Most people hate meal prepping because they think it is too long to do and are too “busy”. 

Fortunately, the time you invest in meal prepping will be worth your health!

When you plan your meals you are less likely to opt for ultra-processed foods because you’ll always know what to eat.

You will also be less hungry as the advice you’re about to receive in this article will combat your cravings!

So in this article, I will be giving you the steps and tips to creating the ultimate meal plan:

Step 1: Know what meals you are making throughout the week

The worst situation you can be in is not knowing what meals to prepare. And then you opt for fast food or ready-on-the-go food items.

Luckily, I recently made an article on the 13 meals you can prepare that are healthy and also quick to make.

You can read the article here: Best healthy & quick dinner recipes

This also includes your breakfast as well, fortunately, I wrote an article on 9 breakfasts you can eat in the morning that won’t spike your energy levels and are healthy for your gut.

Please read it here: Healthy Breakfasts to Eat in the Morning

So, after you read this guide, you can see the recipes in the articles I posted and start noting down the meals you will prepare.  

Also, dedicate some time to deciding which meals you want to eat.

You can and should eat some meals more than once a week!

If you eat 3 home-made meals a day, make a list in your phone notes or a template like how I have done below:

Step 2: Know what ingredients you will be using the most

Is your diet going to be chicken-based? Is it going to have low carbs? This is what you should be thinking about when meal prepping.

Related article: The Best Protein Sources for Building Muscle

After you decide on the meals you will make (I recommend you pick a selection of meals from the article I made), buy those ingredients in bulk and buy the ingredients you will use the least in the minority.

Instead of buying every meals’ ingredients, prioritise one week to buying one meal’s ingredients at a time (every day), and note them down for that specific meal. This is more effective if you’re a beginner.

And as time goes on, you will be able to buy more ingredients efficiently, since you would have planned your meals by then. 

Remember to dedicate some time to which ingredients you want to exclude and include.

Example:

Step 3: Get all the equipment you need for the meals

Most of the meals you prepare will only require a pot and pan, but you may need other equipment, like a grill pan. So read my recipes and be aware of the equipment you need.

Step 4: Estimate how much money you want to spend on food

You may be ready to make all these meals and shop, but is your bank balance ready?

A method to do this is by buying all the ingredients you need for all the meals you’re preparing, then calculating the total cost of all the ingredients you buy for all the meals you make and working around that price.

If you’re on a low budget, here are tips to help you still afford healthy ingredients:

• Reduce the quantity of food you eat let alone buy
• You can do this by increasing your healthy fat and protein intake, and reducing your carb intake, because healthy fats fill you up, reducing the meals you eat a day, and carbohydrates are unnecessary in your situation
• Only serve what you can eat, so you don’t waste food
• Avoid making too much food that will result in you storing it for too long, which will result in it spoiling

Related article: The Healthiest Fats You Can Eat

Step 5: Decide how frequently you will shop

You will be preparing many meals, so you must figure out how often you will shop.

Meals with added sauces should be made in bulk, so you only have to buy one ingredient, prepare it then mix it with your food (often the carbs, like rice). If you don’t have much freezer space for the meats, don’t buy them in bulk. 

Weekly shopping is mostly the best frequency, but feel free to shop more consistently than that. To make this easier, create a week 1 and a week 2 of meals, so you don’t have to buy too many ingredients in one week.

Step 6.1: Be aware of your fridge capacity

I hope you haven’t forgotten that you haven’t got unlimited space in your fridge and freezer, so be cautious of how many meals you make so that you don’t run out of space when you make meals. 

Step 6.2: Make foods that don’t get spoiled quickly in bulk

When most of us cook, we cook in bulk so that we can warm the food up in the microwave or oven another day. This makes life easier for you and means you don’t have to necessarily cook daily.

But some foods last longer than others. For example, egg fried rice may last longer in the fridge than burritos.

Example: 

Step 7: Analyse the first time you cook meals

Here is a list of things you should be aware of when you finish cooking:

• How much food you made and if it’s enough
• How many leftovers it will be

This helps you to optimise the quantity of food you prepare so that you can estimate how many leftovers you will have. 

Step 8.1: Know how frequently you will be prepping meals

Not everyone will have to prepare lunch, maybe they are a teenager that goes to school and gets school lunches but beware of the food you buy at school, for example, if you buy a sandwich that uses white bread, get something else or begin prepping meals at home to send to school.

Also, make a cooking strategy. For example, you can cook 3 meals one day and alternate them throughout the week or cook 1 new meal daily.

Step 8.2: Find a set time range to cook your meals

Remember, consistency is KEY! So setting a time range to prepare your meals will reduce the chances of you procrastinating.

Cooking earlier in the day makes it less likely for you to get tired and feel too lazy to cook.

Also prioritise 1 week or more to cooking daily, so that you can experiment on how you will prepare your meals, which will help you optimise on which days you prepare certain meals.

Step 9: Write all of this down in notes or use a template

The last thing you want to do is forget about your plan and all that hard work of thinking will go to waste, therefore, make a list of all the ingredients you will be buying and all the equipment you need to buy.

Note down the meals you will prepare through the week, and the days you will be eating leftovers.

I have already given examples of how to note your meal prep.

BONUS Step: Make meals ahead of events & busy days

Although most people aren’t too busy to not be able to do anything else throughout their day, there will be days where you are out or busy for the full 24 hours, therefore you must prep ahead of that day.

I recommend you prepare quick meals ahead or eat leftovers if you have any! Do this when you have an upcoming event.

Pro tips for cooking less

Here are some tips for cooking less throughout the week:

• Eat a good first meal (breakfast) and a good second meal (lunch & dinner combined). This has multiple benefits, such as less cooking and controlling your insulin so you crave less. Increasing your protein and healthy fat intake will help you stay satiated throughout the day, resulting in you eating less
• Prepare meals that are good for storing. This means that you can warm up your healthy meal every other day and eat it. However, people may get fed up with eating the same meals, although you can customise them to cure your boredom

Summary

So, when making a meal plan, remember these tips:

• Know what meals you are making throughout the week
• Know what ingredients you will be using the most
• Get all the equipment you need for the meals
• Estimate how much money you want to spend on food
• Decide how frequently you will shop
• Be aware of your fridge capacity
• Make foods that don’t get spoiled quickly in bulk
• Analyse the first time you cook meals
• Know how frequently you will be prepping meals
• Find a set time range to cook your meals
• Write all of this down in notes or use a template

Please don’t be lazy to plan your meals as it can benefit your health hugely since you know what you’re putting in your food.

If you aren’t too busy in general, which is rare, cooking can help you stay more active in the house. This is helpful especially if you’re on holiday.

And don’t be scared to do trial and error. In your first week of cooking:

• Dedicate all that time to making your meal plan with the template I’ve provided you with
• Learn how to cook your meals (feel free to search on YouTube how to cook or ask someone you know)
• Learn how to shop effectively for your ingredients
• Learn how to store your meals properly

And when you follow these tips, your lifestyle will completely change, and you’ll be less into ultra-processed food and more into healthy foods.