a breeze. Prep is the perfect opportunity to measure out calories first, instead of tracking during the day.
Before prepping meals, it’s important to have a kitchen equipped with some prep essentials. Our recommend tools have helped us speed up the process and stay on track week-after-week.
Getting started
Stay focused. Meal prep takes time, especially if it’s a new concept of eating. Here are the basics for getting started:
- Plan: Make a list. Do not goto the store without knowing every meal you’ll be eating for the week. Write down every meal and snack for Monday-Friday. Break down each meal into its ingredients and you have yourself a great starting point. For awesome meal ideas, Kevin is killing it over at FitMenCook.Pick day of the week, Sunday is popular, for buying food and prepping. Think about buying and prepping food as the same task. Start with a 4 hour window for plenty of time. Create a weekly event in your calendar as a reminder.Use a notebook for a food prep list every week. Make notes when things don’t turn out right or you find a new technique for cooking potatoes. Last week’s list is handy to quickly transfer favorite items over and to cross out the “never again” ones.
- Prep: The right tools in the kitchen will make the process fast and enjoyable. After a few weeks you’ll get into a routine, learning the best techniques for prepping each item. Cutting broccoli, trimming chicken and boiling rice will become second nature.Develop a system for prepping. Start prepping as soon as the last grocery bag hits the counter. Take everything out of the bags and separate them by category: protein, carbs, veggies, etc. Putting the food away first is counter productive and implies the “I’ll prep before a goto bed” mentality.
- Eat: Ready to eat meals at your fingertips. Enjoy the freedom of not having to think about what’s for lunch or dinner. Store your meals, snacks and supplements inside a meal management bag. At the end of the day, empty out the dirty containers and start again in the morning.Eating clean, healthy meals is the end goal. Meal prep is the answer. Whether you’re a beginner, needing a fresh start or looking for new techniques, we’re here to help take the pain out of the process.