If you’re like me, you’ve been seeing all kinds of articles or posts on Facebook about meal prep and how important it is. I agree, planning is key to a successful weight loss or health improvement plan. However, meal prep, like everything else about your fitness journey, has to make sense for YOUR life. Is spending a few hours cutting up veggies, packing them in containers for snacks, or for tossing in salads, your idea of having fun….or at least being efficient? Not mine either!
As your Bff, I thought I’d share a few things I do to both save time, and create an ‘environment for success’. Which is what the meal prepping craze is (or should be) trying to do for you!
- It starts with your shopping. First, Make sure that you shop along the outer edges of the store. This is where you’re going to find fresh frozen and mostly unprocessed foods. Second, when you finish your shopping and before you check out, check your cart and make sure that 75% of what you are purchasing is NOT processed (boxed/ bagged/canned/packaged) food. Some frozen products are the exception.
- Purchase foods that can be used in multiple recipes. For example buy a head of cabbage knowing that there are two or three recipes you can make that will allow you to use the entire cabbage at once. I know before I started doing this, I would throw half the cabbage away every time I purchased one. As you can see from my photos, I purchased a cabbage and used the outer leaves for wraps and then chopped up the rest to use for a beef soup that includes lots of good veggies.
- Cook once, eat for the week. Or at least a few days, like I did in the photos. If you are taking the time to cook, save time by preparing multiple meals. You’ll see that in less than an hour, I prepared wraps, soup, a few snacks, and a London Broil. It saves you time not only because it is already prepared and you don’t have to think about meals the rest of the week, OR make them, but the cleanup is quicker as well! You only dirty the prep dishes once!
- Use your freezer to help you marinate meats. My daughter shared this tip with me and it works beautifully. Whenever I buy fresh meat, I decide which marinade (homemade and healthy) I will use and I prepare it and freeze the meat with the marinade. This saves me time because most often I forget to marinate the meat the day before I want to eat it! So now, when I pull the meat out of the freezer, it has already marinated as it has frozen and it finishes marinating as it defrosts in my refrigerator. This has been a huge saver of time and frustration for me!
- Do extra. So back to chopping veggies… If I’m cutting up vegetables Or any other product that has to be chopped or prepped in any way) to use as snacks or in a soup, or other dish on the menu, I go ahead and chop up (or prep) twice as much so I can stash them in the fridge to add to salad or other dishes later. You can even freeze many of these foods. As for veggies, only freeze them if you know you will be using them in a cooked dish later. If I’m washing and cutting up veggies I might as well do all of them at once, right?!
- S-T-R-E-T-C-H! Sometimes you have to make more from less! If you need to make your soup go further, add veggies and broth. If you want your salad mix to go further, add more greens, like I did in the photo! This allows you to make more servings, which lasts longer (and saves time) and it can cut some calories, too! I always add some regular (whatever I have on hand) greens to any salad mix, since there is always more dressing in the pack than is necessary… or tastes good!
There it is, in a nutshell. An hour in the kitchen – well maybe a few minutes more, if you count the cleanup— BUT, so little time and so much done! I hope these tips help you the next time you are busy ‘creating an environment’ conducive to ‘making better choices for a healthier lifestyle’ for YOU!
If I can help in anyway please use the contact form below and connect with me I would love to hear from you! And if you haven’t already, connect with me on Facebook or through email at:
FB: Your Best Fitness Friend
Email: Suzy@imyourbff.com
Be well, Suzy
Sharing the recipes:
Vegetable Beef Soup (South Beach Diet)
1 lb. stew beef (as lean as possible), cubed
1-2 T. EVOO
1 rib of celery, chopped fine
1/2 lg onion, chopped fine
1/4 lb. green beans, cut into 1″ pieces
5 cups of water or beef broth
1/4 small head of cabbage, coarsely chopped/shredded (2-3 c)
1/4 (10 oz.) bag spinach, coarsely chopped/shredded
1 can diced tomatoes
pepper to taste
**adjustments: I do not add the spinach-just don’t care for the combination, so I add a little more of the other veggies; I use canned green beans, just dump the can in, juice and all, no chopping; when I use water -instead of beef stock) I add beef bouillon cubes. Also, you can use left over steak, cut in bite-sized pieces – you can cut the cooking time in half.
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and brown the steak if it isn’t already cooked. Remove the meat to a plate with a paper towel and blot to remove excess fat/oil. Using remainder of oil (left in pan, or add a bit) add the celery, onions and green beans and cook until tender. Stirring regularly. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 min.-up to an hour if you want, depending on how well done the steak is after browning and how well done you want it at the finish. Super tasty and filling!
About 8 servings290 cal. per serving
Reuben Wrap
Ingredients:
Cabbage leaves (You can also use a tortilla wrap-choose wisely-if it is too much cabbage for you. J
Reduced fat swiss cheese, slices or shredded
Pastrami (or Turkey Pastrami, which can be expensive, however, Sam’s sells a large package for about $9
Grainy mustard or Low sugar Thousand Island Dressing
Coleslaw mix or sauerkraut
Carefully remove outer leaves from the head of cabbage, wash and dry. Place the meat, cheese, sauerkraut or slaw mix and tablespoon of dressing or mustard inside the leaf or tortilla and roll it up. Secure with a toothpick and enjoy!
Based on The South Beach Diet Book – Approx. 200 cal, 300 for tortilla version
South Beach London Broil
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry red wine
3 cloves garlic,minced
3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. sirloin,top round,or eye round London broil
In a small mixing bowl,whisk together the oil,wine, garlic,parsley,oregano,bay leaf,and pepper. Place the steak in a deep bowl and pour on the marinade. Turn once to coat both sides,cover,and refrigerate for at least 4 hours,preferably overnight.
When ready to serve,preheat the broiler or prepare a charcoal grill. Discard the marinade and bay leaf. Broil the meat for about 5 min. on each side or until a thermometer inserted in the center registers 145F (for med-rare). Cut the meat into thin,diagonal slices across the grain. Serve warm or cold. About 8 servings. 180 cal.
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