Meal prepping doesn’t have to be boring.
Let’s face it. When you think of meal prepping you might think of the boring traditional meals of chicken, rice, and vegetables or other super starchy foods that keep well in the fridge for an extended period of time. BORING! Part of living a truly WILD life is still enjoying food the way it was meant to be. When it comes to meal prepping, one of the many benefits is the fact that it should make meal time quick and easy but shouldn’t sacrifice taste and freshness!
Here is a beginners guide to how you can incorporate some of your favorite WILDFIT friendly recipes into fast, simple, and tasty meal preps throughout your week. Bon Appetit, WILDfitters!
1) Never shop hungry! Always head to the grocery store with a list and make sure your pantry is stocked.
This is one of the most critical steps when it comes to meal prepping that can not be skipped. We all know that shopping on an empty stomach means we end up with unwanted items in our cart. When we have unwanted items in our cart, it makes it easier to steer away from our true intention of coming to the grocery store.
When you are getting ready to meal prep, being able to lay out all your ingredients ahead of time makes the cooking and prepping process so much easier. What’s worse than deciding on a meal, starting to cook it, and realizing halfway through that you are missing some key ingredients? That’s when things start to take longer than it should, frantically searching for replacement ingredients, or stopping cooking altogether to run to the store to grab what you need.
So whichever day of the week that you decide you want to prep your meals, make sure you take the time to go through your kitchen and check off all the necessary ingredients the recipe requires to avoid unnecessary interruptions during your meal prepping!
2) Dressing on the side.
A good salad has everything to do with the dressing. Whether it is a fruit salad, or leafy greens salad the right choice of dressing can make or break the dish. However, when it comes to prepping those leafy green salads, it is best to leave the dressing off until it is ready to be served. Drizzling dressing on your meal-prepped salad ahead of time can make a wilted mess within an hour’s time. You can go ahead and layer the greens, grains, vegetables, and or fruits that you want in it, but just make sure to keep the dressing on the side until it is time to eat it. We like to use these glass reusable containers for our meal prepped salads. They have perfectly sized dressing container to boot! T. And if you haven’t already tried the WILDFIT Spinach Salad with Creamy Avocado dressing, click here to check it out!
3) Try a new use for lemon juice.
Most of us are familiar with the apple hack: if you are cutting an Apple and packing it up, squeezing some lemon juice over them helps the fruit from browning so quickly. However, this is just one of the many uses for lemons. Lemon juice can also be used to help tenderize meat or even serve as a substitution for vinegar in dressings. When you add lemon juice to steamed vegetables, it helps them to keep their bright color and enhance their flavor.
Pro Tip: One thing to be mindful of is when cooking with lemon juice: try to wait until the dish has almost finished cooking before adding it. This helps preserve the lemon’s water-soluble vitamins, such as the famous vitamin C.
4) Wash and prep fruits and vegetables right away.
In last week’s blog we mentioned that finding more ways to add vegetables to our day to day can help us consume more vegetables than we might normally. This tip will not only help an increase number of veggies consumed but also speed up the meal prep process. Right when you get home from the grocery store, take the time to wash and cut up your vegetables. This makes it so much easier to add them into your recipes when they are already prepared.
Not to mention how many times have we bought produce and let it sit for a couple of days before thinking about using it up? Making an effort to wash and clean them right when you get home helps you avoid letting them go to waste. You are also setting yourself up for healthier and convenient snack choices when they are easy to grab out of the fridge and ready to eat!
Veggies also make a great meal all on their own. If you are currently in a season that permits dips such as hummus or one of our dips or sauces, cut up an array of veggies and use them as your meal. Combine both starchy vegetables and fast acting vegetables for a full feeling when using that as your main meal. You might also add in some nuts or berries for a variety.
5) Spice up your life.
Whether you are eating meat or greens, there is always a way to add in some flav a flav! You can marinate your favorite meat before cooking it, use it to flavor up your veggies or even simply top off your salad with some different spices to help bring out some flavor. It is an easy and quick way to add to any meal and even give a whole different taste to help provide some variety to your recipes.
Master Coach Kim Shennan shares this spice mix with her clients as they go through the challenge as a good alternative to most sodium based spices. Check out the recipe here:
Taco Seasoning:
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tsp paprika
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (adjust to taste)
There are so many advantages when it comes to meal prepping. Not only does it help cut your time in the kitchen, but also makes it easier to stay on track with your WILDFIT lifestyle.