Meal prepping has many benefits

Schedules today are busier and busier, between work, school and kids’ activities, and finding time to prepare healthy meals can be challenging.

Meal prepping can be a great way to eat healthier, reduce stress during the week and also help save money.

What are some health benefits of meal prepping? 

There are numerous health benefits to meal prepping.

People often turn to fast food options or eating out when in a hurry or unsure what to make for dinner. This leads to consuming often unhealthy foods and oversized portion sizes.

Using fresh, unprocessed foods can reduce total calories, fat and sodium and increase the intake of fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods. 

What are some healthy meal prep options?

There are numerous resources available to find healthy meal prep recipes, which includes online resources such as eatingwell.com, delish.com and tasteofhome.com to name a few.

Some easy and healthy make-ahead items include:

•Smoothie freezer packs — Clean, chop and portion out fruit and keep in the freezer. Add spinach for more healthy greens. In the morning, add milk or milk alternative and blend. 

•Overnight oats — Combine old-fashioned oats and milk or milk alternative overnight for a high protein breakfast. Other healthy ingredients can be added such as chia seeds, yogurt, vanilla and sweetener such as syrup, dates or mashed banana. 

•Crepes — Roll whole wheat crepe with low-fat ricotta cheese, berries and honey. Wrap and freeze then reheat in the microwave when ready to eat. 

•Chia pudding cups — In a bowl, combine milk or milk alternative, chia seeds, some maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Refrigerate for 8 hours. When ready to eat, stir and mix with fruit and nuts. 

•Freezer breakfast and lunch burritos — Fill tortilla shell with favorite ingredients such as scrambled eggs and chopped veggies for breakfast, beans and cheese for a vegan lunch or seasoned steak or chicken with brown rice for dinner. Roll and freeze then reheat. 

•Protein lunch boxes – In a sealable container, arrange items such as hard-boiled eggs, edamame, tuna, baguette slices and cherry tomatoes for an easy grab-and-go, high-protein lunch.

•Salads — Place greens such as spinach in a container, top with protein such as prepared chicken or steak along with vegetables or strawberries, cheese and nuts. Top with vinaigrette dressing. 

•Protein bowls — Prepare quinoa or rice and arrange in a container, top with prepared chicken, veggies such as corn, peppers, pico de gallo and cilantro. When ready to eat, add avocados and hot sauce. 

•Pasta bowls — Prepare high protein pasta such as black-bean rotini, place in a container and top with veggies such as Mexican-style corn and pico de gallo, and cooked chicken. Finish with cilantro salad dressing.  

•Soups — Chili soup or vegetable soup are great soups that can be prepared ahead and divided into containers to freeze to reheat later.

How do I start meal prepping? 

The easiest way to start meal prepping is simply by making extra.

The next time you are making a meal, double the recipe and put half in a freezer container for later.

It is also important to do your research and plan ahead, create a detailed shopping list and invest in good containers. Some other tips include making large batches of grains such as quinoa or rice at one time, cutting vegetables and fruits all at one time and layering salads in mason jars. 

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Krieg is a registered dietitian for the IU Health East Central Region.