Meal Prep Like a Badass (Read: Without Feeling Overwhelmed) With This 1 Tip
It seems that there are two camps of attitudes when it comes to meal prep: super excited and completely overwhelmed. I fall squarely between the two (as in, I actually love planning and cooking, but I get overwhelmed by infinitely long to-do lists). If you’re anything like me and you get so excited about something that you make an eons-long task list, only to be paralyzed by the mere idea of such a long list, then try this: break it up into two days.
This might mean doing your shopping on one day and prep on the other, or starting your prep on a Saturday afternoon when you have an hour and finishing it up on a Sunday. I used to try to pack everything into Sunday — grocery shopping (at one or two markets) in the late morning, then hours upon hours of chopping, washing, cooking, baking, and storing . . . followed by at least an hour of dishes. Not going to sugarcoat it: packing all that into one day really sucks and takes the joy out of cooking and prepping for me.
If I have the time, I break it up by shopping early on a Saturday (after a workout class, if I’m being extra ambitious) and just chopping veggies and cooking quinoa (sometimes chicken, too). I keep it super simple and wash the dishes immediately after. On Sunday, my ingredients are ready to go, so I can bake protein muffins and assemble quinoa bowls while the muffins are in the oven, or put salad packs together. It seems so ridiculously simple, but this one small change has made a huge difference in my attitude and energy level for meal prep — and it definitely doesn’t feel as overwhelming.
Try chopping some veggies while you’re watching a movie or making your quinoa for the week while you’re cooking your Saturday-night dinner. Break it up and get it done piece by piece, and you’ll be a pro in no time.
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