Eating on the go has never been a favorite of mine. I like to sit comfortably and enjoy my meal, tasting every ingredient and savoring every morsel, like the French do. However, I constantly stay on the go. Whether I’m running from one meeting to the next at work, going to the gym, volunteering with youth organizations, church, going to the gym, the grocery store, writer’s workshop meetings, book clubs, going to the gym (there’s a pattern here), I have to have food with me wherever I go. I’m timed and scheduled to eat every 2-3 hours, 5-6 meals per day. I cannot afford to skip a meal. This is mostly important when I am in competition prep. That is why I pack and prep my meals Sunday evenings for the entire week.
Meal prepping saves time throughout the week. No matter your profession, corporate, in the field, etc., having your meals prepared ahead of time and stored in ready-to-go containers makes eating on the go painless. Now, when I say meal prep, I do not mean prepping pasta or any other heavy foods that will essentially drag your energy levels down because of the amount of carbs. Since I am a competitor, I eat clean and my meals consist of foods that aid in muscle gain, muscle retention and boosts energy. So, the million dollar question; how do you meal prep? Think of your basic healthy eating needs:
· Protein – chicken breast, turkey breast, fish (tuna, salmon, tilapia), egg whites, lean ground beef, protein shakes
· Carbohydrates – sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, squash, oatmeal, black beans, strawberries, melon, apple, orange, yogurt (greek or fat-free)
· Vegetables – broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, carrots, spinach, kale, celery, artichoke, green beans, green peppers, cucumber
Seems a little simple, right? It gets even better. Now, think of the meals you eat throughout the day. I do not encourage anyone to eat 5-6 meals a day, especially if you are not a competitor. This can be a lot of food for a non-competitor to consume. I suggest focusing on breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. If you are on the road to a healthy, clean-eating lifestyle, which I strongly encourage for everyone, you want to plan your meals accordingly. This is just a breakdown of how I go about the thought process for prepping my meals:
· Breakfast – I boil a dozen eggs, eating one or two within the day. I also have my oats for oatmeal.
· Lunch – I usually like to eat tuna with fat free mayonnaise (it’s not for everybody and definitely an acquired taste) with spinach. I also have lean turkey breast on hand as an alternate on other days to eat with a whole wheat wrap.
· Dinner – One week I may prep chicken breast or fish because it is easier to take out of the package and line on cookie sheet and bake in the oven. I eat that with asparagus spears, broccoli or kale spinach, alternating and switching up meals within the week, along with brown rice or quinoa.
· Snacks – My snacks consists of assorted nuts, and by assorted I mean almonds or walnuts, plain greek yogurt with fruit, celery (I have to have a dip such as cookie butter or almond butter to eat this) and fruit (strawberries, apple, orange).
When you package everything together, meal prepping can be one of the easiest things you can do for getting your week started. If you live an active lifestyle, such as I do, where you have to have food ready at a moment’s notice, having your meals prepped can make your week run much smoother. It is about finding balance and what works for you. Making healthier eating choices as opposed to unhealthy not only does produces positive results for your health but makes you feel good that the meals you are eating on the go do not consist of fast food, bad fats, and heavy, loaded carbs. Competing has taught me how to master meal prepping, and I know there are others out there that have busy lifestyles that could benefit from meal prep as well. Try it out and see what it can do for you.
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