Meal Prep 101: 9 Tips To Help You Prep Like a Pro

Meal prep is an essential part of many busy fitness fanatics’ lives. However, the usual grilled chicken and broccoli made on a Sunday and eaten five days in a row can get hideously boring and uninspiring. Thanks to Winnie of Winnie’s Balance, here are 9 meal-prep hacks to take your meals from blah to brilliant.

When you’re trying to save time and money, it’s important to focus on a few key ingredients that you can prepare several different ways, or different ingredients that you can prepare the same way.

Buy your favorite source of protein, and cook 3 versions of it in the same panMeal Prep 101: 9 Tips To Help You Prep Like a Pro

If you love chicken or turkey, buy lots of it. First, use aluminum foil to create dividers in your baking tray. Then, season your meat in three different and interesting ways. Make a turkey curry, thyme and rosemary turkey or even barbecue turkey. You can also skewer your meats ahead of time to control portion sizes and to cut down on waste.

Freeze smoothie concoctions ahead of time

Don’t have time to sift through smoothie ingredients every morning? Use your weekends to create smoothie bags ahead of time. You can portion out your ingredients in advance and pop the baggies in the freezer and just add milk when you’re ready. Alternatively, you can blend ingredients ahead of time and freeze them in a muffin tin. Then, when you want a smoothie, just pop the “muffin” in the blender with your fresh ingredients and you’re ready to go without too much muss or fuss.

Cook several different veggies the same way

“I don’t mean in an uninspiring way. If you want to roast broccoli, get some other vegetables to roast at the same time,” she explains. You can season them all differently, but the goal is to fill the oven with as many trays as it can carry. Now, that’s multitasking at its finest.

Chop a variety of veggies in advance

Lots of vegetables freeze very well. Onions and garlic can be chopped and frozen so you can sauté them at a later date. You can also chop or spiralize zucchini as it holds up well in the fridge for 3-5 days. “Spiralizing is a great way to get your kids involved in meal prep as it’s a fun and safe activity to get them to help out with,” Winnie says. Other veggies like carrots and peppers can last up to a week in the fridge as long as they are stored in an air-tight container.

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