MY WEEKLY MEAL PREP ROUTINE!
It’s no secret that I love my meal prep! It really is the number one way I’m able to stay on track with my eating and it also just starts me off with a healthy, fresh mind set. Having all my meals planned out and my fridge deliciously stocked also makes me look really forward to my workouts for that week! Remember if you “fail to plan, plan to fail!”
THERE ARE MULTIPLE BENEFITS TO MEAL PREPPING:
Less cheating!
When I prep my meals on a Sunday night or make an extra portion for dinner, I make a point to only purchase those items that are on my grocery list so this helps keep those little moments of weakness under control because guess what, if it’s not in my house, then I can’t eat it!
Saves you money
I don’t know about you, but before meal planning I tended to just wing it each night, either by running out to the store after work to make whatever I was in the mood for that night, ordering in or making a meal out of what I can find in the press.
This is also true for our lunches! When I was working in the city I was easily spending anywhere between €5 to €15 a day on food, depending on how stressed I was or if I was running to meet a client. Now I’m able to make enough food at night to bring in the next day for work and sometimes it even tastes better the next day.
HUGE time saver
Not only does meal prepping help me stay on track with consistent healthy eating, but it also gives me more time in the evenings to work out, relax, watch Peaky Blinders or really do whatever I want besides rushing home to cook! This is such a life saver because, I mean let’s be honest, after working a 9 to 5 job, sitting in traffic, changing for the gym and rushing home to make dinner in the hopes of eating before 9 PM, I tend to want to either skip the gym or order take out. So this is huge!
Helps meet your fitness goals
I know I already said this, but this is really important. When you plan out your meals ahead of time not only are you learning portion control, but fueling your body with wholesome nutritional food just makes you want to work out that much more! It’s so true when they say that “abs are made in the kitchen” – your body requires healthy food for endurance, strength and even weight loss so it’s a no-brainer that consistent meal planning should coincide with your fitness routine. I always try to plan out my workouts each week in the same notebook I write down all my meals with, this really helps me stay on track!
Varies up your meals!
Sometimes planning out meals each week can get a little monotonous since I tend to have a few go-to meals that I’m absolutely addicted to making, but one thing I have committed to doing is trying out at least 1 or 2 new recipes each week! Joe Wicks recipe book has definitely opened up my mind up to new recipes and different styles of cooking.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be hard either, you just have to commit to it first in your mind and plan the rest out from there! Start off by making a list of all of your favourite healthy dishes –you can find my favourite clean eating recipes here on my blog – then plan your dinners first. Once you have your dinners planned out you can then decide which ones make great leftovers for lunches the next day so that no food goes to waste and saves you time in the kitchen!
One of the things that I like to do that makes meal prepping super easy especially when I’m running out of creative ideas is making a big batch of roasted sweet potatoes, a big batch of roasted greens like broccoli, sweetcorn and green beans, a delicious big salad to last me all week, and a variety of lean proteins like chicken, turkey and fish. I’ll also add quinoa or brown rice to this combination as well just to change things up. Then simply just divide everything up into separate containers and you’re ready to go for the week! Throw in some healthy snacks like fruit or nuts and you really can’t go wrong!
So as you can see it really isn’t that hard to plan everything out! I plan all my meals out the week before, write them into my notebook and then make a grocery list for everything I need to get based on the meals I have planned out. Remember living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be difficult, you should totally have fun with it! Step outside your comfort zone and try new recipes or head to that new class your friend or partner has been raving about. Small changes can make a world of difference and enjoy the journey that you are taking.
If you are interested in learning more please don’t hesitate to contact Shanewalshfitness@gmail.com or read previous blogs for other very helpful info.
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