Don't Forget Your Sunday Meal Prep!

I’m a health coach and I eat healthy every day, but I don’t spend every night in the kitchen. In fact, I hardly cook at all during the week, yet I still eat home cooked meals most of the time. How do I do it? Meal planning is my secret weapon. It helps me save time and have healthy food in the fridge yet also saves me money because I don’t eat out as much. It can be overwhelming at first to attempt such a feat, but it's easy when you break it all down.

On Sunday or Saturday, plan out what meals you want to eat that week. Choose two breakfast recipes, three main course recipes (you’ll use leftover dinners for your lunches), and two snacks.

Create a grocery list for just those recipes and head out shopping. It might feel like a lot, but remember, this is enough food for the whole week! Because I have a lot of these pantry staples already, I find that I spend about $100 a week on groceries. I invest in good-quality animal protein, which does cost more.

On Sunday, set aside two to three hours to prep and cook your mains and snacks, and enlist some help for the time consuming tasks like chopping, if you can. I usually put on a health podcast or watch Netflix to make the time go by more quickly. Remember that with anything new, the first time is the slowest, and it only gets faster with practice!

Helpful hint: The most efficient way to cook is actually to plan out the order you are going to make things. I always start with the items that need to be cooked for the longest or at the highest temperature and get them going.

If there are ever items that require the same cooking temperature, always try to do them at the same time in the oven. While those are cooking, I would then start prepping the items that don’t need cooking, like the salads.

You will likely be making breakfast the morning of, so I always choose quick recipes like a smoothie or oatmeal.

If you really want to save time during the week, you can invest in some extra Tupperware (glass, not plastic) and have your lunch portions ready to go. Otherwise, just pack your lunches each morning.

Helpful hint: To save time, you can cut some corners in terms of snacks. One way to do so is to grab a healthy protein bar at the health food store, or another way is to do simple combinations like veggies and hummus, or a piece of fruit with a handful of nuts or seeds.

Here’s to a happy, healthy week of eating!