There’s meal prepping - then there’s healthy meal prepping. Be sure to know the difference and shop for the ingredients that are best for you and your weight management goals. For many people who are slightly intimidated by the process of meal prepping, this is a great introduction for you. This will be a brief guide that covers all the tips and tricks you need to know in order to become a successful meal prepper. Really, there are three main components of meal prepping. The first is shopping, the second cooking, and the third preparing and mapping out your calories. Let’s dig in!

Shopping Guide For Meal Preppers:
When it comes to meal prepping, most meal preppers are after saving money in addition to losing, gaining, or remaining at their target weight. Meal prepping can be an extremely cost effective technique to buying groceries, and because you are often buying in bulk and saving money, you can often invest in higher quality ingredients that you once thought were too expensive. Here are some tips on how to shop in order to maximise your success as a meal prepper:

• Buy in season. Buying fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, not only saves you tons of money in the long run, but also ensures that your food is super fresh and healthy for you. Kill two birds with one stone.
• Buy in bulk. Buying in bulk often saves tons of money. Shop at wholesale store such as Costco, and when there are some major savings going on, be sure to sweep those up and store the excess food in your house, if non-perishable.
• Go organic when possible. For some items it’s best to go organic. Since you’re saving money by buying in season and bulk, why not splurge a little bit - especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables that are prone to having pesticides stuck on their skin, and meat and poultry with antibiotics.
• Don’t forget to add spices! Spices are a great way to add some flavor to your meal and are incredible antioxidant boosters, oftentimes. Spices were so valuable that they were often used as a currency back in older societies. Take advantage of our abundance of spices and add some to your cart, or even grow some of your own.

Tips and Tricks on How to Cook as a Meal Prepper:
Cooking as a person who meal preps is an art - there are a few things to keep in mind as you prepare your meals. While meal prepping is extremely easy, and for the most part you can cook as you normally would, because of the fact that you are leaving it in the fridge for up to a week there are a few important things to note:
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• Starchy carbs and vegetables. For the most part, carbs are a little difficult to keep in the fridge. Why is this? Because they are prone to becoming “soggy”. Foods such as rice and potatoes may take on a weird texture after being in the fridge. Instead, consider freezing them and reheating them up in the microwave. The texture is often much better.
• Always reheat meats. Yes, even after you cook your meat and store it in the fridge, generally it’s a good idea to reheat it, just in case. While you can eat your meat cold, there is a chance it could have been contaminated as it went through the dangerous temperature range from hot to cool. You can minimize this risk by placing your meat into the fridge right away.
• Take full advantage of all of the stovetop burners. Don’t wait to do one thing, one at a time. Instead, cook up your rice and pasta simultaneously. If you have too much meat for one pan, simply add another to the stove top.

Preparing and Mapping out Your Calories and Macronutrients
How many calories you eat and the types of food you ingest depends entirely on you and your weight management needs. As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to keep half of your plate with vegetables, a quarter with a source of protein, and the other quarter with a carb, with olive on top to get some healthy fats in. Here are some resources for planning out your calories:

• Use an online tool to map out how many calories you need. Keep track of how many calories you need using a calorie calculator online, such as from freedieting.com . It’s crucial to establish a number for you to hit each day.
• Use a food journal. Be sure to calculate out your calories per portion accurately and record it in your food journal. Writing things down and keeping yourself accountable will help you out in the long run.
• Always include vegetables. While vegetables may not seem important because they practically have no calories, they are packed with tons of vitamins and minerals that help our bodies perform their daily functions.

 
These are just a few tips on how to meal prep. If you’re new to meal prepping, this should serve as a great introductory guide, and if you’re a pro food prepper, I hope you walk away with some fresh new points on meal prepping.

If you have been on Instagram lately or follow any health magazines, it won’t take you long to find something on meal prepping. Meal prep has become a health craze. Essentially meal prepping allows you to calculate your calories and macronutrients all at once to provide you with nourishment throughout your week. It’s fast and easy, and also can save you money. And most importantly  - it keeps you on track for your weight management goals. Whether you are hitting the gym and want to bulk up, or doing cardio throughout the week and want to lose fat, or simply want to maintain your healthy weight and lifestyle, then planning out your meals beforehand allows you to do so effortlessly.
 
What are the Advantages of Meal Prepping?
As previously covered, meal prepping makes eating a balanced meal easy - no matter your current state and physique goals. There are several pluses to meal prepping, which is why it’s gained so much traction in the online world and fitness industry. If you haven’t considered meal prepping, here is why you have to give it a go:
 
Saves You Money: Meal prepping involves buying in bulk and often times eating the same thing, or similar items, day in and day out (that’s not to say you can’t have variety - you can sneak different foods into your prepped meal plans. For example, you can substitute chicken with lean beef or turkey, etc.). So, by buying in bulk, cooking it all at once and storing it in meal prep containers, you are going to save big bucks in the long run. Additionally, this prevents you from eating out since you can take your meals with you to work, avoiding the need to spend extra money.
 
Cuts Back on Cooking Time: Cooking is very much a waiting game, and can eat into some valuable time within our days. After all - time is money as it’s said. In America, we pride ourselves on being fast cookers and eaters, spend just 30 minutes cooking each day - the least of any developed nation (LiveScience).That’s why meal prepping is so great - the cooking process can be done on one set day. Whether you choose to plan and cook your meals every 4 days or weekly, the cooking time is reduced. No more waiting for the water to boil nightly, or the chicken to cook - it’s all done in one big batch, eliminating wasted time. All you need to do is pop it in the microwave or eat it straight from the refrigerator, eliminating cooking time.
 
Hit All of Your Macronutrients: The thing about meal prepping is that they are often designed to best suit you and your caloric needs. If you are trying to build muscle and trim down on fat, you can make nearly half of your containers of meat or fish, as well as legumes and plant based proteins (i.e. chickpeas, quinoa, lentils, etc.). This takes the guesswork out of the equation and allows you to get exactly the right types of calories you need. Or, if you have a big training week, you can add more carbs - it’s very simple to adjust and customise your eating plan so it works specifically for you and your fitness goals.
 
Precisely Count Calories and Avoid Excess Snacks: This is one of the main advantages of meal prepping. You are able to calculate exactly how many calories you need and adjust your food to me that intake. Meal prepping makes it easy to make the correct portions of food that you need throughout the day. This eliminates the needs of excess calories as well. Now, you don’t have to worry about counting the calories at each meal since they will be planned out for you in advance. Just be sure to avoid eating excess calories, as they can throw your allotted number of calories off.
 
Meal Prepping 101: How to Meal Prep the Right Way
Calculate your daily caloric needs (you can do so online, here). Then subtract or minus from that number, depending on whether you want to gain or lose weight. If you don't have nay already, buy meal prep containers that store your food in the fridge or freezer. Cook all your food at once. Steam that chicken, shop those vegetables - get creative, and choose a meal that best suits your needs. Store it in the fridge and reheat for each meal.
 
Voila! It’s that simple. In our modern day and age, we are all often short on time, money and it’s often easy to be tempted to pig out with grocery stores stocked full of food and restaurants - now, you can make eating healthy easy for you. If you didn’t know anything about meal prepping before, this meal prep 101 article should give you a great foundation for you to start with. Experience the health craze for yourself - it’s likely not going anywhere anytime soon. It’s as simple as cooking your food up in one batch based on your calorie needs, and storing it in meal prep containers. Try it out!