My friends,
I’d like to introduce you to Allison, founder of Prep Dish! She has an amazing system for prepping and taking the guess work (and bad decisions with food) out of your weekly meals! So be sure to read **on and find out how you can prep ahead and keep your weekly meals healthy & stress free! Without further ado, here’s Allison with her 5 Tips for Stress-Free Healthy Meals!!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5 Tips for Stress-Free Healthy Meals to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
By Allison Schaaf, founder of PrepDish.com
In 2015, 57% of Americans said their top two New Year’s Resolutions were to stay fit and healthy and lose weight. This includes eating better and eating out less. Making a resolution to eat healthier in the new year is easy enough, but life gets busy and other obligations get in the way.
I get it! Maintaining clean and healthy eating habits when time is short can be challenging. The temptation to lean on the convenience of processed foods is high. Fight the urge to hit the drive though with my simple tips for fitting healthy, whole foods into your busy schedule. These tips will help you change your mindset and create healthy eating habits all year long!
- Plan ahead- The best thing you can do to save your sanity and keep you on track is to plan ahead. Set aside 30 minutes over the weekend to review the upcoming week’s schedule and plan out your meals accordingly. Having a weekly meal plan in place before the craziness of Monday morning comes will help to ensure you’re not left hungry at the grocery store at 6 PM struggling for ideas, eating out (again!) or hitting the drive through.
- Proper storage- Inventory your travel containers and water bottles to make sure you have appropriate containers to send healthy meals and snacks with everybody in your family. Have at least 2-3 containers and water bottles per person so there is always a clean set to use and spare if someone loses one or leaves a lunch box somewhere. Be sure to have quality insulated bags and cold packs as well as travel utensils. I also recommend a good thermos for packing soups, stews, chilis, etc.
- Grocery lists – Take the time to create a grocery store list template that is organized by store departments. This will save you so much time at the store and help stop you from purchasing things you simply do not need. Hint: some grocery stores have lists set up for you on their websites.
- Prep Day- Front load the work by setting aside one day per week as “Prep Day.” For most of our subscribers, this usually happens on Saturday or Sunday. On Prep Day, you will pre-chop veggies, mix marinades and prep a giant salad for the week. Taking 2-3 hours on one day, will save you at least 30 minutes to 1 hour per day of cooking! I also recommend packing snacks (like nuts & dried fruits or popcorn baggies) and lunches ahead of time. This will save your morning sanity – promise!
- Eat leftovers – Take the guesswork out of mealtime by preparing an extra serving or two at dinner. Leftovers make great lunches the next day or can double as dinner again. Get creative and see how you can re-use your proteins. Example: Baked chicken for dinner makes great chicken salad for lunch. Or beef roast on Monday can be reused as the filling for “lettuce wrap” Taco Tuesday – just switch up the sides!
The key to success lies in prepping ahead and staying organized. No more “what am I eating?” guesswork!
What are you favorite meal prep tips? Do you have favorite prep-ahead dinners or lunches? We’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below.
ALLISON BIO:
Chef & dietitian Allison Schaaf founded mealplanning website PrepDish.com as a way to help busy folks get healthy meals on the table. Subscribers receive weekly meal plans containing an organized grocery list and instructions for spending 2-3 hours prepping meals for the week ahead of time. Visit PrepDish.com/coco to sign up for a $4 one month** trial today!
**About 6 months ago (or so…), I tried out Prep Dish‘s plan and I shared the meals with you. They were delicious and very much worth the effort you put into prepping on the weekend. There are grocery lists that have you in check for the weeks shopping and what I love most, is that she has you using much of the same ingredients for most of the meals throughout the week so when you’re prepping a zucchini (for instance), you are prepping it a few different ways to fit in each given meal that particular week. It’s honestly a life saver in so many ways! Click here to read more on my week with Prep Dish!
Happy Prepping! ~Valerie aka: Coco
