Drama-Free Meal Preparation

There is a lot of resistance about this topic of meal prep and menu planning and because I've been coaching women for several years, I know this is a BIG issue.

First, I want to address this with our mindset. Allowing your brain to tell you how hard this process it, or that you don't have enough time or that you don't know what to fix is not helpful. All those negative thoughts will not help you create a plan that you can sustain. 

When you think those negative thoughts, it brings up the feelings of dread, which then makes you procrastinate, when you procrastinate, you really don't get anything done. And you don't really start or give yourself the opportunity to make good choices. 

What you need to have is a good mindset around preparing and prepping. 

So first, I want you to take some time, and really start cultivating some helpful thoughts, some thoughts like - “Wow, even though I don't love prepping and planning, this will set me up for success.” 

I guarantee that when you look back at your most successful time that you had some type of preparation going on, you had some type of meal planning. It is paramount that we figure out how to make peace with menus & cooking and get it in our schedule in a very non-drama way. 

Cultivate helpful thoughts like - “I can learn how to meal prep and plan for my season.” “I have all the time I need, and I can make this happen.” 

Think about how this will set you up for future success. It is much easier to stay on track when you know you’re going to succeed. I want to give you some tips and tricks so that you can hack your brain so that it isn't as resistant. And you can get some practical things done in a peaceful manner. 

First thing we need to do besides start cultivating some new thoughts around prep and plan, is to create a time for it. This needs to be time blocked. Even if it's not the same time each week, you need to know when it's going to happen. It's just like exercise, if you don't have it planned, then it's a lot harder to execute because it just falls by the wayside. It's got to be a priority. Start putting it in your schedule. 

Next, I want you to limit your time in the kitchen to 1.5-2 hours tops. Whenever your brain hears “I gotta be in the kitchen half the day”, it creates the feeling of dread. But you can get some foods prepped in one and a half to two hours, whatever is leftover goes to the next time you're in the kitchen preparing a meal. It is that simple. I never spend more than an hour or two in the kitchen prepping each week unless I'm going on vacation or I'm preparing for something special. 

Next, pick your poison. Choose the things that are going to set you up for success. If you like desserts, then make desserts ahead of time. Struggling to choose on-plan snacks? Make your snacks ahead of time. Maybe eating enough E meals is your struggle, make the THM fuel you need ahead of time. Pick the things that are going to serve you best. Ask yourself: “What 3 or 4 things are going to set me up for the rest of this week?” 

Here's what I prep each week. I prepare some type of protein, usually not fish because I don't love reheated fish. It's usually chicken or turkey breast because they’re Fuel Pull and you can create meals that are either S or E from them. I also cook up an E fuel like quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, or lentils. Did you know all of those are best cooked, cooled and then reheated or even eaten cold. Why? Because they're resistant starches and it basically helps your body digest those very low glycemic foods after they'd been heated and then cooled. 

The next thing, and one of my favorites is a veggie hack. Yes, there's a veggie hack recipe on the Trim Healthy Mama membership site but I just throw my favorite non starchy veggies together either on a roasting tray or in a pan and make them fuel pull style. I spray them with a little bit of coconut or avocado oil. Season and roast them. Store in the fridge and pull out for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even a snack. The second way I cook veggies would be in stir fry. I stir fry veggies in chicken broth with just a little bit of fat. I like a little bit of butter in there along with salt & pepper. By taking a bit of my time to cook up these vegetables I know I've always got my veggies on hand. I can create a Buddha bowl each day for lunch if I want to. 

I cut up vegetables and keep them in mason jars in the fridge. You can add a little bit of water in the bottom of the jar and the vegetables will stay nice and fresh all week. Keep jars of cucumbers, jars of carrots, and jars of peppers on hand in the fridge. 

You can also prep smoothies ahead. If you love smoothies and you have 52+ ingredients in your smoothies, which a lot of Trim Healthy Mamas do, then prep those in little cups ahead of time. All you do is dump your ingredient mix in the blender and whiz away.

Having trouble drinking THM sippers? Make half gallon or more of your favorite sipper and keep it in the fridge. Just sip on it all week long. 

Let’s talk batch cooking. Several years ago, I decided that Monday nights were my batch cooking nights. Every Monday night I cook double, and then freeze the second half, super easy. 

Lastly, you could hire one of your children. This has been a game-changer for me, I hire my kiddos to chop and prep foods to free up more of my time. They don't have to have a lot of skill, but they can make some things for me ahead of time and I will just pay them to do that. So, if you can delegate, then delegate! 

I learned a long time ago that having a plan and scheduling time to complete it were key to my success. 

Remember, preparation precedes blessing.

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