One of the most common obstacles to food preparation is lack of time.  None of us have enough of it yet we know that planning and preparing our own meals strongly contributes towards healthy nutritional habits.  It seems counterintuitive, but the best way to save time on meal planning and prep is to actually spend some time doing it.  I am able to do this in the shortest amount of time possible by doing batch preparation.  Meaning: cooking a ton at one time.   

Batch Prepping Meals

My favorite and most effective approach to cooking is to invest time at the front end of my week, usually a few hours on Sundays, to prepare food in batches to be used throughout the week.  Of course, I understand that means you actually have to have the food and ingredients available and know what you want to make.  In my next post, I will go over my typical grocery list and the staples that I keep in the kitchen regularly in order to set me up for food prep success.  Also, this means that you have to be comfortable eating leftovers. I get that not everyone likes them. 

Start with Staples - Protein and Vegetables 

To save time on the food prep itself, my weekly batch prep typically consists of a selection of a few core foods from the categories of protein, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates.  For example, this could look like baked chicken thighs, ground turkey burgers and hard-boiled eggs for the proteins, roasted vegetables and sautéed greens for the vegetables and roasted sweet potatoes, oatmeal and rice for the carbohydrates.   After that, they can be assembled and portioned into balanced meals and stored in the refrigerator for easy access during the week ahead. I make enough so that I can throw together a few meals for workday lunches.  I also highly recommend having a variety of healthy sauces, spices or other flavorings on hand to add variety to each meal.  Specifically, I use salsa, pesto and different spices like chili powder, cumin or curry powder. 

Use Glass Storage Containers

As a side note, I use glass containers for food storage because they are less toxic than plastics or other storage container materials and they tend to keep food fresher longer.  

Keep it Simple and then Assemble

I have learned from trial and error in my batch prep sessions that this simple approach works; the less complex I keep my meal planning the more success I have with it. Consequently, it has resulted in finding many family friendly meals that have become a part of the regular meal planning rotation.  At meal time, we have an option of a few varieties of foods that I have prepared with different sauces and dressings so each family member has the opportunity to “customize” their meal.  During my batch prep sessions, I often prepare a meal or two that can be frozen and used when needed, such as soups, stews and chilis.  

If I can help you get started on effective and healthy meal planning and prepping, please reach out!