Around 20% of Canadians follow some type of meal regiment, whether it’s following a diet or even meal prepping. Most people change their eating regimen so that they can lose weight, and meal prepping is a great first step.
By learning to make your meals for the week you’ll get into a routine of making something healthy for yourself while also saving money by not ordering food in. If you are just learning to meal prep, keep on reading to learn about some common meal prep mistakes.
1. Don’t Over Prep
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is over prepping and making too many meals. You may think that you’ll eat chicken for the next 7 days but by the time day 5 rolls around that chicken may not look all that great.
To ensure your eating fresh food, only prep for a few days and then prep new food a few days later. By cooking too much food at once you can also run the risk of not having enough containers to store this food.
If you struggle with finding out the right portion size make sure to check this out.
2. Using the Wrong Ingredients
When it comes to planning out your meals you want to find foods that will stay fresh for at least 3-5 days.
Avoid fruits like apples and bananas that tend to brown after a day, or if you are using this as a topping for oatmeal then peal a fresh apple or banana right before your meal. Shrimp is also a food that you should be careful with since after a few days it tends to go bad.
When choosing your meals make sure to prep food that you know will still be tasty after a few days.
3. Not Changing It Up
You should always be changing the meals you’re making to avoid getting bored eating the same food over and over. This will cause you to give up on meal prepping all together.
Try not to eat the same meal twice in a row, if you had chicken for one meal, switch it up with a different protein like beef or even protein like tofu. This will allow variety in your meals. You can still cook chicken in one pan and then steak in another so you’re not creating extra work for yourself.
4. Not Creating a Balanced Meal
Although it may be easy to just make a large serving of pasta and divide it out, this isn’t going to be a well-balanced meal for yourself.
A good rule of thumb is to make your dish colourful. Meaning you should have a variety of vegetables as well as a serving of protein and even carbohydrates. If you are making a dish with carbohydrates make sure to go for whole grains.
By creating a balanced meal, it will provide your body with the proper nutrients to keep you going during the day.
Meal Prep Mistakes You Can Avoid
Now you know what meal prep mistakes to avoid and you can start planning your meals with confidence.
If you still feel like meal prepping is a lot for you, check out our meal delivery program that will deliver healthy, delicious meals to your door.