If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail
I'm quite well known for my straight talking and I don't like to beat around the bush when it comes to nutrition, so my heading just there felt quite appropriate. Prep is one of the most important factors in getting the body you want and maintaining a healthy diet. But this is only achievable if you give yourself a fighting chance and get prepared. If you're not prepared, you're going to fail. A huge cause of why people end up eating unhealthy food is because they get caught out and hungry with nothing healthy on hand. That’s why if you are prepared, slip ups are less likely to occur. If you plan ahead, you will ultimately succeed.
My 6 tips for nailing food prep:
Create smoothie bags - Smoothies are a delicious quick and healthy breakfast option. Make smoothies even quicker by chopping all your fruit and veg in one hit and storing each portion in a sandwich bag. Then all you need to do is grab it and whack it in the blender with some liquid. If you freeze them, it'll make your smoothies really thick too.
Batch cooking - There are loads of meals and snacks you can cook in bulk, that will keep fine in the fridge for leftovers for a few days or you can freeze for meals later. Things like curries, stews and soups are all great freezer meals. Chicken breasts and boiled eggs are great fridge snacks. Consider tripling your recipes so you can fill the fridge or freezer up with healthy meals for those times when life get’s a little hectic.
Eat leftovers - If you don’t have time to do a big bulk meal prep session then when you do get time to cook make extra, so you can have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. It’s all about making smart use of your time. Those who know me well will know how I will eat literally ANY dinner leftovers for breakfast!
Chop your veg in bulk - When you move to a healthy diet that doesn’t come out of a packet then you will find that there is a lot more time spent chopping veggies. So whilst you are spending the time chopping them you may as well do it in the one go. You can pre chop your veg for snacks and salads, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Embrace tupperware - If you're doing a lot of bulk prep, you're going to need something to store it in, so get stocked up with a variety of tupperware. Tupperware is also great for making sure you can carry healthy food when you're out and about. My bag is always brimming with tupperware, so learn to love it and who knows tupperware parties may come back in to fashion!
Go shopping - This sounds like an obvious one but you'd be surprised how many people fail at eating healthily because they haven't been shopping. Set aside time each week or twice a week for a regular food shop, or do your shopping online. If it's not in the fridge, cupboard or freezer you're not giving yourself a hope in hell and that's when unhealthy grab 'n' go convenience food becomes your only option.
I know all of this can seem like a lot of work to start with but remember why you are doing it and that big changes don’t come easy. However once you start thinking this way, you will be able to find your groove in the kitchen and I promise it will get a lot easier as time goes on.
