8 Meal Prep Tips From A Healthy Cooking Pro

Alexa Tucker from SELF says Meal prepping is one of the best ways to stay on track with healthy eating. When life gets away from you, it’s all too easy to rely on takeout or quick meal options. (Confession: my go-to dinner when things get crazy is popcorn and wine, Olivia Pope-style. Not exactly loaded with protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs.) Sometimes, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to cook a full-on meal—that’s where prepping comes in.

“It’s essentially like you’re paying in advance with your time and effort,” Cassy Joy Garcia, author of paleo cookbook Fed & Fit out August 16 (and the healthy eating pro behind the blog, too), tells SELF. “It’s completely normal to feel like you don’t have the time or energy to cook a healthy meal during the week, so prepping healthy meals when you have time is the equivalent of knitting yourself a healthy-food safety net you can fall back on throughout the week.”

Ready to create your own delicious healthy-eating safety net? Here are eight game-changing tips for your best, most efficient meal prepping session ever.

1. Calculate how much food you’ll actually need to cook.

Before you plan your meals and hit the grocery store, consider how much food you’re actually going to eat so you don’t under- or over-do it. “Start with the simple math of how much you’d want to enjoy at a single meal,” says Garcia. “I typically recommend 4-6 ounces of protein, about half a cup of a vegetable-based starch (like a squash or potato), and at least one cup of cooked vegetables. If you’re preparing meals for five days of the week, simply multiply!”

You can also add in a couple of extra servings in case you’re especially hungry one day and store it in the freezer if you don’t end up eating it, she adds.

2. Get strategic about when you’ll eat what, and plan a small mid-week grocery run if you can.

While prepping for a whole week sounds great in theory, you have to consider the shelf life of cooked foods before diving in and cooking, say, six days’ worth of chicken breast. “For example, while baked potatoes and roasted vegetables will keep for about a full five days depending on the temperature and humidity of where you live, sometimes it’s best to eat meat sooner than that,” says Garcia. That chicken? It’s probably only good for three to four days. (Here are more guidelines on how long your meal prep go-tos keep.) Pop into a grocery store mid-week to grab any more fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, and meat you need, or simply keep some meat in the freezer to thaw and cook when you run out.

3. Write out a meal-prep game plan before you start.
“I recommend making a meal prep schedule for the day,” says Garcia. “If you know you’ll need your oven for a couple different components, map out what can bake at the same time and what can’t. The same goes for pots on the stove and any other kitchen equipment you may need to use (like the blender and food processor). Meal prepping doesn’t have to take all day! It can go by quickly if you have a thought-out plan of action.” By planning out what you’ll need to cook and in what order, you’ll minimize the time you spend figuring out what the next step is as you go. (Personally, I write my plan out in a notebook.)
4. And lay out all of your ingredients in an ~orderly fashion.~
In addition to your game plan, take it a step further by actually laying out what you need before you start, restaurant kitchen-style. Wash and chop your veggies, thaw your meats, and measure out any grains. “I also recommend that you set out any containers you’ll use for storage before you start cooking,” says Garcia. “Having ingredients and containers ready to go can make the cooking and then portion-to-store steps more streamlined and less intimidating.”

5. Cook versatile ingredients.
“I highly recommend you cook large meal components all at once, store them separately, and then combine them in fun and creative ways throughout the week,” says Garcia. “For example, toss five to seven pounds of chicken in the slow cooker so that you can make shredded chicken. I recommend storing that chicken unseasoned in the refrigerator, and then you can use that protein to make a variety of meals throughout the week such as stuffed potatoes, added protein to an omelet, a quick casserole, or a quick teriyaki bowl. The same can be said for cooking a large batch of baked potatoes and roasted veggies.”

6. Don’t try to make a different meal for every day.

If you try to chef your way through five different recipes or meals for five different nights, chances are you’ll be spending your whole day in the kitchen (and potentially run out of fridge space). “Choose versatile, basic proteins, starches, and vegetables that can be made in large batches and then rely on fun sauces, salsas, herbs, and quick preparation methods to keep meals interesting throughout the week. I’ve seen a lot of people burn out on meal prepping, but it’s because they really just took on too much all at once.” Here’s one dinner you can turn into a week of healthy lunches, if you’re looking for a versatile recipe.

7. Prep things you actually like.

If you don’t like what you prepped, chances are, you just won’t eat it—especially if you have unhealthier options, like takeout, calling your name. “After a few days, leftovers may appear less and less attractive–but if it’s your favorite food, you’re more likely to keep looking forward to meal time,” says Garcia. (SELF.com’s food reporter Audrey Bruno told me, “I’m always like, lets prep some quinoa! And then I think, wait, no, I hate quinoa.”)

8. And don’t forget about healthy dessert!

“Dessert is all-too-often an afterthought, which is usually why they become unhealthy choices,” says Garcia. “If you know that you enjoy the occasional sweet treat, I recommend taking that into consideration when you’re planning your week’s meals. A quick batch of roasted fruit popsicles or chia seed pudding cups can help keep you from being tempted by other not-so-healthy sweet treats but still satisfy that sweet tooth.” I love prepping this chocolate chia seed pudding recipe fromMinimalist Baker.

See ya, cereal for dinner and ice cream for dessert. When you have healthy food on hand, you’re more likely to eat healthy food, simple as that.