5 Quick Tips for Meal Prepping for a Healthier You in 2024 (especially after Gasparilla weekend....)

One of the best ways to take charge of your health is to adopt a healthy diet. Meal prepping is a great way to ensure you always have delicious and nutritious meals available—even on your busiest days.  

In addition to a more balanced, nutritious diet, planning and prepping your meals in advance offers the following benefits:

• Less time in the kitchen

• A lower grocery/food bill

• Reduced stress around mealtime

Meal prepping may seem daunting initially, but once you figure out what works for you, you’ll never look back! With a little trial and error, experimentation, and creativity, your meals and nutrition will be transformed. Here are five tips to guide you as you start your meal prep journey.

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Good nutrition supports your physical and mental health—it can also be delicious! Gather recipes from friends, family, or social media. Remember that even the most indulgent meals often have similar options, so get creative and research alternatives. 

Have fun and include simple meals that you know you’ll enjoy—otherwise your meal prepping journey won’t last long at all. Your goal should be to create a varied and nutritious diet:

• a rainbow of vegetables

• healthy sources of protein and fats

• low-glycemic carbs 

If you’re feeding a family, remember to get input from all the members—the more involvement you have, the more successful and sustainable your meal prepping will be.

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Your next step is to decide how often you’ll eat each meal—will you have a two-week plan that you repeat twice each month? Or will you have enough ideas for 30 days? Remember to vary your meals—so you don’t eat chicken for a whole week.

Do what makes the most sense to you. You can formalize it in a spreadsheet or on a physical calendar—wherever you keep it, ensure it’s easy to access.

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Consider your weekly schedule and break up your meal prepping into the following three stages:

• Create a grocery list

• Go shopping

• Do the prep

Have set times each week for meal prep and be amazed at how much you get done and how much time you save overall. Remember: Multitask as you prepare the meals—while something is baking in the oven, you can chop veg and salad ingredients and boil rice, etc.

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Once the bulk of cooking and prep is done, store it thoughtfully. Freeze the food for later in the week, portion lunches into storage containers, and label them if necessary. Transparent containers make it easy to identify your different meals.

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Like everything in life, there’s a time for review and changes. After a few weeks of meal prepping, you’ll know what’s working and what might need tweaking. Remember, your meal prep journey will be unique to you. Others may inspire you, but avoid direct comparisons.

For more tips on living a healthy and active lifestyle, contact us at Tampa Spine and Wellness. We’re passionate about helping people become the best versions of themselves, naturally.