DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE:
How To Prepare Meals For The Week
by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD
Sticking to a meal plan is much, much easier when everything is prepared ahead of time. When you’ve come home from a long day of work and training, the last thing you want to do is spend the rest of the night in the kitchen. Allotting some time at the beginning of the week to prep a majority of your meals will not only make adherence to the plan easier, but life in general as well. Here are some tips to help get you started.
Plan out your week
What recipes are you going to be choosing this week? It’s typically easiest to repeat the same meals 2-3 times a week so that you can batch cook.
Make a list
Once you’ve figured out which recipes you’ll be utilizing, figure out how much of each ingredient you’ll need. Keep in mind, there will be some things that don’t require purchase every week, like spices. But it’s important to have estimated amounts so you don’t over or under buy anything, which will prevent wasting time, money and resources. Now, make sure you stick to the list! Don’t go rogue in the baking aisle!
Buy in bulk
With your list in hand, be sure to buy your dry ingredients first, again in bulk. It’s usually cheaper to buy foods in bulk anyway. Then gather all of your produce and meats. It’ll be a fairly large trip, but you’ll pretty much be done for the rest of the week (most cooked meat will last up to 7 days in the fridge). You will likely need to go out again later in the week for some more fresh produce.
Invest in food containers and a cooler
This is absolutely the easiest way to prep and store everything. Most food containers (like Gladware or Ziploc) have the amount it holds imprinted on the bottom. You could even get the kind that has divided sections.
Set aside some time to cook
Here’s where you’ll batch cook (just double or triple a single-serve recipe). Portion out the amounts AFTER cooking. Some people try to cook three separate portions, this will make you want to tear your hair out. As long as you use the appropriate amounts and portion it into as equal parts as you can (eyeball it), you’ll be fine each day. Just follow the recipe as you would for an individual portion. Or you could grill all of your meat at once, then divide it up and add it to your cooked vegetables/grains. When you’re all done, portion everything out into your food containers and label it with the prep date so you know how long it’ll be good for. Be sure to tightly seal everything.
For hot items, use a Thermos
If you can’t cook your Breakfast Bowl at work, make time in the morning to cook it, then throw it in a Thermos, and it’ll remain hot for the duration of the ride. You might want to save the addition of the fruit until just before you eat it so it doesn’t get too soggy.
Don’t forget your lunch at home
This has happened to me more times that I’d like to admit, but try to set alarms or reminders to grab your lunch out of the fridge on your way out the door. If you forget, that’s money wasted and now you’re lost scrambling for a viable option come lunch time.
Prep the recipes in different ways using the same ingredients
It’s not always a viable option to cook at work, and let’s be honest, reheating scrambled eggs isn’t the most appetizing. Instead, hard boil the eggs, and use the same ingredients you’d use in the Egg Scramble and prepare it as a cold salad. It’s a lot easier to store-and-go with this type of preparation.
