A Different Strategy
for Meal Prepping
By Katherine Andrew, MPH, RD, LDN
A Different Strategy
Meal prepping tends to be one of those things that people either love or hate. More often than not, our clients are terrified of the idea of meal prepping for hours on the weekend.
Good news! We have a different strategy for meal prepping. One of our favorite benefits is that
meal prepping even just one thing can take something off your plate for the week. We would
imagine many of you would give anything to have just one less thing to do in your day, are we
right?!
Still, I know you already barely have time to make dinner, much less prep something else. So this is where a trick we call “habit stacking” comes in handy. Adding just 5-10 more minutes (yes, five!) to your dinner, breakfast or lunch prep time will save you triple that amount in mental load another day that week.
One of our favorite benefits is that meal prepping even just one thing can take something off your plate for the week.
Meal Prep Tips
Below are some easy meal-prepping tips you can test out!
1. When you are ALREADY in the kitchen, consider, “what is ONE thing I could prep right
now that would save me time tomorrow?” Some of our clients even keep a ‘cheat sheet’
list on their phone with ideas. Some ideas:
- chop veggies for tomorrow’s chili or sheet pan meal
- assemble lunch for tomorrow
- make a quick batch of salad dressing
- hard boil eggs
- assemble a quick egg casserole or overnight protein oats for breakfast
2. Brainstorm parts of meals (sides, proteins, sauces, etc) that you can prep once and use
again. A few favorites:
- Shredded Chicken for dinner and then or in tacos, on a salad or wrap later in the
week - Rice, Quinoa, Roasted Potatoes or Sweet potatoes for sides, bowl toppings, or
with eggs for breakfast - A batch of Pesto or Salad Dressing that you could use in various dishes
- Shredded Chicken for dinner and then or in tacos, on a salad or wrap later in the
Meal Prep Tips Con't
3. Invest in glass containers to keep all those prepped foods – we promise you’ll love how
fresh and clean they are without any forever chemicals to pass on!
4. Outsource whatever might be helpful. If you can find something prepped for you, take
advantage! Especially on busier weeks, we love to rely on things like:
- chopped or shredded veggies (Katherine’s favorites are the broccoli slaw,
shredded carrots, and shredded brussels sprouts at Trader Joes) - pre-cooked grains
- rotisserie chicken
- your favorite tzatziki, hummus, pesto, or feta dip
- chopped or shredded veggies (Katherine’s favorites are the broccoli slaw,
Katherine Andrew, MPH, RD, LDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters degree in Public Health with nearly fifteen years of experience in community public health and private nutrition counseling. Her work experience includes individual and group health counseling, interactive workshops, food systems consulting, non-profit program development and management, and safe skin care advocacy and promotion. She works with clients to identify and address health concerns, navigate food sensitivities, explore body image, plan healthy meals for themselves and their families, evaluate and improve hormone health, maximize stress management, and restore their relationship with eating so they can enjoy food and thrive. Gut health, food sensitivities, hormones, family food dynamics, and intuitive eating are a few of Katherine’s passions and specialties.
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