Not preparing most of your food will lead to little control over your health & body.
This guide will give you a starting point and some examples to hopefully help you feel empowered to come up with your own system of meal prep you can consistently execute.
#1: Tradeoffs
When we first start trying to eat better and meal prep, we tend to have big eyes and want to make every meal unique, amazing, and life-changing.
But the reality is, before our attempt to eat better, when we ate whatever and had EVERYTHING as a possibility, we still ate the same 5-8 meals the majority of the time.
The key to being efficient with healthy meal prep is to accept sacrificing some novelty & variety for easier & more sustainable prep.
#2: System
I will be laying out a simple example system of efficient prep. It is not meant to be the exact and only way… just an example to get you thinking about having a system and focusing on principles instead of individual recipes.
When we try and do a different recipe for every meal of every day, that is when we get in trouble, and it ultimately becomes unsustainable and does not last.
We have to find a balance.
We have to find our go-to’s.
Here is what you would need for my system of efficient meal prep:
- crock pot
- pots & pans
- microwave
- refrigerator
Simple! All stuff most people have already besides maybe the crock pot.
Now, I am going to lay out a meal prep process that would get most of your week of food done in 30 minutes of actual prep time for the entire week!
Sounds crazy, but here we go:
Saturday Morning: Go grocery shopping. Make sure to get:
- chicken thighs or breast or pork tenderloin
- 97/3 ground beef or turkey
- plain greek yogurt
- eggs
- frozen and/or fresh fruit
- frozen steamable bags of veggies
- baby spinach/lettuce mix
- rice/potato
- wraps/buns
Saturday Night:
Put 3-4 pounds of either chicken breast or thighs, or pork tenderloin in the crock pot. Season up how you like… spices or sugar-free bbq sauce, or marinate earlier in the day in something like an Italian dressing.
Hit the Low button.
Total prep time: 2 mins
Sunday Morning: Start boiling 1-2 dozen eggs (this takes around 20 minutes)
While they are boiling, throw 2 pounds of your ground meat in a pan with spices and brown up, which takes about 10 minutes)
Then take the meat out of the crock pot, shred it up, and put it in a container.
Put the ground meat in a container.
By now, the eggs are finishing up. Ice bath and then store in the fridge.
Total prep time: 20 mins
Proteins: Now, in 20 mins of work, you have the hard part done; all your proteins are prepped for the week.
You have your greek yogurt on hand, eggs boiled, and two different kinds of meat prepped.
Fruits & Veggies: These are basically done as well. Because fruit is already on hand and ready to go, and your veggies just need to go in the microwave.
Starches: Now, for things like oats, rice, and potatoes, you can batch prep as well. Firing up the rice cooker (which can be used to make all 3 of those things) or a simple pot to cook up these things typically takes 20 minutes or so.
#3: Meals
You want your meals to be based around lean protein and veggies/fruit.
So all you have to do is combine one of your prepped proteins with your veggies or fruit.
Throw some berries in your greek yogurt.
Pair your eggs and an apple or two.
Take your shredded chicken thighs and combine them with a low-carb wrap, sugar-free sauce, and some shredded lettuce, and throw a bag of steamable veggies in the microwave to have on the side.
You have options and leeway here.
Instead of exact recipes you are bound to, you have a template that provides enough structure to eliminate a lot of effort and thinking but some room for options and flexibility.
#4: Variety
Like we talked about in the beginning…
You are making a tradeoff of unlimited variety and options (which makes grocery shopping and meal prepping way more complicated and time-consuming)
For a more simple and streamlined process that has more likely hood of being sustainable.
But there is still room for variety.
Mix up your meats…
Mix up your spices/seasonings/sauces
One thing like shredded pork tenderloin can be used for a different lunch every day if you want.
One thing, like shredded pork tenderloin, can be used for a different lunch every weekday.
Monday: served over a cup of rice with sugar-free sauce drizzled on top and steamed veggies mixed in.
Tuesday: tossed with BBQ sauce and served on a Hawaiian roll along with a bag of steamed broccoli.
Wednesday: served over mixed greens with a portioned amount of dressing and pear on the side
Thursday: tossed with sauerkraut and served over a microwaved potato.
Friday: portioned into 2 taco shells and topped with lettuce, salsa, and low-fat shredded cheese
Summary
#1: Accept and make tradeoffs
#2: Create a system
#3: Meal structure
#4: Simple variety
Hopefully, this guide gives you some ideas and inspiration to come up with your own process.
Ditching the endless individual recipe search and coming up with a template of sorts where you can plug and play different food choices.
I promise you while it may seem more restrictive on the surface, you will actually find freedom, and your own creativity will expand by having SOME guardrails and limitations.
Most importantly a process that is repeatable and sustainable.
Dedicated to Your Success,
Gary
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