Meal Prep Benefits For Health: A Healthy Eating Strategy

Last Updated on January 17, 2022 by TheMealPrepNinja

Meal Prep Benefits For Health: A Healthy Eating Strategy For Meal Planning

What are Meal prep benefits for health? Meal prep basically means having to plan early or ahead of time on what you will eat either for that day, week, and in rare cases, month. Having a definitive plan on what’s on your table for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner will hinder you from driving to that fast food outlet or order a pizza. What’s more, having meals that are ready to cook or healthy leftovers that can be used the following day gives you total control over your kitchen table.

I know… Sometimes it’s hard. You just don’t have the energy left in you to make a whole week’s plan. It’s taxing, and you just don’t want to think about it.  

Hey! Snap out of it. Remember your weight loss goals? Let’s focus for a minute on the positives. Apart from enjoying easy, whipped up healthy meals, your weight loss goals will be within reach as the end results will be evident. It’s not rocket science. All that is required is just a little bit of your time and some elbow grease- You could do it during your free time, off days, or even during the weekends.

Different Ways To Meal Prep

Before we delve into the benefits of meal prepping, let’s take a look at the various types of meal prep meals that you could easily come up with.

• Ingredient Prep- For those who prefer cooking and serving their meals all at once, they could prepare their recipe components, either by chopping veggies, mixing up spices, or marinading their meat. When ready to cook, just pop them in your pan or cooking pot, thus saving time.

• Meals for One- It involves prepping meals and serving them in single-serving containers. 

• Full make-ahead meals- It’s the most common method involving cooking a whole meal and storing it in your freezer. Most of my recipes on my website and YouTube channel are this type of meal prep.

• Batch cooking-  Is the best approach for meals that you could quickly cook in large amounts such as soups. Such a method involves cooking multiple meals, apportioning, and storing them.

Benefits of Meal Prepping With Regards To Your Health

Being surrounded by an abundance of healthy meal options not only helps to eradicate cravings but also allows for a list of other added benefits as follows;

Saves you Money

I know you are probably wondering what’s the connection between money and health, right? For those thinking that eating healthy is expensive, think again. Buying food in bulk is usually advisable, particularly when starting off. Not only will it help you take advantage of your freezer space, but you’ll end up saving money and your waistline too.

Multitasking

Just take a minute and let’s think this over. For most people out there, maintaining a healthy diet is quite an uphill task. Most people clean up after meals and get everything out ready to do it all over again the next day. Ask yourself whether you are comfortable doing it all over again. Why not pack food for the next day while you cook? Once you get the hang of meal prepping, it will be easy, and you’ll be motivated for another round of healthy eating, not to mention saving time and feeling organized.

You’ll Better Manage Your Portion Sizes.

Eating out at a fancy healthy restaurant won’t guarantee you that you’ll get the required portion sizes. In most cases, they tend to dish out large portions, way beyond your body requirements. However, prepping your meals at home gives you the autonomy and control of what ends up on your plate.

 Reduced Stress Levels

Figuring out what to eat may be daunting to some. Struggling with such decisions every day can be overwhelming—meal prepping avails the opportunity to avoid such simple life-stress.

Fosters a Better Relationship With Food

Once you get a hold of meal prepping, you’ll get to appreciate food for what it is. You’ll boost your nutrition knowledge, learn to eat when necessary rather than overfeeding.

You are all for the meal prepping idea. Maybe it’s trendy, healthy, or saves you money. But whatever the reason, you may be wondering how to navigate the waters and embark on this transformative journey. Well, read on…

Meal Prepping Beginners Guide  

Start Small

The excitement may take a toll on you. Before jumping all in and hitting the pots, you have to realize that it’s easy for one to get all bogged down. Sticking to the basics will help you navigate the waters. This is not the time to incorporate all the healthy recipes and meals at once. Start with meals that you are well conversant with and add more as you go. 

It will help you maintain your “health-kicks” and not lose traction along the way.

Come up With a Meal Plan

To avoid stressful situations on what to eat, you must develop an outline with specific days of the week in mind. Usually, it’s a bit tricky for the newbies. It’s always advisable to start with a meal slot ( breakfast, lunch, or dinner) for the week. Various factors are going to determine this;

• Whether you routinely snooze through your alarm and skipping breakfast
• Whether you are trying to limit your meal intake during lunch
• Maybe you work long, crazy hours during the night. You plan on heating some food and crashing for the night once you head home.

Most people usually meal prep all their lunches and maybe, a couple of dinners. Breakfast is usually made fresh. I love making my Healthy Protein Oatmeal in the morning!

Meal Prep Recipe Ideas

If you don’t know where to start. Don’t worry you are in the right place. Here are some of my favorite meal prep recipes:

Healthy Burrito Bowl Meal Prep Ground Chicken Recipe

Chipotle Chicken Bowl Meal Prep Recipe

Next

Come up With a Grocery List

It’s a no-brainer that you’ll need to come up with a grocery list to pull it off. Take stock of what’s already in your possession and the essential ingredients that you’ll need. Coming up with a grocery list makes your experience at the grocery store more efficient and faster since you know what to get beforehand.

Invest in High-Quality Food Storage Containers

You must store cooked food in quality airtight containers. Stainless containers are best when storing either cold or hot food. They also come in various sizes. However, caution should be taken when using plastic containers and bags. Plastics are termed to be carcinogenic.

