“Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

Sticking to a diet or meal plan can be difficult if you are not prepared. When your schedule is busy, you choose to go the closest drive-thru for dinner. Instead of a home-cooked meal for the night, you find it easier to just have someone else prepare it for you. Or, you go to the grocery store to buy pre-made meals, and end up grabbing some “junk food” on the way out. Unfortunately, this can be costly – not just on your wallet, but also on your body. Most of the time, you just don’t know what your meals are made of: what ingredients are used, where the food is sourced, how it is cooked. Well I have a challenge for you: instead of going convenient, attempt to plan and prep your meals for the week!

Include Meal-Prep in Your Weekly To-Dos

Just as you make time for yourself, make time to prepare your meals. You can do it once a week, or you can spread it out to two or three times a week, or daily. Plan a time that works best for you. During that time, start to prep for your meals by preparing them ahead of time. Store them in glass Tupperware containers, if possible, as they are easier to clean and are microwave-safe. You can also refrigerate or freeze items as needed. Then, when you’re on your way out for the day, you can easily grab your food and go!

Keep It Simple

Sometimes having simple meals makes it easier for you to meal prep, cutting down the time it takes to meal-prep. For example, bag small amounts of granola, or cut up different types of fruit and combine them for mini fruit salads. Keeping it simple makes it easier for you to mix and match your meals, spicing up your meal plans. Salads are another great meal you can mix and match. Add chia seeds, flaxseeds, dried cranberries, or pumpkin seeds to give it an extra crunch! You can also make an easy salad dressing from olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon, and spices!

Try Something New

If you enjoy trying new foods, I suggest looking up new recipes each! One way is to search for easy recipes online. With websites like Pinterest, you can search and save your favorite recipes on a board for easy reference later. You can also check out already made meal plans that cater to your food tastes!

Balance Your Meals

To get your maximum amount of nutrition, try to balance your main meals with protein, carbohydrates and veggies. And if your goal is to lose weight, portion control may help to speed your progress. Precision Nutrition has a free guide to calorie control that makes it easy to remember – it’s in the palm of your hand!

Meal-prepping can allow you to eat healthy, and will save you time and money in the long run! It may seem hard at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes easy-peasy!