There is, most likely, no better way to guarantee you will eat healthy, save money, and reduce food waste than by meal prepping. With that said, let’s be real: eating the same meals for countless days-on-end can be extremely boring. Ensuring that you can keep weekly meal prep interesting while maintaining healthiness is key to success. Here are our top five tips to do so.
1. Try a New Recipe Each Week
It is evident that you will have your "ole reliable" meals that you go to every week. With that said, trying to incorporate one new recipe each week to keep from getting burnt out on your go-to foods will be monumental. Switch up your daily smoothie, try a new one-pot meal, or make over a favorite meal with a new flavor.
2. Keep a Well-Stocked Pantry
Maintaining a steady inventory of pantry staples is a great way to streamline your meal prep process and simplify menu creation. Ensuring you have a wide array of whole grains, legumes, canned goods, oils, and baking essentials will allow you to diversify your prep. By keeping some of these basic essentials on hand, you only need to worry about picking up fresh items in your weekly grocery haul. This can help reduce stress and improve the efficiency of your meal planning efforts.
3. Keep Yourself Entertained
There’s no reason to meal prep in silence. Take advantage of this time in the kitchen to have a little fun too! You could also blast your favorite Spotify playlist and have a little dance party for one while you peel some sweet potatoes. If you're looking for a fresh Spotify playlist to follow, check these ones out!
4. Crank Up the Heat
Step aside, grandma. We're breaking all the rules here. As a child, you may recall your elders mocking your inability to comprehend why one wouldn’t just cook everything at 500°. It would be done faster that way, right? Well, certain foods will just not do well at 500 degrees. But, when you're low on time, 500° cooking is exactly what to do—your carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli will love it. Fair warning, this method requires keen attention, and it helps if you have a taste for deeply caramelized and well-charred flavors.
5. When in Doubt, Clean Meal It Out
We get it. There are those days when you literally cannot find a single ounce of energy to get off the couch and prep your meals for the next week. That is exactly what Clean Meal was made for. Prep an entire meal for yourself in a matter of seconds. Better yet, do that while knowing that you're only putting clean ingredients within your body. What's better than that? NOTHING!
