Meal Prep 101

Now that the holidays are done and we are settled into the new year, let's look at how we are planning to set ourselves up for success when it comes to meal prep. Whether you have a large family a small family or it is just you; I want to give you some key tricks of the trade that you can implement to get you succeeding with what you are eating.

First you need to plan out timing of your meals and the best breakdown for you to be your best. For some this looks like macro tracking, and for others it might be a ketogenic diet. Either way, set a goal for your consumption. That could be getting more veggies on your plate too, this does not have to be some lofty goal; just pick a focus. I know plenty of people who just want to eat delicious meals and need the extra time during the week.

Next you need to decide what day works best for you. Pick a day to shop and cook on the same day or you can shop one evening and then cook the next day! This is dependent on your schedule but pick something that you know you are going to adhere to. The main reason we want to have a plan for grocery shopping is we want to have a list and be focused and preferably not hungry. We have all done it, I mean I still do it; you go in and you are starving and you maybe have a few items on your list then you look down as you are about to load the groceries up and it looks like a toddler did your shopping! Avoiding shopping when you are hungry, and having a detailed list is key to success. Another great tip is to plan your route in the grocery store. So, this looks like putting the items in order of where they are in the store in relation to each other!

When planning our meals another thing to consider is what meal is the hardest for you to get or puts a dent in your day. I know many that really struggle to get breakfast, whereas there are many others who are not great at lunch; and there is always a few that have ball practice or lots of family things going on that struggle with dinner. One strategy is to pick the meal that is the hardest and prep that one! This is all dependent on your needs and your goals.

Once we have our plan for consumption, we have done our shopping and now we need to cook. If you are looking to have more protein in your diet and say you get chicken breast you do not want it to be dry if you are eating it for multiple days. A great way to get chicken cooked to a texture that will keep you going back for that meal is to use a croc pot! Put your spices and ingredients in and let that pot cook!

Once we have cooked our delicious meals we need to cool them off! A great way to set up your fridge is to have a carb shelf with one or two options and then have a protein shelf that has a variety too! You could do chicken, beef and fish and then just mix that up with whatever else you made like maybe rice, noodles and potatoes! That is probably my favorite way to meal prep because it gives me variety and I know I will eat everything and love it! You can do this with your pantry too. Whatever the nutritional focus is make that the forefront of your eye. We see this in grocery stores all the time, whatever is eye level is feening for your attention so let's do that with our pantry! When it comes to meal prep containers I love ole tride and true mason jars, they are easy to store, clean, and head up well in the microwave too!

I hope you have enjoyed these tips and that you will implement some of them! If you want to avoid all of that we do sell Chef made meal prep right in our building that you are always welcome to stop in and purchase. Happy eating!

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Dr. Josh Cornett PT, DPT, COMT, CDNT

Return 2 Sport PT

www.Return2SportPT.com

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