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Meal Prep Tips: Top 10 Meal Prep Ideas to Get Through Cleanse and Shake Days and Help You Stay Energetic Fit and Healthy
Help!! How do I get started with MEAL Prep!!?
It sounds so intimidating, right? ;)
Where do you start when you've never done meal prep before but you want to get started with planning out your meals?
Believe me! I get it!!
Staying on track when you've committed to getting energetic, fit and healthy, can often be easier said than done, right!?
But don't worry... it's actually not as hard as you might think. And one of the things I've noticed is that meal prep can literally make or break your success in terms of making good choices and eating right!
So, first of all what is Meal Prep and why can it be so important?
Meal prep is simply planning and preparing all of your meals for the week in advance so that when it's time to eat, your healthy meal is already done and ready to go!
But, again, don't let this intimidate you!
Meal prep can be as involved as you want or as simple as you want. And it can even be as simple as having a schedule that you've made in advance with ideas of what to eat and when! (Yes, you don't literally have to cook EVERYTHING for the week all in one day... and I'm going to give you a suggestion that will help you avoid a lot of that altogether... phew!)
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- Anyone who has a very specific meal plan they are following such as with the 30 Day Shred Nutritional Cleansing and Fat Burning system.
- Anyone who is very busy and doesn't have time to make meals during the week.
- Anyone who many be more likely to give into temptation when hungry if a meal is not already there for them that had been pre-made.
So what are some of the most important tips that can help you with your Energetic, Fit and Healthy Meal Prep?
1- Be sure you have LOTS of tupperware containers on hand, because you will NEED them! ;)
2- Pick a day to plan and prepare your meals for the week. Any day that works for you when you have time to sit down, make your list, cook, divide etc...
Next, use this general guide to help you Plan and Prep your Meals:
The Energetic, Fit & Healthy Meal Prep Guide for Newbies:
(*Please note, I am not a personal trainer or nutritionist, these are simply tips that I have found useful for me and others I know. Nutritional requirements and goals may be different for you.)
HOW TO:
- Pick a day in the week as your "prep & plan" day
- Get your grocery shopping done on this day too!
PLAN
1. Plan out your meals for the week out:
- You will want a Protein, healthy Starch, Vegetable (and be sure to include your healthy fats!)
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| What should your Healthy Plate Look like? |
- Chicken Breasts, Boneless/Skinless
- Ground Turkey – 93% lean or higher
- Fish – Salmon, Tilapia, Shrimp
- 1 egg or 4 egg whites (tip: hard boil a bunch for the week!)
- 2 cups tofu or other meat alternative
- Starch options: opt for whole grain, complex carbohydrates!
- Quinoa— you can add whatever flavors/spices of dish to quinoa to boost flavor
- 1 baked Sweet potato or yam
- 1 cup steamed organic Brown rice
- 1 cup whole grain Pasta
- Rice Varities: 1 cup Jasmine, Basmati, Wild Grain
- Amaranth
- Vegetable options: leafy greens are your best bet here!
- 2-3 cups Spinach, Kale
- Green Beans
- Mushrooms
- Asparagus
- Brocoli
- Cucumber
- Red, Yellow, Orange Peppers
- Zucchini
- Spaghetti Squash
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Sugar Snap Peas
2. Be sure you have all ingredients on hand before you begin.
3. Add any additional items to your grocery list
PREP
1. Buy your groceries for the week
2. Peel, chop, slice all raw veggies for the week for lunches/snacks (Because it's easier to make Healthy choices when you have them ready and available to be eaten!)
3. Repeat the process for any fruit you might need
4. Prep your protein/meals (see below)
- Make specific meals to eat as alternating left overs
- Make items to store in the freezer and eat at a later time
- Make your meat "basic" to be used in a variety of ways through out the week
Tips:
1. Cook enough protein, veggies, starches to eat for the week
(keeping these items basic will make them more versatile to use during the week)
OR
2.Cook two meals to generate enough meals to alternate for the week (five days of dinners)
Simple Ideas for Meal Prep:
2- Pre-prep salads for lunch- salads are an easy, and healthy meal you can make ahead and divide up into mason jars so they are ready to go throughout the week.
3- Overnight Oats for Breakfast- If you've never tried overnight oats, you're missing out! A simple and easy to make breakfast that you can make the night before to save time in the morning.
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| Overnight Oats are DELICIOUS! |
Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic rolled oats
1/2 cup milk of choice (I usually opt for unsweetened Cashew or Almond Milk)
1/2 cup fat free plain greek yogurt
1 TBS Chia seedsStevia to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Directions: Put all ingredients into bowl or mason jar, cover and let refrigerate overnight. The oats and chia seeds will absorb the liquid and be nice and thick and ready to eat in the morning!
Simple variations: add dried fruits, nuts, nut butters, Protein powder etc
Meal Prep Ideas for the 30 Day Nutritional Cleansing and Fat Burning System-
So, for those of us who are following the 30 day system to help rid their body of toxins and build lean muscle, you will be following a more specific pre-set schedule of shake days and cleanse days.
Meal prep for these days will actually be much more simple because you will only require 5-6 actual meals throughout the week (most people choose lunch or dinner for those meals) and then the rest will be either shake or cleanse days. :) Yay! Less meal-prep! ;)
Here are some more meal prep ideas to help you soar through your Shake and Cleanse days:
2- Peel, Freeze and Chop bananas and other fruits for shakes- one thing I've learned is that having the fruit already to go in easy to blend chunks is MUCH easier than a whole, frozen banana or worse yet, one that you forgot to peel before you froze it! (oops!)
4- Clear your pantry of temptations! Take any snacks or unhealthy foods out of your fridge and pantry or at the very least move them out of view and reach. Studies have shown that putting health foods at eye level and in the front and unhealthy foods out of reach and eye view makes it much easier to ensure you'll make better choices when you get the munchies!
5- Write it down! A Food and Exercise journal is a great way to make sure you are making good choices. There's just something about having to write down '10 Oreo cookies' that makes skipping that bad choice much easier!
6- Stay accountable! Share your results everyday with a friend or accountability group! When you know you have to report to someone it makes it a lot easier to remember to stay on track!7- For Cleanse Days, put your Isa-Snacks and IsaDelights in baggies so they are ready to go.
Next, read:
Meal prep can seem like a lot of work but if you plan it out right and know what you want to accomplish, it can help you soar through your week and stay on top of your energetic, fit and healthy goals!
And if you're following the 30 day Nutritional Cleansing and Fat Burning meal plan your meal prep will be much simpler and your results will be much better because you're first be addressing the issue of toxins in the body.
*Go here now to see what I mean about Toxins, how they make us fat and what you can do about it!*
Related/Recent Posts:
- Is Your Protein Powder Safe? Choose the Right Protein Powder and What to Look for and Look OUT for with Ingredients!
- Shake it Up on Shake Days! Top 10 Protein Shake Recipes You've Got to Try!
- Chase Down Your Food Choice Consequences - Can 1 Bad Choice Today REALLY lead to a 25lb Weight Gain later??
- What happens to Body Fat during a Nutritional Cleanse, Anyways?
I would love to be able to do this! It is great but for me to get organized to this, would be overwhelming. Thanks for the great tips!
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