Top 10 Tips for Meal Prepping Like a Boss

When I first discovered meal prepping, I tried the approach to improve my nutrition and reach my fitness goals. I saw that it was a popular technique in the fitness community that allowed athletes to have nutritious food always available to them. It made eating healthy convenient.

At the time, I was new to the fitness world and, although I loved cooking, I did not have easy access to quality, nutritious food. I was working full-time and, after a busy day at work, the last thing I wanted to do was cook. So I found myself eating out a lot, ordering take-out for dinner, or just going for other convenient options like fast food or processed foods. I was spending a lot of money. But most importantly, I was losing control of my nutrition and, consequently, my health.

Meal prepping seemed like a good solution to this problem, so I began exploring it and developing it as a habit. I found lots of meal prepping tips and recipes online that acquainted me with the technique. And it worked for me! I was finally able to have healthy food always available to me. At work, in my car, and at home. I had it with me everywhere I went.

Slowly but surely, I began to lose weight and, before I knew it, I was in the best shape of my life. And if that wasn’t enough, the technique also saved me a lot of time and money!

As I began to reap these benefits, I knew that I was onto something and that meal prepping was a habit worth maintaining. It allowed me to regain control of my health without sacrificing my time or my money.

But despite having these great benefits, the technique I found at the time was lacking in other areas that were just as important to me. At first, it seemed like a very daunting task and, although I found recipes online, there was very little documentation on the technique itself. Also, the recipes I found were healthy, but severely lacking in the flavor department. I knew that the technique could be improved to maximize efficiency and of course, flavor.

If you’ve tried meal prepping yourself, you know that it can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re doing. It involves cooking more food than you’ve ever cooked in your life (unless you’ve worked in a commercial kitchen). It is definitely NOT the same as cooking dinner for two. Even for someone like me, with experience in the kitchen and an affinity to cooking, the process was challenging at first. That’s when I realized that I needed to make it more simple and efficient for myself. So I began perfecting it.

The technique could also be improved to maximize flavor. I mean, I wanted to eat healthy, but not have to eat chicken breast, brown rice, and broccoli for the rest of my life. Yes, the recipes I found at the time were healthy, but they were also bland and boring. And, being the foodie that I am, taste was too important for me and I was not willing to sacrifice it. I still wanted to enjoy my food.

The solution I was looking for would allow me to have nutritious, and delicious food ALWAYS AVAILABLE to me without having to give up my time or my money.

Was that too much to ask? I guess it was.

That solution didn’t really exist. So I decided to create it myself using the concept of meal prepping.

As I developed a smarter, more efficient way of cooking for myself, I saw that a lot of people around me were having the same problem with food. That’s when it occurred to me that other people could also benefit from this technique.

It made sense. We live in a fast-paced world and have busier lives than ever before. Conventional cooking methods no longer fit our modern lifestyles and the food we’re eating is killing us and making us sick. I saw the bigger problem and a desperate need to evolve the way we cook in order to regain control of what we eat.

And that is how The Meal Prep Chef was born.

My goal is to share everything I’ve learned with you and teach you a smarter way of cooking. My hope is that it helps you as much as it has helped me.

But that’s enough of my blabber, let’s get to the meat and potatoes (pun very much intended). Here are my top 10 tips for meal prepping like a real food boss:

