Food Prep.
What is it and why?
For me its 2 hours, give or take, once a week where I make my food for the week. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.
Why?
Because it's cheaper and healthier. Before you say "But healthy food is expensive!", let me say I average $3 per HEALTHY meal. That's the actual meal (a carb, a protein, and vegetables) and a piece of fruit. That's also 300-500 calories.
But fast food? Even if you get 3 items from the dollar menu good luck getting a lower calorie count than 1,000. And something that's actually food.
And fast?
My 2 hours a week means 2-3 mins a meal. Just as good, or better, than a drive thru.
And now for some how. That rhymed. ;)
1. Containers
Buy some. But a lot of them. All sizes. Think about how many you need: a week's worth of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. That's roughly 42 containers for me, give or take. Sometimes I use one big container for a meal then dish it out day of if there's no space in the fridge.
2. Frozen vegetables
Yes, fresh is best. But ain't no body got time fo chopping a week's worth of vegetables. Bagged frozen is a BIIIIG time saver. Bonus: cut a slit in the top of the bag and any bag of frozen vegetables becomes a "steam in bag" pack. You're welcome.
3. Freeze often
No, I don't mean stock up on frozen pizza bites and ice cream. But do stock up on sale items and save them in the freezer for later. Make chili, waffles, soups, what have you and defrost when needed. Freeze peeled bananas for "ice cream" and frappes, too.
4. Crockpot
Sauces, chicken, sweet potatoes. There's a lot you can cook with little effort.
5. Instant brown rice.
Cooking non-instant rice can take forever and can test your patience (underdone, too wet, burnt). Instant brown rice takes 7 mins in the microwave and you're done.
6. Write it down
I'm a visual person. I need a list I can see or I will forget that I bought avocados to use with lunch then they will go bad... Wasted food is a no-no. Write down what you're going to eat this week. Put it on your fridge or save it as a note on the smart phone you currently have in your hand. This way you will be fully prepared for food prep and not have to use pre-packaged food.
7. But what store boughts are worth it?
If you can pronounce the ingredients and the ingredient list isn't a novel, you're allowed to buy it. If you suck at tortilla making like me, you're allowed to buy whole grain tortillas. If you suck at making bread like me, you're allowed to buy whole grain bread. I suck at making salsa too... Just make sure the product has real ingredients.
8. Bulk.
Bulk is your friend. Why? Because it's cheaper. My pantry looks like an episode of hoarders sometimes. Yikes.
9. The most important tip I'm going to give you today? LEARN TO COOK. Learn a new cooking skill at least every other week. People don't cook anymore (that's not a judgmental statement if you can't cook). Somewhere we decided that frozen microwave meals and fast food were ok. They're not. But, cooking doesn't have to be TV show worthy. We have YouTube and Google at our disposal. Look up how to brown meat, cook noodles, scramble eggs, roast a chicken. You'll thank me for the sense of accomplishment when you're done.
One of the many good things about food prep is if you have a meal ready to go, there's no need for junk food. But, don't forget to live. Eat a burger. Have some pizza with friends. It's your birthday? Have a piece of cake. Just make sure that 80-90% of your food is healthy and, if possible, all made by you.
Bon appetit!
