#Girlboss: How to meal prep for the busy week ahead

As the name suggests meal prepping is the art of planning and preparing your meals in advance. This has become a popular trend among busy mums, professionals and even young people who either don’t have the time or do not want to have to cook every day.

Pre-planning your meals can also help you reduce your portion sizes since you apportion it way in advance. Many times when we cook on an empty stomach you tend to prepare too much and then end up overeating. Meal prepping can, therefore, help you eat smaller portions of healthier meals and this can help you lose weight as well as meet your nutrition goals.

Whether you want to plan your meals for the week or for just a few busy days, there are different ways to prep your meals. Let’s look at some.

a. Batch cooking

This refers to making large portions of a specific dish then you split it into smaller portions and keep them frozen over the next few weeks. This method will provide you with meals that you can eat for lunch or for an easy, quick dinner since the food will only have to be reheated.

b. Meals that are portioned individually

This is when fresh meals are prepared and portioned into small individual portions that will be refrigerated to be eaten over the next couple of days.

c. Make-ahead meals

These are full meals that are cooked in advance and can be refrigerated and reheated when one wants to eat. 

d. Ready-to-cook ingredients

This entails preparing ingredients for specific meals ahead of time in order to reduce the amount of time used in the kitchen.

Meal prepping has become an ideal way for busy working women to be able to carry food to work and also avoid missing any meals or opting for takeout which can be expensive and unhealthy when eaten for long periods of time.

These are some of the things you need to know about meal prepping and how it can work for you.

1. Have a consistent schedule

Meal prepping will work when you have a regular schedule and you stick by it. Set a day when you will shop for groceries and when you will prep your meals. Incorporate this in your weekly routine. Ensure the schedule suits you and does not interfere with your daily home and work routine.

2. Pick the right combination of recipes

The effectiveness of your meal prep depends entirely on the combination of recipes you pick. If you have recipes that will take too long to prepare during the week, doing so in advance will save you a lot of time. The point of meal prepping is to save on time during the week. It’s also advisable to select recipes that require different cooking methods and avoid recipes that all need the use of the same appliances like an oven as this will limit the number of dishes you can prepare at once.

3. Organize your prep and cook times accurately

Your prep and cook times need to be organized carefully as having a well-organized and thought out workflow will help save you a lot of time. Start with the recipe that requires a lot of time to cook and once this dish is cooking, you can focus on the simpler recipes. The cold meals should be prepared last as they can be made easily while everything else is cooking. To save time prepare common ingredients in one go, for instance, dice as many onions as you will need for all your meals to avoid having to dice them over and over again.

4. Make an updated shopping list

Going grocery shopping can take up a lot of your time when you don’t pre-plan. Keep an updated grocery list of the things you need, and before you leave the house make sure you double-check the kitchen to make sure you do not forget to buy anything. You can limit the number of times you go shopping for groceries to about once a week or use home delivery services to avoid having to go and spend time at grocery stores.