Meal Prep: 3 Tips For Eating Right At Work

Eating right when you work a lot can be hard. You’re either working through lunch or eating out more often than you’d like. Luckily, meal prepping can help you make healthier choices and save money. Meal prep is what it sounds like – preparing meals ahead of time. Here are 3 tips to help you get started.

Prepare Your Kitchen

This is often overlooked, but an important first step in meal prepping is to make sure your kitchen is functional.

While, if you can afford it, you can and should go all out with a kitchen renovation to make sure you have all the right cabinet placements, countertops, and touch-free faucets, that’s not always practical or necessary.

Instead, there are some key things you can do to make sure your kitchen is conducive to meal prep.

First, clear out your fridge and freezer. Get rid of anything that’s expired or that you know you won’t eat. This will make it easier to see what you have on hand and make space for new food.

Second, stock your pantry with basic staples that will last a while, like oils, bottles of vinegar, spices, and grains. This will give you a foundation to build meals from and mean you don’t have to run to the store every time you want to meal prep.

Finally, invest in some good quality storage containers. You’ll want to have a variety of sizes on hand to store different amounts of food. Look for ones that are microwave and dishwasher safe for easy reheating and cleaning.

Choose Your Meals

Now that you have your kitchen set up for meal prep, it’s time to choose what you’re going to make.

You can either meal prep individual items that you can combine into different meals throughout the week, or you can make complete meals that are ready to eat.

Some great things to meal prep individually are proteins like grilled chicken, hard-boiled eggs, or tofu.

You can also prep veggies like roasted sweet potatoes, grilled zucchini, or roasted Brussels sprouts. Don’t forget about starches like quinoa, brown rice, or pasta.

If you want to make complete meals, think about what you usually eat during the week and how you can make it ahead of time. Some easy meal ideas are soup, chili, casseroles, quiche, or stir fry.

Set Aside Time

One of the biggest challenges of meal prep is actually taking the time to do it.

It can be tempting to try and do it all in one day, but that can often lead to burnout. Instead, try setting aside a few hours each week to prep food.

One way to do this is to choose 2-3 recipes and make them on rotation. This way you’re not making a bunch of different things each week, but you’re still getting variety in your meals.

Taking the time to meal prep can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. By taking some time to set up your kitchen, pick your meals, and set time aside to cook, you’ll be on your way to eating healthy, home-cooked meals all week long.