By: Aubrey Lapp
Balancing a busy college life with healthy eating can definitely be challenging at times. Learning how to meal prep is a true game-changer.
As a fourth-year college student, I’ve discovered effective strategies to make meal prepping both manageable and enjoyable. Here are my top tips for mastering meal prep and ensuring you stay nourished throughout the week:
1. Utilize Pinterest for Recipe Inspiration and Organization
If you’re not already using Pinterest, now is the time to start! Pinterest is not only a great tool for organizing recipes, but also discovering them. You can easily find and save recipes that align with your nutritional goals and cooking style, while seamlessly saving them to different boards for easy access. You can even add sections to boards for deeper categorization.
The two main ways I like to organize my food boards/sections are by recipes I want to try and ones I’ve already tested:
- “Made It” Board
- “Delicious” (Recipes that I would re-make)
- “Didn’t Turn Out So Good”
- “Easy Eats” Board (all healthy, simple, minimal-ingredient recipes)
- “Breakfast/Brunch”
- “Lunch/Dinner”
- “Snacks/Appetizers”
- “Sweet Treats”
2. Plan Your Grocery List and Stick to It
One of the simplest tricks to saving time and money in the grocery store is going in with a plan. Nowadays, you can order groceries online, which not only saves time but can help you stick to your budget by avoiding impulsive purchases. Additionally, for novelty items, there are apps such as Martie that offer discounted products to help reduce food waste.
Every week, I create a list of the recipes I want to make over the next few days, in addition to maintaining an ongoing ingredient list on my phone. The Reminders app on iOS devices has a “grocery” list type that automatically organizes ingredients into categories as you type them in making an easy list for your grocery trips! This helps me keep track of what I have on hand to use up and what I need from the store.
3. The Freezer is Your Friend
As someone with a chronically stuffed freezer, I can attest to the benefits of freezing prepped meals and ingredients. There are so many ways to utilize your freezer to extend the life of your food and ensure you always have nutritious options available. Investing in quality freezer-friendly containers is also a great idea to make storage more efficient.
Some things I always have on hand in the freezer:
- Frozen fruit
- Great for quick smoothies!
- Frozen veggies
- A convenient way to have produce on hand without worrying about spoilage.
- Some easy, healthy pre-made meals
- I especially love the ones from Trader Joes!
- Bread
- Prevents bread from molding before having the chance to use it up.
- Protein
- I usually have various forms such as turkey meatballs, chicken apple sausage, or portioned bags of salmon and pre-cut chicken for easy cooking.
4. Cutting Corners When Necessary
A common misconception is that to eat healthy, everything must be made completely from scratch. This is not true! Using some pre-made components, such as store-bought sauces or additives like a good protein powder (I recommend this plant protein & greens powder from Whole Foods) can save time and make home cooking more manageable. Just be mindful about choosing minimally processed options that align with your personal health goals!
To avoid spending excess time in the kitchen, some other great strategies include preparing meals in advance and in bulk. If you have some extra time the night before an early class, try this recipe for overnight oats. Or if you know you’ll have a busy day tomorrow, cook up an extra serving of dinner to have as lunch the next day when you’re short on time.
5. Finding Balance is Key!
In conclusion, meal prepping doesn’t have to be overwhelming! It may take a few weeks to get into the groove, but once you figure out what works best for you and your schedule, it will feel like second nature. Planning out your meals is a valuable life skill and with a little bit of preparation, you’ll be well-equipped to handle your week with ease!