1. Keep it Simple — Remember, when you meal prep, you are preparing a lot of food at once. If you are not used to cooking at that capacity, the process will be overwhelming unless you keep it simple. Not only does the process need to be simple, your recipes also need to be simple. I have simplified the process and have created simple, but delicious recipes that work with the technique. To me, flavor and nutritional value are equally as important as simplicity. Be sure to follow me to get all of my tips, tricks, and recipes.
2. Make it a Habit — More than a simple cooking technique, meal prepping is a habit. And a very damned good one to develop and maintain. If you want to do it successfully, you need to turn it into a habit and practice it religiously like your life depends on it. Because it actually does. Pick a day of the week to do it and stick to it. Block it off your calendar and respect that time. Sundays work for a lot of people but it can be any day of the week as long as you set aside enough time to complete it.
3. Plan Ahead — If you think meal prepping is overwhelming, try doing it without a plan. Your shopping and cooking experience will be a total nightmare. Trust me, I learned this the hard way. Prior to meal prep day, you need to know exactly what you will be cooking, what ingredients you will need, and how you will cook it. You could, for example, meal plan on Friday, shop on Saturday, and cook on Sunday. I also recommend planning at least three different meals to have variety throughout the week and don’t get tired of eating the same thing. If you don’t want to do it yourself, I can take care of the planning for you. My monthly subscription plans will give you a meal plan, shopping list, and recipes on a weekly basis. All customized to meet your dietary and nutritional requirements. Connect with me on Facebook for details.
4. Have the Right Tools — As with any task, having the right tools is absolutely critical in meal prepping. There is a certain set of tools that will make the process a lot easier for you. I’ve figure out what they are and will be sharing my list with you in a future blog post, so be sure to stay tuned. Having the right tools also means having exactly what you need and being resourceful with it. To keep the process simple, you will need to reuse and repurpose your tools throughout the process.
5. Stay Organized — When you’re handling so many ingredients, tools, and materials at once, it becomes very easy to lose things and lose track of what you’re doing. This is how I was initially overwhelmed by the process. To prevent this from happening to you, you need to stay organized. There is a reason “Mise-en-place!” is the golden kitchen rule. Group the spices, produce, and tools that you will be using in designated areas where you can easily find them. Only take out what you will be using. Keep your meats neatly organized in your fridge until they are ready to be used.
6. Start with a Clean Kitchen — This classical kitchen rule is still very relevant and it especially applies to meal prepping. You need to always start prepping with a clean kitchen. This means clearing and cleaning the surface areas where you will be working (dinner table, countertops, stove top, etc.). It also involves clearing and cleaning your kitchen sink as well as your tools. Other than doing it for hygiene, having a clean kitchen also clears your mind so that you have more mental clarity and focus while cooking.
7. Clean as you go — This tip complements the previous two and is just as important. You absolutely need to clean as you cook. This means maintaining your tools and work area clean throughout the entire process. Wipe your surfaces constantly and wash any tools that are no longer in use or that need to be reused. Keep your garbage, compost, and recycle bins next to your work area. Trust me, you don’t want to save the cleaning until the end. That will be last thing you’ll want to do when you’re done cooking. There will always be some cleaning to do after cooking, but you need to keep it to an absolute minimum.
8. Veggies First — Cutting and cooking the vegetables first will prevent cross contamination. Remember, you will be using the same set of tools throughout the whole process and if use them on raw meats first, you will run the risk of getting food poisoning. If you have a recipe that contains both meat and vegetables, cut your vegetables first and have them ready before you begin working with raw meats.
9. Make it fun — Yes, meal prepping requires work, but it can also be fun if you make it so. I recommend listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks while you do it. You can totally dance, sing, and learn while you meal prep. I’ve been caught dancing myself but I’m often listening to a podcast and learning something new. Playing a sports game, reruns, or a movie you’re already seen is also ok, but I recommend sticking to more passive activities that don’t take your visual attention. And if you want to indulge a little, go ahead and have a glass of wine or a beer while you do it.
10. Do it with others — Maybe you live with your partner, the family that raised you, or the one you created. Maybe you live with friends. If you have the option to meal prep with other people, take advantage of it and invite them to do it with you. Doing an activity together is proven to strengthen your connection. Plus the extra help will come in very handy. Use this time to have real conversations with them. And if you do it with your kids, it will teach them how to take control of their own health through cooking. And for those of you flying solo, you can use this time to reflect and do something good for yourself.

These and many other tips will be part of a larger body of work that will walk you through the entire technique and teach you everything you need to know to meal prep successfully. It will soon be released as an ebook titled Meal Prepping 101: A Complete Guide to A Smarter Way of Cooking.

If you found value in this blog post, be sure to share it with your friends and family.

Until next time, Happy Meal Prepping!!