Meal prepping may seem intimidating when first starting out…where do you even start? What do you buy? How much do you make? Do I have to eat the same thing everyday? If you’re stuck when it comes to meal prepping, then this post is for you! I’ll show you how meal prep can be easy, fun, and budget friendly! Here are the comments of a successful meal prep.

Timing: Many may think they simply do not have the time to prep food for themselves. If you want to make time you will. Spend less time on your phone, watching tv, or browsing through your computer and set aside a couple hours for yourself. Just like you would make plans to hang out with a friend, make plans to hang out with yourself and get some shopping and cooking done. I personally like to do so after a workout because I’m already up and energized so it makes it easier to stay motivated. Also you’re usually wanting to feed yourself nourishing foods after you exercise in order to see results and feel good on the inside, so why not prep after that sweat sesh?!

What to buy: I always buy two different meat proteins(beans, lentils, and tofu for veggies), a few different vegetables/fruits, some healthy fats and a grain. Example would be: ground turkey, chicken sausage, spinach, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, broccoli, apples, berries, bananas, peanut butter, avocados, oats, and rice. This is just a simple start of what you can be purchasing for yourself to make some easy meals.

What to make: My meal prepping day I always make a meat, two veggies, and pre-cut some fruit. I typically do this right before lunch or dinner so I can eat some of it for that meal. I then can save the rest to mix and match for different meals throughout the week. While everything is cooling after being cooked I will cut up my strawberries and carrots/cucumber or wash my berries and grapes so they are ready for me to eat when in a hurry! An example meal would be: spinach, turkey meat, avocado, brown rice, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.

How to mix it up: You do not need to eat the above salad everyday! Instead use other groceries you keep around to create new meals. You can make a rice bowl, mix and match your veggies for each day, add some fruit into your salad, even use those veggies in an egg scramble and have breakfast for lunch by making overnight oats the day before! Variety is out there, you just have to mix and match with what you got. Sometimes I’ll have avocado toast with an apple for breakfast and a yogurt bowl with sweet potato and peanut butter for lunch. All depends on the day and what you’re feeling!

My typical day with meal prep: Overnight oats with nut butter and berries, apple and nut butter bite(see recipes for these), salad with spinach, brussel sprouts, avocado, chicken sausage, and broccoli, popcorn with dried mango or trail mix, homemade sweet potato fries with a turkey burger, and dark chocolate for some dessert. Obviously this all depends on my hunger levels and what’s going on that day, but these are the foods I typically enjoy eating. All theses foods are easy ingredients to cook, store, travel with, and re-heat.

Meal prepping may require some tools, one of my favorites is my TUO Cutlery Knife! A good set of cutlery is essential when chopping all those fruit and veggies. I especially love the Bread Knife! I’ve been baking a lot of banana breads lately and this knife makes it nice and easy to cut even slices for sharing-though I don’t like sharing…haha jk. Check out TUO Cutlery if you’re looking for a new knife set. A good knife truly goes a long way! Head to www.tuocutlery.com to check them out.

Get cookin!