Prepping your meals ahead of time can be a game-changer if you're tired of eating the same thing every night or don't have time to cook. Meal prep doesn't have to be hard and it can save you time and money—and even help you lose weight. Let's take a look at why meal prep is so great, what it means to do it, and how to get started!
When you're first starting out
When you're first starting out, it can feel like meal prep is all about prepping. You may think that all your time will be spent chopping and dicing vegetables and washing dishes, but there's more to meal prep than just preparing food. In fact, if you plan your meals correctly, most of your work will be done before any chopping or dicing takes place!
Preparing Your Meals. When planning out your weekly menu plans:
- Plan how much time you want to spend prepping each day/weekend (ease into it!)
- Prepare breakfast ahead of time (or make sure there's something quick & easy)
- Pack snacks for the week ahead of time so they are ready when hunger strikes again later on
- Make sure they include some protein as well as carbs; this helps keep blood sugar levels stable so no spikes occur later on either!
Meal prep can be easier
You can save a ton of money by meal prepping. For example, if you spend $15 on lunch every day at work, that adds up to about $450 per month. If you were to make your own lunches instead and spend only $10 per day on groceries for those meals (or, less), you would save at least $150 per month or more.
It also helps save money because it makes grocery shopping easier--you don't have to go out as often and buy random things here or there--and it saves time so that you won't have to waste any extra minutes deciding what to eat each day when all of your food is already prepared for the week ahead of time.
Another benefit is that when you're making a large batch of something like soup or chili at home rather than buying individual servings from restaurants or takeout places, there's less packaging involved which means less waste going into landfills!
Meal prepping can help you lose weight
- Meal Prep can help you eat healthier.
- Meal Prep can help you save money.
- Meal Prep can reduce waste by making sure that all of your food is fresh and ready to eat, so there's no temptation to overeat or waste anything at all! This also helps reduce stress in the kitchen, which allows for more time with friends and family outside of mealtime itself--and it's a great way to build a better relationship with food overall!
It offers a sense of control over your food
One of the biggest benefits of meal prep is that it offers a sense of control over your food. You can control what you eat, how much you eat, and even when and where you eat it. Meal prep can save time by reducing the number of times each week that you have to cook from scratch. It also saves money: buying in bulk or cooking at home instead of eating out can dramatically cut down on costs.
Meal prepping is especially useful for people who want to lose weight or reduce stress--it allows them to plan ahead so they don't overeat during their busy days (or nights).
It makes time for cooking and eating less stressful
Meal prep can help you save time and money, lose weight, feel more in control of your food, and make time for cooking and eating less stressful. It also means that if you're short on cash or feeling especially hungry after a long day at work (or both), there's always something healthy waiting for you in the fridge.
One of the best things about meal prepping is that it doesn't have to happen every single week--just once or twice per month will make an enormous difference in your life! Don't worry if this sounds like too much work; once you get started with it, it'll become second nature within no time at all!
You don't have to be perfect at it!
The most important thing to remember is that meal prep is a process, not an end result. The goal isn't perfection--it's progress. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of meals you need to make and/or if you feel like your preps are never going to be as good as those Instagrammers' photos, take a step back and look at what's working in your life right now. Maybe one week it's easier for me to prep on Sunday afternoon while watching TV with my kids or maybe another week I prefer waking up early before work so I can have some quiet time alone in the kitchen.
Whatever works best for YOUR lifestyle will help improve YOUR health!
Preparing meals ahead of time
When you prepare meals ahead of time, you can save money and time. You'll be able to buy in bulk, so you're not paying for each individual ingredient separately. This is especially helpful if you want to make a large batch of something like soup or chili because it will cost less per serving than buying small amounts at the grocery store. It also helps with meal planning because once the food is ready, there's no need to think about what's for dinner every night!
Having meals ready to go also means that on those nights when nothing sounds good or when everyone gets home late from work and school activities (and there are no leftovers), all that has to be done is heat up some delicious food! No more rushing out the door after work only because we don't have anything prepared; now we have options! This can save valuable time throughout our weekdays as well as give us peace of mind knowing our family has been taken care of properly even though things may seem chaotic around here sometimes.
Conclusion
Meal prepping doesn't have to be hard and it can save you time and money. The key is to start small and build up from there. Try prepping one meal at first, then two, then three, and so on!
