How I Plan, Prep and Store Healthy Meals for the Week

Before we starting meal planning, Matt and I would text each day around lunchtime and see how our day was going and ask what was for dinner. It was always stressful being in the middle of the day and having to come up with a meal with so many other things going through our minds. Deciding on meals daily caused us to have to go to the grocery several times during the week and often we just through up our arms and decided to go out to eat or bring home a pizza.

However, with meal planning, we create a weekly menu (usually on Sunday night) and know what meals we will have for the week. We have the supplies needed for the meals on our grocery lists and typically shop at Sam's on Saturday morning and Kroger on Tuesday. We are stocked with healthy foods and I prep on the weekend so there is less stress about eating healthy.

Planning what to what to eat and making simple preparations ahead of time allows us to eat healthy throughout the week and enjoy a home-cooked meal even on the busiest of nights (like last night when I had to take my youngest to the doctor and then be at school for my oldest to do a presentation). Here are my tips to help you learn how to meal prep....

PLANNING
You'll see several coaches talk about cooking all of their meals for the week at once. However, you can eat healthy every day without cooking in advance. Having a plan is most important. Matt and I plan a week of meals at a time. I pull out my calendar from my phone to decide which days we have time to cook and which are busier. We make our menu around our schedules knowing which meals take longer to prep. Then, I add healthy snacks, including seasonal fruits, and use this menu to create a shopping list.

I've seen others post about stocking the fridge and freezer with healthy options and let the menu work itself out during the week. This can work too, but you do need to think about tomorrow’s meals the night before so you can pull stuff out of the freezer, soak beans, or fire up the slow-cooker as needed.



SHOPPING AND PREPPING
As I mentioned, while creating the meal plan, I also determine what items are already in the kitchen and which I need to add to the grocery list. Matt and I use the app "Any List" for our groceries. We love it because it's a shared app and we can see when either of us added or crosses off items. Plus the items are stored on the list so we can look back and create the weekly list from items we have used in the past. We have a list for Sam's and a separate list for Kroger.

After Matt returns from Sam's on the weekend, I wash, cut and pack the fruits and veggies. I measure them in the portion containers, but have several Rubbermaid containers that I use for each day of the week. I also prepare fruits for the girls' lunches and put aside fruit for Courtney to have after dance on Monday nights and all of us to have during swimming on Saturdays.



PROTEINS
Chicken, beef, pork, and fish all freeze well, and can be divided into individual portions and frozen for future use. If you can, splurge for organic meat and poultry that's great, but not required.

Most of our meat is purchased from Sam's in larger quanitities and kept in the freezer. We have an extra freezer in the garage to hold all of the goods!! When Matt gets home from Sam's with meat he will portion out pork chops and steak into meal sizes and use the food saver to package the items.

Ground beef or turkey can be made into your favorite meatloaf recipe or formed into patties, and frozen raw.

Fish is a natural for the freezer. Our family prefers salmon and mahi-mahi. The good news is, these can go straight from the freezer to the oven or the grill (just add a few m

inutes to the cooking time in your recipe).

Eggs are also an excellent source of protein and there are tons of quick recipes, so it’s always good to have some in the fridge, where they stay fresh for 3-5 weeks. Matt has found the best deal for eggs to be at Costco. They come in a twin pack of 18 eggs so we have plenty to hard boil which is great for salads or quick and easy snacks. The girls love eggs for breakfast with a piece of peanut butter wheat toast!!


WHOLE GRAINS AND PASTAS
Whole grain pasta, brown rice, and quinoa are all pantry staples that help pull together a meal, with no prior planning. Cook a large batch of rice or quinoa and keep it in the fridge for future meals. When it’s time for dinner, chop and toss meats, vegetables, nuts, and seeds into a skillet for a quick salad or stir-fry.


FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Our kitchen is always stocked with fruits and vegetables. I prefer to thoroughly clean the vegetables and fruits as soon as they come in the house, but sometimes our busy schedules require me to wait. However I always find time on either Saturday or Sunday. I chop veggies like carrots, bell peppers, onions, and store them in the fridge so they’re ready to sauté or add to salads.

I keep a variety of fruits on hand for healthy snacks and to use in breakfasts and salads. I find I eat more fruit if I keep it in plain sight, washed and ready to eat. Wait to wash berries until just before eating.


Planning and prepping takes time and practice, but over time I've gotten much faster and reduced stress in the process. Plus our family eats much healthier and in a timely manner thanks to us having a plan. We enjoy eating as a family at home at least 3-4 nights a week and the girls LOVE sitting at the dining room table and taking turns saying the blessing. We are TRULY blessed to have all we have!