I'M BACK! So it has been 3 months since my last blog post, but for good reasons. 1. I traveled all around Europe with my two friends from the Netherlands all the way to the south of France to Italy and Spain and back to Miami. It was amazing and I still miss the gelato I had in Italy and all the great Belgium beer. 2. I started medical school, and so far it is going amazing. I have made great friends who I have had some awesome times with so far, and I am enjoying school because I am learning all about subjects that will allow me to accomplish my dream of being a physician. So now that I am adjusted, I thought it was time for a new blog post.
When people tell me they are too busy to meal prep I get very confused. To me, the busier I am the more I HAVE to meal prep. It saves me time! If you are busy then meal prepping should not be seen as something you don't have time for, but something that will save you time later on in the week!
Here is my quick guide to meal prepping for anyone with a busy schedule (like full time students!)
Plan out your meals for the week
Next, write in what you want to eat! Here are the foods that I commonly chose eat week in each category. I pick 2 proteins, 2-3 veggies, and 2-3 carbs so each meal throughout the week has some variety and I don't end up eating the same thing every day.
Protein (Pick 2)
- Chicken (oven cooked)
- 96-99% lean ground turkey (stove)
- Ground beef (stove)
- Fish (salmon, Tilapia, flounder, etc.) either in the oven on grilled
- Steak (grilled)
- Asparagus (roasted in the oven)
- Brussels sprouts (roasted in the oven)
- Zucchini/yellow squash (sautéed on the stove in EVOO)
- Roasted peppers (grilled or sautéed)
- Vegetable medley
- Broccoli/Cauliflower (really I just buy frozen and heat it up the day I want to eat it, but you can buy a lot of fresh and meal prep it for the week too)
- Brown rice (I like to prep 1 1/2-2 cup dry)
- Quinoa (I prep 2 cups dry)
- Sweet potatoes (roasted in the oven)
- Spaghetti/penne/whatever you like (one box worth)
Meals
Once you have chosen which foods you want for the week and have all your food prepared, you need to have a general idea of what meals you want to make. Honestly, most of the time I just have 1 protein, 1 veggie, 1 carb and it is really that simple. Other times, I plan out a fantastic meal and like to prep all the ingredients for it. It is up to you. Here are some ideas that you can use to get a sense of how meal prepping makes your lunch and dinners easy with no need to worry about what you are going to eat that day. Your protein, carbs, and veggies are already cooked. Now you just get to chose what you want to eat!
- Salmon, brown rice, asparagus
- Whole wheat spaghetti with grass fed beef (or turn your ground beef into meatballs when you are meal prepping!)
- Homemade chipotle burrito bowl with ground turkey, brown rice, black beans, guacamole, salsa, and romaine lettuce
- Ground turkey or chicken with your veggie medley over rice/quinoa
- Chicken with sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts
- Steak with roasted peppers and rice
- Brussel sprouts (already prepped) sautéed with bacon and chicken
- So many more!
Here are pictures of some of my delicious meals (because pictures are always better!!)