3 tips for making meal prepping easier

By Renata Trebing, Intuitive Nutrition Coach

This week I'm welcoming a good friend of mine, Renata Trebing, to share her perspective on meal prepping and how to get the most out of it! Renata is a health coach in Houston, TX. She absolutely loves food and loves creating good-for-you recipes that actually taste good! (Yes – it is possible!)

Meal prepping is my secret to staying healthy. It helps me to be mindful of my food choices while also saving me time later in the week. Even as a mom of 3 kiddos and a busy entrepreneur, meal prepping has helped me to reduce weight, lose inches as well as improve my overall health and wellbeing.

However, meal prep can feel complicated and time-consuming when you’re actually cooking it. I want to show you that it is possible to make meal prepping easier. Here are my top 3 tips to help make your meal prepping as easy as possible!

1. Make the grocery store your BFF

You know how your best friend is always there for you and has whatever you need whenever you need it? Your local grocery store can be the same way! Here’s a few examples:

1. Take advantage of curbside or grocery pick up to minimize your time in store while also saving you from unnecessary impulse spending.

2. Pre-washed and chopped produce is a fantastic time saver when it comes to meal prep idas. Typically, there is a slight cost increase for purchasing pre-washed and chopped produce, however, this will drastically reduce the time it takes to get your meal prep ideas done.

3. Grab some healthy sauces, fully cooked proteins and quick cooking grains to keep in the fridge and pantry so you can whip up a simple meal prep recipe anytime. Check ingredients labels to ensure you’re minimizing any added salts, sugars, preservatives etc, as much as is applicable to your healthy living goals.

4. Go for seasonal produce as much as possible. They are typically sourced more locally and have less travel time to get to the store, which means they contain a higher amount of nutrients vs produce that needs to travel for days across the world to get to you. Seasonal produce is generally cheaper since it is available in abundance during that particular season.

2. One Pot Meals FTW

Choose recipes that use only one pot/pan to cook them. This helps to simplify and speed up both the cooking process and the cleaning up too! I love to use the crockpot and instant pot. Both appliances can be used year round, and can be set up to cook your food, while you go about the rest of your day.

3. Double Duty Ingredients

Speed up your meal prep ideas by using one ingredient in two different recipes. For instance, you can slice carrots into matchsticks to use in a Sweet Chili Stir Fry, and also cut them into rounds to use in a Wild Rice and Veggie Soup. Since the carrots are sliced in different sizes and shapes, you are adding more variety into your eating plan and you never feel like you’re eating the same thing every single day.

Ready to see these meal prep tips in action? Wanna get the Sweet Chili Stir Fry and the Wild Rice and Veggie Soup recipes?

Come and join Haley and I in our brand new Meal Prep Workshop on Sunday, October 2. In this event, you’ll get:

• Expert meal prep guidance from 2 certified health coaches

• 4 new easy, healthy and delicious meal prep ideas

• 2 meals that you will prep yourself and take home for the week

• A few new friends who also love living a healthy lifestyle!

• Copy of Haley’s 10 day gut reset to help you kickstart your healthy habits ($40 value)

Click this link to grab your ticket today!

Thank you Renata for guest writing this week's blog! Learn more about Renata and her Intuitive Nutrition Coaching here.