We have been compensated by QVC for this post. As always, all opinions are our own.
You have probably heard it before, but meal prepping is probably one of the most important things you can do to stay on track health-wise, and even time-management wise!
Not only is it super helpful for meeting your health and fitness goals, but it also saves a ton of money! We were major proponents of this when we were in our last year of school, and when we worked our corporate jobs!
We used to dedicated every Sunday to prepping all of our feed for the week (or most of it), so that we didn’t even have to worry about what we were eating for lunch or dinner the rest of the week. When you have had a long day, the last thing you want to do is cook a bunch of food, or make a healthier choice. We totally get it! Most of us end up eating out, spending more money, and making an unhealthier choice. No bueno!
We wanted to share some of our tips for meal prepping for the week, and what has worked for us and what hasn’t! We honestly still meal prep a little bit, even though we work from home. Being prepared is key!
TIP #1: MAKE A PLAN
It is always a good idea to plan what food you want to make ahead of time! We recommend browsing on pinterest or different blogs for ideas. Figure out what foods you want to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Of course, also figure out how many meals you will be prepping for!
For example, plan out what you will be eating for dinner each night, especially if you plan on switching it up. Then, add in your breakfast and lunches (we typically eat the same things for these meals, so that make it easier). Then, decide what snacks or extras you want!
See what we eat in this post!
TIP #2: KEEP IT SIMPLE/FOCUS ON JUST ONE OR TWO MEALS AT FIRST
You don’t have to go from 0 to 100 the first time trying to meal prep. You can keep the meals all very simple (ie: oatmeal, breakfast smoothies for breakfast, power bowls like sweet potato, greens/veggies, and chickpeas for lunch, and slower-cooker meals for dinner like soups or shredded chicken or cooked veggies, etc.
You can also just start by prepping your most time-consuming meal like dinner, so that is ready when you get home after a long day!
TIP #3: COOK FOOD ALL AT ONCE
There are several ways you can cook food at once and make it the most effective!
- We recommend roasting or cooking your veggies all at once, chop fresh veggies for salads, etc. while you cook other foods.
- If you are going to make pasta or grains, cook those while roasting and chopping the vegetables.
- You can also use things like a crockpot/slow cooker to do the cooking for you (for soups, meats, potatoes, etc.)
- For smoothies or oatmeal, you can divide out the ingredients needed to make them like portioning out bags of frozen fruit, oatmeal in bags with necessary ingredients).
TIP #4: MIX IT UP
If you are someone who usually gets tired of eating the same meals, try making several different things for lunch and dinner throughout the week, and stick to the same snacks and breakfast.
For example, for breakfast: oatmeal with berries and snacks: hummus or guac with veggies, apples, bananas, etc.
For lunches: making a power bowl with prepped sweet potato, grains, veggies, and then maybe use more of the prepped veggies for a lentil pasta with tomato sauce.
For dinner: make a vegetable soup for a few of the days and alternate with veggies, potatoes, and either salmon or chicken or some grains like quinoa.
TIP #5: GET GOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS/MEAL PREP TOOLS
This is key! Of course, you have to have get good storage containers to hold all your prepped food! We always opt for glass containers, and this set is dishwasher safe for easy clean up!
We love that QVC has so many tools to make meal prepping as easy and efficient as possible and they offer easy returns and free exchanges!
These insulated bags are great for transporting your food to and from work or on-the-go. You can also use these when you make grocery store trips to keep food cold.
We love using these containers to keep our salads and fresh fruit in!
Of course, we couldn’t NOT share this amazing recipe with y’all! If you all are like us, you LOVE sweets, but not always do you want to indulge in something. These gluten free brownies are fudgy, super easy to make, and actually SO good for you!
We have been making them almost every week, and then they are gone way too fast! Even our dad is obsessed with them and begs us to make them for him!
Best part is: you can make them on Sundays and have them as a little treat for the rest of the week… if they last that long!
GLUTEN FREE FUDGE BROWNIES
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
- 1 can chickpeas (15 oz can, drained)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup organic applesauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all dry ingredients ( almond flour, cacao powder, baking soda, and baking powder) in a bowl and stir.
- Add wet ingredients (chickpeas, applesauce, maple syrup) in a blender (We used our Vitamix) until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Stir together until combined well.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Add batter to an 8×8 greased pan or line with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top, if desired.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Once cooled, transfer to fridge so they can firm up!
- Serve and ENJOY!
{ Insulated Bags |Water Bottle |Glass Food Storage Containers | Grey Sneakers |Faux Leather Leggings |Sweatshirt | Crockpot/Slow Cooker |Baking Sheet | Knife Set | Skillets | Vitamix Blender | Cutting Board }
In partnership with QVC.
