February 22, 2019
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or make lifestyle changes, planning and meal preparation are important keys to your success! We all have good intentions when it comes to making changes, but sometimes life just gets busy. You finish work and are headed home, you’re “hangry” and there is no dinner plan. It just seems so much easier to hit the drive-thru and pick-up something quick.
By spending a little bit of time planning your families favourite meals and doing a bit of prep work on the weekend, you can have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less or even better, ready to eat simmering in your crockpot!
Here are some quick tips to get you on your way
- Keep it simple, don’t choose complicated recipes
- Pick a day to plan the meals and make your grocery list
- Pick a day to shop for groceries and stick to your list
- Make sure you have containers for all your meals
- On prep day, enlist help from all family members
- Don’t forget to label casseroles with cooking time and temps
- Make one for the freezer
- Portion out snacks such as nuts, veggies etc.
- Keep a grocery list on your fridge for things you run out of
If you are new to meal planning and prep, I’d suggest you start with just a couple of meals until you get the hang of it. Once you are comfortable preparing multiple meals, prep some for the freezer that can just be dumped into a crockpot or an Instapot for those weeks when things get a bit crazy.
Pinterest has lots of recipes that will suit everyone’s taste. If you have children, get them involved and let them pick a meal and they can help with assembling, measuring or chopping if they are old enough. Picky eaters usually respond well to being allowed to choose their favourite meal!
