Life can get busy, especially at the end of the year and the holiday season. It can be hard to maintain adequate and healthy nutrition when you are always on the go, with little time to spend cooking three meals a day. Meal preparation can help you save time and energy, while eating nutritious, healthy meals.
Meal prep strategies:
- Make a meal plan-spend some time sitting down and writing out your meal plan for the week. This will make it easier to do the shopping and make coordinating meals.
- Use recipes that have an overlap in ingredients-make recipes with the same protein and carb, and either switch up the veggie or the sauce. This will save you money and time.
- Make sheet pan/one pot meals-this is one of the easiest ways to cook in bulk and allows for quicker clean up.
Breakfast
Smoothies are a great way to incorporate fruits and veggies into your morning meal. By preparing individual smoothie jars ahead of time and storing them in the freezer you can save time in the morning and get a complete nutritious meal. Basic ingredients for a good smoothie are:
- A base: water, coconut milk, oat/nut milk
- Fruit: blueberries, strawberries, mango, pineapple, raspberries
- Veggies: spinach, cucumber, beets, or add in a scoop of organifi green juice
- Protein: protein powder such as this organifi complete protein, nut butter, avocado, yogurt, seeds
Lunch
If you aren’t working from home, preparing lunch is essential if you don’t want to eat out every day. Even if you are working from home, stopping what you are doing in the middle of the day to make a meal can be disruptive and take more time than you may like. While salad is a quick and easy healthy option, cold lettuce gets old, especially in the winter months when you usually crave something warm. Some great meal prep lunch ideas include:
- Soup for the cold season. Try a hearty veggie, chicken noodle, or butternut squash soup
- Taco bowls
- Sheet pan chicken and roasted veggies
Dinner
After a long day of work or spending time with kids, you may not be in the mood to cook up a complete healthy dinner. This may be a time when we reach for something easy and carb rich, but if you have meal prepped for the week, dinner is just a few minutes away. While there are endless meal prep recipes, a few suggestions are:
- Curry chicken and cauliflower rice
- One pan shrimp fajitas
- Zucchini lasagna
After dinner, with the extra time you have saved yourself with meal prepping, spend some time relaxing and unwinding from the day. Add organifi gold to a cup of hot water or nut milk to help destress and promote restful sleep. A perfect way to end a day of successful meal prepping.
About the author: Dr. Sierra Goncharoff is a naturopathic physician trained in primary care, with an emphasis on women's health, gastrointestinal health, pediatrics, and physical medicine. Dr. Goncharoff focuses on providing patient-centered care backed by evidence-based medicine in order to optimize your health and well being. You can read more articles on her blog at www.doctorgnd.com or follow her on Instagram @doctorgnd.
Graphic created by Jacqueline Genova (@well.n.strong). Read more blogs, like this one, on her health and wellness blog WellNStrong.