Planning and prepping meals ahead of time will help you stay on track to meet your health goals, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Read on for simple steps and healthy meal prep ideas to get you started.

What is the Difference Between Meal Planning and Meal Prep?

Meal planning is the process of thinking about the flavors or types of dishes you want to eat, then deciding on meals for a specific timeframe, and creating a shopping list.

It’s an intentional way of eating that promotes more healthful choices. And it prevents skipping meals, grazing, and resorting to fast food or highly processed convenience foods.

Meal prep, on the other hand, is about preparing healthy meals ahead of time to support your healthy eating goals on your busiest of days. It may sound a bit ominous…like something only food bloggers do. But if you have the right tools and coaching, you can do it with ease.

There’s no need to spend hours in the kitchen or meal prep every single meal.

Meal prep is GREAT for those who are looking to pre-portion meals to avoid overeating — a dream-come-true for people who are trying to lose weight and prefer not to count calories.

Meal planning is the first step to healthy meal prep. And it’s not as time-consuming as you may think. In fact, it will save you time in the long run, leaving you more time to exercise and pursue personal interests.

For coaching and a personalized plan based on your health needs and preferences, I recommend contacting a registered dietitian. But for now, let’s just dip a toe in the water to see how it feels.

Simple Meal Planning Steps

Step 1:

Ready to get started? Let’s begin by employing one of the fun conveniences of technology. Meal planning apps!

Choose your meal planning app and create an account. Here are two of my favorites:

Mealime

Review: Mealime has tons of healthy recipes to choose from, which you can browse by category. Categories include Quick and Easy, Low Carb, Mediterranean, Flexitarian, Vegan, Main Course Salads, Wraps, Lunches, Breakfast and Snacks. When you sign up, the app asks for your preferences and any diet restrictions to give you a more personalized experience.

The free version of this app does not provide nutrition facts, but it does allow you to adjust number of servings and it even generates a grocery list with everything you need to prepare your meals.

Diabetes Food Hub

Review: Created by the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Food Hub is a diabetes-friendly and heart-healthy meal planning app, but it’s not just a tool for people with diabetes. It contains recipes that are appropriately carb-portioned for people with diabetes and for people trying to achieve a healthier weight. It provides lots of options from which you can select and save to favorites, then drag-and-drop into a visual meal planning calendar.

Nutrition facts are provided for each meal, and the automated grocery lists are quite convenient.

Step 2:

Pick a day and time to meal prep and create a reminder.

Choose a day and time that works best for you to spend about an hour in the kitchen. Put it on your calendar. Mealime has a reminder feature. Start small and try to make it a healthy habit. Consistency will help keep you on track.

Step 3:

Update your kitchen with cooking gadgets, utensils, containers and basic equipment to streamline the process.

Consider having these items on hand:

• A good chef’s knife
• Cutting board and/or cutting board mats
• Compartment meal prep containers or bento boxes
• Wide-mouth mason Jars for salad in a jar, overnight oats and chia seed pudding
• Small condiment containers to pack dressings, nuts, yogurt or almond butter
• Medium snack containers for pre-cut vegetables and pre-cooked proteins
• Fine mesh strainer to rinse beans, berries and quinoa
• Small whisk for easy homemade dressings
• Spiralizer for low-carb “pastas”
• Large baking sheet for roasting your protein and veggies all on the same pan — Get 16” x 22”, the largest that will fit in a standard oven

Step 4:

Browse and select recipes.

How many recipes should you choose? Think about your busiest days when lack of time results in less healthy behaviors. For example, do you eat fast food food frequently, or perhaps even skip lunch, during the work week? Do you avoid going to the gym because there’s no time to make dinner and work out? Plan for these days. Perhaps you have a tendency to rush out the door in the morning without breakfast. In this case, meal prepping your breakfasts may be a good place to start.

To begin your meal prep journey, commit to a manageable goal such as “I will meal prep three lunches for the week” or “I will meal prep dinner twice a week.” Then, choose your recipes accordingly.

Step 5:

Generate your automated grocery list and go shopping.

The apps I’ve recommended have a very convenient feature. With a touch of a button, they will generate a list of ingredients to buy at the store. Talk about a time saver! First, check your pantry and fridge for ingredients you already have.

Consider keeping shelf-stable items you use often, such as canned black beans, quinoa, a variety of dried herbs and no salt-spices — think peppercorn grinder, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, Italian herbs, garlic powder — stocked in your pantry.

Go to the market a day or two before your meal prep day, and shop for the meals you selected, so you will be ready. The idea is to avoid rushing around and increasing your stress level the day of, so you will be more likely to follow through with meal prep.

Step 6:

Cook, assemble and store food in meal prep containers.

On your meal prep day, slow cook, bake, or grill and arrange with fresh or roasted veggies in containers. Write the date you prepared your meals on a small sticker label. Store meals in your fridge up to 3 days.

Step 7:

Get the support you need.

Seeing a registered dietitian nutritionist is always recommended to get professional advice on how to balance macronutrients and micronutrients for your specific needs. She can also guide you and remove some of the guesswork from your planning.

If you have a health condition or you would like expert guidance, I can partner with you to build a personalized meal and prep plan to help you lose weight, better manage blood sugars, or improve high blood pressure or cholesterol. Please visit my Programs and Services page for more information or contact me to book an appointment.

In the meantime, check out these time-saving healthy meal prep ideas!

Healthy Meal Prep Ideas That Save Time

1. Construct a Buddha Bowl.
2. Prepare One Sheet Dinners.
3. Try fresh Bento Box Lunches.
4. Wash and pre-cut veggies and store them in containers for meal prep and snacks.
5. Cook whole grains ahead of time in batches and use over several days in different dishes, or get pre-cooked versions.
6. Rinse and strain canned beans (black, garbanzo, kidney) to increase plant-based protein in salads and Buddah Bowls. Add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sesame seeds for an extra boost of protein.
7. Use your slow cooker to prep a protein with minimal effort. Use your protein in different dishes over the next three days.
8. Assemble breakfast jars (overnight oats, chia pudding) for grab-and-go nutrition on those days you need to leave in a hurry.
9. Make your own simple dressings to add healthy fat and liven up your dish at mealtime.
10. Save your favorite meal prep recipes. They will be even easier to prepare the second time around!

With these simple time-saving steps and healthy meal prep ideas, you’ll quickly discover that meal prep isn’t as scary as you once thought. Meal prep is your friend! Keep in mind: It’s perfectly acceptable to start the relationship off slowly and let it blossom naturally. But give it a chance. Meal planning and meal prep will reduce the stress of having to find healthy options at the last minute and will keep you moving toward a healthier YOU.