Mastering Meal Prepping
This post originally appeared on HCSG Registered Dietitian Andrea Drew’s blog, Preparing 4 Maternity Leave.
Improving diets can be stressful, especially when life is busy. It’s convenient to grab fast food or indulge in a late-night snack craving to satisfy your hunger quickly. Meal prepping can drastically reduce these convenient decisions, ensuring healthy meals and snacks are available without stress.
There are several different ways to prepare meals, and figuring out what strategy works best is key. Some enjoy hunkering down one day a week to make many meals, while others flash-freeze individual ingredients or cook extra of what is being made for dinner and freeze it for the future. Follow along, as this guide is the one-stop shop for everything you need to know about mastering meal prepping.
Bulk Freezing: Stockpiling for Seamless Sustenance
Bulk freezing has great perks, like making life easier. You can cook many meals at once and stash them in the freezer whenever needed. Buying ingredients in bulk also satisfies different cravings and meets various nutrition needs while reducing waste. On the flip side, some downsides include the fact that frozen meals might lose some freshness over time and the necessity of having enough freezer space to hold all bulk dishes.
Freeze As You Go: Daily Culinary Delights
Freezing meals offers freshness and adaptability, allowing for adjustments in portion sizes and ingredients while encouraging recipe variety. On the other hand, freezing as you go requires daily meal preparation to maintain stock, which can be time-consuming compared to bulk freezing methods.
Flash Freeze Ingredients: Mix-and-Match Convenience
Freezing individual ingredients like chopped vegetables, cooked grains, and marinated proteins can be a game-changer in the kitchen. This approach offers the flexibility to create diverse meals, save time on prep, and reduce food waste. Proper storage is essential to prevent freezer burn, and it’s important to think ahead of time when grocery shopping to confirm a variety of ingredients is on hand.
Batch Cooking: Time-Saving Magic
Batch cooking is an efficient way to save time and ensure that tasty meals are planned for the week. Cooking a big batch of a favorite dish can eliminate the need to cook every day, although eating the same meal can get old after several days. It’s also important to be mindful of having enough containers and fridge space to store everything.
Improving diet and nutrition habits may seem intimidating. Still, it can be enjoyable and stress-free while creating new lifestyle routines. The key is to find what works best, whether it’s bulk freezing, freezing as you go, flash freezing, batch cooking, or a combination of these strategies. Adopting these meal-prepping techniques instills avoiding convenient decisions, improving health, and not worrying about what’s for dinner!
Andrea Drew, RD | andrea.drew@hcsgcorp.com
“I love being an RD with HCSG because of the relationships made with patients and facility staff, our impact, and the opportunity for professional growth through everyday challenges.”
Andrea has been with HCSG since 2019. Her passion for the healthcare industry drove her to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Dietetics from Marshall University. Andrea credits the ability to help people make realistic lifestyle changes as the most rewarding part of her career. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two spunky daughters in her free time.
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