what i am loving about meal planning & prepping ahead!
i went into 2024 with the idea that i would habit stack instead of setting goals to allow myself the ability to be intuitive about adding new things to my plate! as a busy wife, mom, homemaker & multi-business owner when i made the list of things i would love to implement in the new year, meal prepping was a big one at the very tippy top!
i have always meal planned, choosing meals, making a grocery list, but i have been very on & off with actually prepping the food in advance. also, i found that when planning to prep, you view the foods differently because you make plans for things that will re-heat better or keep longer so choosing to prep shifted how i planned as well.
as you know, in 2022 i committed to eating with my hormones in mind. i had just lost 125lbs, had some irregularity with my cycle & was trying to figure out how to add movement into my days. i was doing fantastic with food but it was WORK. i was cooking almost every meal i ate, tracking neurotically on a daily basis to ensure i was meeting my goals & honestly … driving myself crazy!
it wasn’t until i hit a weight loss stall (with 100+lbs more to lose!) that i had to figure out what stopped working. yes, my body likely got comfortable with the amount of protein i was eating & the variety of foods i was consuming now but i could tell my stress around food wasn’t ideal.
i made the conscious decision to stop tracking for a bit. it helped, a lot. but as a perfectionist at my core, i knew i did find some level of joy in seeing the numbers make sense for me. this is where i decided i would not only meal plan but also prep! this gave me 2 major things! the first being my time back! i now spend about 2 hours on sundays or mondays prepping a variety of meals & little treats for the week ahead rather than cooking multiple meals a day or grabbing unnecessary filler snacks. the second & in my opinion, best part? since i was planning that far ahead i sat down on planning days (usually wednesdays or thursdays) & mapped out the macros in my fitness pal also! this gave me the content feeling of knowing i was hitting my daily protein goal without worrying every single day about tracking each bite!
i utilize pinterest to find new recipes to try & instagram brings some amazing options too! this week i tried a protein friendly mini bagel recipe that utilized greek yogurt as well as a delicious warm couscous bowl with goat cheese, roasted veggies & chicken sausage, YUM!! i eat in tune with my hormones still, focusing on whole foods mostly & eating more complex carbs in my luteal & menstrual phases while focusing on raw foods in my ovulatory phase & lots of oats & grains in my follicular phase! i have daily staples i love like greek yogurt with fresh fruit & homemade granola, raw cheddar with a hard boiled pasture raised egg & avocado … the list goes on! the key for me though, has been letting it happen once & reaping the benefits all week!
if simple nourishment is a goal of yours, try planning once, prepping once & consuming all week! it’s helped me a ton!
