Sleep. Eat. Work Out. Cook. Repeat.

Sleep. Eat. Work Out. Cook. Repeat. 

That right there is my life. 

These days it feels like all I am doing is cooking food! And you know what…that’s not such a bad thing.

My life is filled with food storage containers. So. Many. Containers. Because in order for me to get the best workout possible, reap the benefits of that work out and see better results, I am all about my food prep. 

Here’s what a typical day looks like.

7:30am- Get up, etc. Grab snacks and lunch from the fridge. Whizz up a fruit smoothie (strawberry, blueberry, apple, half a banana, raspberry) or eat 2 (pre-cooked) boiled eggs.

8:15am- leave the house for work

6pm- return home from work and cook dinner. Often I cook salmon fillets in the microwave, or grill chicken with lots of veg and add brown rice. Dinner may also involve reheating chilli con carne made the night before.

7pm- leave house

7:15-9:30pm- Get my work out on somewhere

  

9:30pm arrive home, make a protein-rich snack like GF toast and whole nut peanut butter or cheese

10pm- MEAL PREP CENTRAL. This can generally involve cooking the following night’s meals, making soup, organising the next day’s lunch and putting it in the fridge, cutting up fruit for breakfast, boiling eggs for breakfast, portioning snacks for my working day etc etc.

12midnight- Go to bed.

Meal prepping has allowed me to make great progress with getting plenty of fruit n veg, fibre and protein! It’s just all about thinking ahead and planning. My making my own food I also know what's in it. Yeah, low fat, low sugar low whatever food might be low in, well everything, but you’ve got to ask yourself…WHAT’S IN IT?! 

So, what are my top tips for meal prepping and general food organisation?

1. Write lists. Lots of them. Use Excel (LOVES a spreadsheet) and bask in the glory of your awesomeness.

2. Think a day in advance. What are you having for dinner tonight? Don’t know? What if you asked yourself that question about tonight’s dinner last night. You’d have had more time to decide and would have probably made a healthier choice.

3. Read food labels. If you can't pronounce, or have never heard of, an ingredient, it's not a good sign. 

4. Suss out where sells what. I shop in Aldi for 90% of my food, but I can’t get my bread, rice or fruit bars there, so I get them from Tesco. We go straight from Aldi to Tesco to home and it’s DONE. Also, get familiar with your supermarket and where they keep things. That way you avoid wasting time walking down aisles you don’t need to. TIME IS MONEY PEOPLES. 

5. FREEZE. Making soup? Great! Wanna make this scenario even more fabulous? Make lots and freeze at least half. Same goes for any stews, cooked meats, homemade pasta sauces, even breads etc. You won’t be reaching for the Dolmio if you’ve for a tomato rich homemade ragu in the freezer in need for a little thaw.  

6. Invest in food containers. There is a food storage box monster and he steals tubs on a regular basis. Buy plenty in different sizes (microwave and freezer safe) that DON’T LEAK. Avoid the cheap stuff for food you will be transporting. No one was a soupy handbag.

7. Get into the habit. Do your meal prep at the same time of the day/week and it will become like any other habit. 

8. Use a macro/calorie counting app to keep track of your nutrition. I use MyFitnessPal as a guide. No app can substitute for a personal trainer or nutritionist, so using an app like this great as a guide for keeping track and increasing your own awareness of the quality of what you eat. 

9. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t prep or fall off the wagon. You are a human being. Get over it.

10. I don’t have a tenth tip but couldn’t leave it at just 9 tips. Sorry. 

So when I'm home from work and I am standing over a pan of lean minced beef, chopping courgettes and boiling lentils and leeks, I could wallow in self pity and say that I wish I was lazing on the couch instead. However, I know that I am making every effort to out goodness into my body without having to go to ridiculous extreme lengths or spend a lot of money. 

Happy prepping!!