Meal Prep: Step One - The Plan
I LOVE that you can hope over to Google at any time and pull up great recipes. I LOVE it even more that you can find meal plans for any lifestyle shared by the very kind and adventurous blog-o-sphere.
Recently, I shared my meal planning/pre-cooking sessions with an online fitness group I am a part of, and the response was a resounding "TEACH ME!" (and a few "Come to my house and feed me!"). This got me thinking and after a little research, I decided that what might be the most beneficial would be to TEACH how I meal plan and lead you through the process.
"Give a woman a meal plan and you feed her for a week, teach her to meal plan and you create a monster" - Anonymous (just kidding, it's me)
Step One:
How will you plan? There are a million and one ways to keep your meal plan and recipes. Just look for a method that is going to be easy to maintain and that will inspire you. IF you are a pen/paper devotee and know that getting on the computer or smart phone just to plan/prep will discourage you- stick with a binder or notebook. If you are a tech wiz, do a little research and find the program/app/website that works best for you.
For me, I love PLAN TO EAT. This amazing creation is an online recipe book, meal planner, and life saver that I discovered about a year ago. With the use of a magic button in your tool bar called the "Recipe Clipper" you can import any recipe off the web with one click!
You can then drag any recipe to the meal planner and schedule your entire week, month, or even year! You can even add prep notes so you will know exactly what needs prepping prior to your cooking session. Not a bad system!
Another tech option is the good ole Google Calendar! Simply make an event with the name of the meal you want to schedule and paste a link to the recipe page in the notes for the event. You can color code the events to indicate breakfast, lunch and dinner and even share the events with family!
The easiest and most basic is good ole paper and pen. For this method, you'll want a binder with plenty of room and some tabs. You can collect all your recipes and organize them by cuisine, protein, prep times or anything you want using the tabs. Then simply keep calendar pages in the front of your binder for keeping your schedule.
The method below from DVO looks like an awesome way to keep your recipes (as long as you don't mind making cards.
Ok. So we now know where we are going to be working. Next is the recipes. Two options here for you:
1.) Go forth and research recipes that fit your lifestyle. For the purposes of this class, you'll want to find about 30 recipes. Technically, you are wanting to have 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches and 10 dinners - BUT- I do not want you to get stuck in the rut of "You have breakfast foods for breakfast" or "Lunch should be sandwiches or salads" Please consider meatloaf for breakfast or eggs for dinner. Just look for 30 recipes that you LOVE or want to try.
(Side note: Also consider your experience level and cooking style before saving a recipe. If you are a beginner and pick 30 Julia Child recipes - you are going to have a bad time. Please try new things but consider the cook time and preparation required before jumping in. Also, look at the required equipment - crock pots, mixers, or special cookware and make sure you are covered for it. And finally, please remember that every meal doesn't need to be a "recipe". Keep it simple. Look for proteins you can use for many things. One of my favorites is taco seasoned proteins. You can make tacos, burritos, put it with eggs, or top a salad.)
2.) Stay tuned for my favorite recipes all rounded up just for you!! I will be including both paleo and non-paleo with some family favorites!
3.) If you go with Plan to Eat - you can recipe share with me!
Ok Preppers! Go forth and devise your meal planning method and gather your 30 recipes/meal ideas. On the next post. I will cover the planning stage through the start of cooking.
Happy Healthy Days!