I don’t know about you but growing up my mom always had a full dinner on the table by 5:30 sharp. Most meals consisted of a serving of meat, vegetable, and a starch. She worked all day, came home, and started to prepare dinner. She made it look effortless. Now that I have a family of my own, I realize that my mom likely spent more time planning our family meals than I realized.
We all want to serve our families well rounded healthy meals, right? As a Culinary Nutrition Expert, it is my duty to be sure I am serving meals that are nutritious, and delicious. The best way I know how to accomplish this is simple…….Meal Preparation.
“For every minute spent planning, an hour is earned.” Thinkfit.
Meal Prep Ideas and Recipes
In meal prepping it is a lot easier to plan healthy, balanced, and delicious meals. You won’t be rushed after a long day of work to create a nutritious meal. It will already be done. There are different ways to meal prep, there is no right or wrong way. You need to figure out which one works best for you and your schedule.
Make Ahead Meals – Try putting together a hearty casserole the night before you intend to serve it to the family is a great time saver. Give this recipe a try - Enchilada Casserole
Batch Cooking & Freezing – Doubling up recipes and portioning them out to be frozen for future meals. Give this recipe a try - Creamy White Bean Soup
Meals for One - Prepare food and portion it in single-serving containers. (Usually enough to last a few days.) Give this recipe a try - Roasted Broccoli Chicken and Barley Bowl
Ingredient Prep One Pan Meals- Chop veggies, (but not too far in advance) mix spices, or marinade meat in advance to save time when you’re ready to cook. Give this recipe a try - One Pan Shrimp with Asparagus and Feta
“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” – ThinkFit
Benefits to Meal Preparation
Reduce Stress – Ever have those days when it is 5pm, and you have no idea what to make for dinner? Well, if you give meal prepping a chance you won’t need to stress about that any longer.
Manage Portion Size – In meal prepping it will allow you to be more mindful of how much per serving size, and therefore more control over how many calories per serving.
Time Saver – I find the most time-consuming part of making meals is the preparation. If you do most of this ahead of time the more time you will have to enjoy the fruits of your labor and relax afterword.
Money Saver – If you take some time to meal prep it is less likely to spend the money on take out on the evenings when you can’t think of what to make.
“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” – ThinkFit