Meal preparation or “Meal prep” is a concept of choosing and preparing meals in advance to save time and control the portions or balance of your meals. It is a method that helps many people achieve their goals in terms of health and fitness.
Meal prep is especially popular among athletes and busy people who do not have enough time to cook.
Types of meal preparation
There are several ways to prepare and plan meals, which are guaranteed to help you save time. Among the most popular are:
- Batch cooking – preparing a dish for a few days. On weekends, you can prepare the food, put it in the fridge or freezer and eat it in the following days.
- Preparing meals and individual portions of food in advance – one day, you prepare several dishes, keep them in containers, and you will consume them in the following days.
- Preparing ingredients for cooking – in this type of meal preparation, you will save time by preparing the ingredients you need for cooking in advance. You can cut vegetables, meat, or potatoes so that later cooking will take much less time and effort.
The benefits of preparing meals in advance
The benefits of preparing meals in advance are many. They can be seen in health, body weight, but also the wallet. Take a look at the benefits of preparing meals in advance.
Hunger won’t take you by surprise.
People who don’t eat them regularly usually have trouble controlling their weight. If you are not used to eating at about the same time each day, your brain cannot send information that it is time to eat. You can get hungry at any time, and if you do not have the food ready, you will resort to bad eating habits. These include, for example, ordering caloric or unhealthy food, or you can start consuming everything you see. However, pre-meal preparation assures you that hunger will never leave you unprepared. You can have food prepared for the whole day, breakfast, snack at ten o’clock, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. If you are hungry, you will have a healthy alternative that you prepared the day before.
Have better control of your diet.
Nutrition control is essential for body health and fitness goals. Don’t know how much and how to eat and if it’s enough for your body? Thanks to the preparation of meals, you will know precisely how many calories and what macronutrients your diet contains. You will learn all the ingredients you have used in cooking, and thus you will make sure that you eat quality foods. The charm of preparing meals in advance lies in the balance.
To achieve this balance, you should focus on these two main things when preparing food:
- Keep track of your daily caloric intake – there are various smartphone tracking apps which you can use.
- Maintain a balanced ratio of macronutrients – set a percentage of macronutrients according to your needs and goal and try to stick to it.
It helps you save time and money.
No matter what type of food you choose, you will permanently save time. However, it may take a little longer to prepare meals until you find the right system. If you decide to prepare meals on Sunday afternoon for the whole week, it will take some time, but you will have balanced meals all week, and you do not have to spend extra time in the kitchen. You will have more time for a workout or other recreational activities. Think about how much time you lose sitting in front of the fridge while trying to figure out what to eat. Once you cook the food in advance, all you have to do is take it out of the refrigerator and heat it.
By preparing meals in advance, you will also gain greater control over food expenses. By eliminating food ordered by delivery, you will reduce costs, you will know exactly what ingredients you need to buy, and in this case, you do not have to go to the store several times a week.
You will have control over the number of meals.
Excessive amounts of food can lead to overeating and subsequent weight gain. Servings that are too small are also not indicated because. However, preparing meals in pans helps you control portion sizes. You know best how much food you need to satisfy your hunger. In addition, portion control has many other advantages, such as:
- ensures better digestion
- maintain a balanced blood sugar level
- satisfies physical hunger
Preparing meals in advance is an excellent way for people who want to spend less time in the kitchen and have control over their diet. In addition, it promotes the consumption of nutrient-rich foods and discourages the consumption of less nutritious foods.