Doing a little food prep and planning ahead over the weekend will go a long way in setting yourself up for success during the week, keeping you on track with consistent healthy habits so that you can continue to make progress towards your nutrition and weight loss goals.

When planning ahead and deciding what to prep, keep in mind that each planned meal should be a good balance consisting of whole, fresh (less processed) foods including:

1-2 palm portions of lean protein for e.g. Chicken or Fish

1-2 cupped hand portions of smart carbs for e.g Butternut, Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, Oats

1-2 thumb size portions of healthy fats for e.g. Olive Oil, Nuts

1-2 fist portions of vegetables for e.g Broccoli, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Cucumber

Weekend Prepping

Try schedule some time over the weekend – just 1-2 hours of weekend prep will save you hours of time and stress during the week when life gets crazy and will be totally worth it

Some Simple Steps to Follow:

1. Look ahead – plan for busy days coming up and what can be pre-prepped
2. Make a rough menu – write down some ideas of what you may feel like during the week
3. Shop for ingredients to pre-prep based on what you have written down
4. Cook what you can for the week in advance
5. Store conveniently in clear stackable containers in your fridge or freezer

Night Before Prepping

If you are rushed for time before work in the morning, some prepping can even be done the night before to save time for the next day. Foods like beans and quinoa can be soaked in water the night before to save you hours of cooking time. Prepping oats in yoghurt with fruit the night before makes for a delicious and nutritious convenient breakfast.

Morning Prepping

In the morning do quicker prep tasks such as washing and chopping vegetables that can be used for a salad or dinner in the evening.  This can also be done the night before and stored in sealed containers in the fridge for a day or two.

To Sum Up:

1. Schedule some time on the weekend to plan ahead to have a winning week ahead
2. Store or Cook lean proteins in bulk for the week where you can in the fridge or freezer
3. To save cooking time in the morning, soak foods like oats, beans and quinoa in water the night before
4. In the morning or evening, wash and chop up things like vegetables that can be cooked later or used for salads

Remember to view meal prepping as an investment in your health – yes it means prioritizing a little bit of time, but the reward and time saved that you will get out of it during the week will be completely worthwhile

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