Though BPA (Bisphenol A) free labeled plastics serves to assure consumers that it’s safe to either drink or eat out of, growing evidence from the latest research indicates that it’s still not as safe as earlier thought. Estrogenic compounds may find their way to your food if such containers are heated in the microwave. Such occurrences can alter your hormonal balance.

Bottom line: Glass and stainless steel are much safer in storing food. Minimize your plastic usage and avoid placing them inside a microwave.

But here are my favorite BPA Free Meal Prep containers.

Schedule Specific Times For Meal Preps

You can’t conduct your meal prep without scheduling time. Look for either a day or two in a week that suits you to prepare your meals. Using a tabletop and stove to prepare more than one meal will save you time to increase efficiency. This is where various kitchen appliances come in handy. It would be prudent to invest in such. While most undertake their meal prep on Sundays, others may find it comfortable during weekdays. The ultimate rule is to go with what works for you.

You’ve finally managed to pull it off and are sitting pretty waiting for the coming week. However, you are not out of the woods yet. Despite accomplishing such a task, it should be noted that cooking isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The less they pop in the kitchen, the better for them. With such a mentality, it’s only fair for them to make preparations that will last them the whole week.

 But is storing your food for that long recommended, and is it safe?

Don’t be fooled by Instagrammers who make meal prepping look like an art. Their packed freezers with sky-high stacked lunch boxes may be attractive and seem to last forever, but be warned. That’s just a ploy. Apparently, it can be your quickest way to the hospital bed through food poisoning, delaying your weight loss goals.

According to the USDA( United States Department of Agriculture), prepped meals should not last more than a handful of days. Typically, one should prepare their meals to take them for 3-4 days. It ensures that your meal stays fresh and palatable.

So, How Long Should Food Stay Good After Prepping?

There’s no written rule as to how long food should stay fresh in the freezer after prepping. Your food’s safety and longevity depend on several factors such as your refrigerator, how and where you packed it, and the ingredients incorporated while preparing the meal.

Common sense dictates that you use containers divided into different compartments to separate different foods. Further, using tightly sealed containers lowers the rate of food poisoning by hindering flavor and cross-contamination. 

Also, ensure that you wash every food before processing to ward off germs and other organisms that may accelerate food spoilage. It extends to your hands too. Ensure they are clean before touching or processing any food.

Meal Prep and Weight Loss

Despite innumerable ways in which one could lose weight, meal prep benefits for health still stands out as a non-taxing and easy way to shed off the excess pounds. Weight gain is mostly associated with processed food rich in fats, sugars, and salts. Meal prepping, therefore, comes in handy when adhering to a strict diet regimen. Ultimately, the power is in your hands in dictating what to consume. Weight loss is experienced through a calorie deficit. Meal prep provides the best avenue to control your eating and minimizing temptations through a healthy diet regimen. 

Such healthy compositions and portions need proper storage. Below are a few of the storage containers and their benefits;

Meal Prep Containers- Such bags come in different arrays of dimensions and pricing depending on the company. The high-end containers come with a range of benefits such as being freezer, microwave, and dishwasher washer safe.

Here are my favorite Glass Meal Prep Containers. These are the ones that I use in my YouTube Videos.

Here are the best 3 compartment glass meal prep containers.

Airtight Pantry Storage Containers- They keep food fresh by preventing/blocking moisture and air, which would otherwise cause foods such as floor and cookies to become soggy. Oily foods would further go rancid. Their lid comes with fastening or sealing system lines with silicone or rubber, making them airtight. Apart from creating a sense of organization, they are portable and always come in handy while traveling. Further, they are easily cleanable and maintenance-free.

Lunch Bags– These are personalized and insulated lunch bags usable by both adults and children. They’ve come a long way from metallic lunch boxes. The modern version can’t be termed as a box anymore. They maintain food and beverages close to their original temperature and protect their contents since they come with a closing mechanism. They further come in different shapes, prices, and variety, not to mention maintaining food’s enhanced flavor through temperature maintenance.

When it comes to meal prep benefits for health, you also need to consider other factors. For instance, an instant pot would come in handy since it has multiple functions: a steamer, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and a big saute pot.

Apart from saving up on energy( almost 70%), the instant pot comes with other added advantages such as;

Apart from the above benefits, it also saves time. Most users profess its awesomeness by cutting down on cooking time by almost a third (60-70%). Another aspect of saving time is that you don’t have to babysit the cooking process. Once you put on the lid and press the timer, it goes on cooking while you prepare other meals. Once the timer goes off and no action is taken, the unit automatically goes on safe mode, keeping food warm for 10 hours. Well, this depends on the design of the instant pot.

Conclusion – Meal Prep Benefits for Health

Meal prep benefits for healthy, as a weight-loss strategy, is fast gaining traction. There’s a lot that goes into meal prepping than meets the eye. However, it tends to get a lot easier once you get used to it. It makes healthy eating quite possible while simplifying one’s busy life while helping you attain your overall health goals. Go on, get some ideas, and prep yourself into shape. Time to enjoy meal prep benefits for a healthy lifestyle.

I Hope you enjoyed this Meal Prep Benefits for Health article. Don’t forget to check out our 7 day meal plan for muscle gain.

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