Whenever I do an intake call with a new prospective athlete, we almost always get into the cost-benefit analysis of doing a macros program. The benefit is that a good macros program (such as what you will get with Lean Mean Green Health) is going to be the most efficient way to attain your goals, whether that is muscle gain, fat loss, improved health, improved energy, or some combination of these. The cost is that tracking macros is difficult, especially in the beginning. I always try to make this very clear to people up front, because I know that I personally appreciate transparency when I am thinking about starting something new. Even if you are not doing a macros program, however, it can still be difficult simply to plan food and stick to your nutrition program. No matter where you are on your nutrition journey, it's helpful to have some tricks up your sleeve for making meal planning and meal prepping as fast and as easy as possible. So, with that being said, below are my top five tips to make meal prepping manageable.
Use your crock pot! I love a one-pot meal. Not only are these meals delicious, especially as the weather starts to get cold, but they are simple and easy. Most of the time, all you have to do is put the appropriate ingredients into the crock pot at the beginning of your day, set it to the cooking temperature that you want, and then leave it to do its thing. When you get home later that night you will have a delicious and nutritious meal ready for you to eat, no extra steps necessary.
Outsource the knife work! Hear me out on this one - I am a person who loves to cook. I like to grocery shop for the perfect ingredients, peel, chop, and prepare whatever needs to be done, I like to sear and blanch and roast. I like all of it. But only when I have the time. When I'm in a rush, it's the last thing I want to do. And most of us lead busy lives, and we are in a rush at the end of our day when it comes time for dinner or when we are preparing meals for the future. Don't let this be an excuse to get off track! Buy your food already chopped, peeled, cut, and whatever else you need. Yes, buying pre-washed and cut produce is a little bit more expensive, but very often people find that the cost difference is well worth the convenience.
Cook in bulk! If you are already taking the time to cook, you might as well make as much as you can. Whether you are cooking on the grill, in the oven, on the stove, in your crock-pot, or whatever else, cook as much as you can fit. One of the issues with meal planning and prepping is the foreverness of it - we eat, we get hungry again, we eat, we get hungry again. It's endless. But that doesn't mean we have to cook every single time, and the cooking is what tends to take the longest. Don’t give yourself the excuse to reach for something fast and easy and unhealthy when you're strapped on time - cook in bulk!
Use your refrigerator and freezer! If you're going to cook and bulk, you'll want to make best friends with your refrigerator and freezer. Portion out meals into refrigerator and freezer safe containers, and then save them for another day. If you are a real meal-prep ninja, you can even write the macros of the meal in dry erase marker on the top of the container. Then, when things get super crazy, not only do you have food ready to go, but you know exactly what macros are going to be coming with it.
Track your food a day ahead of time! If you have worked with me before then there is just no way you haven't heard me suggest this, maybe even multiple times. But that's because it works! Track your food for the next day before you go to bed each night. Even if plans change, you will be much more likely to hit your nutrition goals if you at least have a plan. And if things don't change, then you have a perfect roadmap to get you to a day of perfect nutrition and/or macros.