Meal Prep Monday

I am not one to spend hours one day a week prepping all of my meals for the week and placing them into individual containers. However, I applaud those that are. I did it for years when I was competing, and I know how tedious it can be. Tedious for a day, but does save you time the rest of the week. And I realize some people stay on track better with their eating when they are fully prepped this way.

I personally prefer to prep a different way now. I prefer to eat my meals fresh if at all possible. I know others are this same way. I am not one for reheating food unless it is something I can heat stovetop such as soup or chili. I don't even own a microwave. Have not for years, and I don't miss it. So I have found a way to prep that I feel saves me time, but keeps me on track, I can make most of my meals fresh, but I don't have to spend an entire day in the kitchen. It just requires a little bit of time over a few days, a little bit of planning and routine, but it fits better into my busy schedule.

Day 1. Clean out fridge, take mental inventory of what I have, make a meal plan for the week (exactly what I will eat for my 3 meals every day plus 2-3 snacks a day), and make a grocery list.

Day 2. Grocery store

Day 3. Prep snacks ready to grab throughout the week. (I think this is a really important step and where I could fail if not done.) I like to do individual bags of dates and almonds and deli meat for grab and go. I might also slice some veggies, make a big bowl of salad to use throughout the week, or cook some things in bulk that I can use in recipes during the week. I.e. Quinoa, rice, bacon. Things that don't require a lot of work, but take time to cook. Things that will simplify my cooking and save me some time the rest of the week.

That's it. I don't like to spend more than an hour each of these days on the tasks. So it's easy to find the time spread out over a few days rather than cramming it all into one day. I know this isn't the ideal way to meal prep for everyone, but this is what I've found works for me. I like to keep it simple because if it's too complicated or time-consuming, I'm less likely to stick with it. And knowing that I will only be spending a short amount of time on it each day, I enjoy it.