Before we get into meal prepping, let’s talk about what you should eat to lose weight and feel your best.
Ideally, each meal you eat should contain what I call the Fab Five:
By including the Fab Five in most of your meals, you will increase your feelings of fullness, optimize your hormonal response to food, and get the nutrients you need to feel energized and prevent cravings.
Eating enough protein is essential to weight loss and preventing hunger. Eat one of these lean protein sources with each meal:
Eating some carbs with most meals will prevent cravings and energy slumps and help balance your insulin and sex hormones. But eating lots of processed carbs will keep you from losing weight.
Avoid refined food products like commercially made bread, pasta, sweets, chips, and cereals. Instead, eat one serving (about one handful) of healthy carbs with each meal.
Healthy carbs include:
Eating the right fats and avoiding the wrong fats will lower your testosterone levels and decrease your risk of heart disease.
Avoid eating large amounts of the hydrogenated oils, trans fats, and omega-6 fats found in processed foods. Instead, use these healthy fat sources in your cooking:
There is a great deal of promising research that connects good gut health to less body fat and balanced hormones.
The fiber and prebiotic materials found in veggies will keep things in your gut moving and promote the growth of healthy bacteria.
Most veggies are low in carbs. High-starch veggies, like potatoes, corn, yams, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes – as well as all fruits – fall into the carb category.
If your food is bland and repetitive, you will not be psychologically satisfied with your meal. As a result, you will be more likely to overeat or snack on less healthy foods.
Here are some quick tips for keeping your food yummy:
There are several different strategies for meal prep. All of them work equally well. The key is to find the meal prep style that works best for you.
The Weekend Warrior meal preparer sets aside a couple of hours each weekend to prep most or all of her week’s meals at one time.
This option is great for women who get home from work late and do not feel like cooking, as well as those who have lots of errands or activities on weekdays.
The Daily Ritual meal preparer preps all or most of her meals for the next 24 hours every day, typically at the same time each day. If you do your daily ritual in the morning, prep breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you do your ritual in the evening, prep dinner for the evening and the next day’s breakfast and lunch.
This option is great for “free spirit foodies” or those who prefer to choose their meals each day instead of eating a menu that was decided days before. This is also a good option for women who don’t mind waking up a little earlier to prep food and women who like to cook and see it as an opportunity to relax and unwind.
The Once-a-Month meal preparer cooks most or all of her meals for a month in one Saturday or Sunday afternoon and freezes them. I recommend doing this with the help of a menu planning service called Once-a-Month Meals. For a small subscription fee, they’ll plan your ultimate once-a-month cooking day to perfection. This service allows you to customize your meal plans, and has loads of menu options to suit all kinds of food sensitivities and preferences. I recommend the Paleo, Real Food, and Instant Pot choices.
This a great option for busy but organized women. You can use it every month or for the occasional busy month. I used the Once-a-Month Cooking meal prep style to stock up before the birth of our first baby. Note that this is not a good option for anyone who lacks freezer space.
Start with a plan. To ensure success, you must spend some time planning before you tie on your apron.
Decide how many meals you want to cook ahead. Are you going to prep three square meals for each day of the week or just Monday – Thursday night dinners? Then multiply that by the number of servings you need for each meal. For example, a family of four needs 20 servings of dinner to get through the work week.
Gather Recipes. You don’t need to start from scratch here. I’d use some healthy family favorites you can almost cook without a recipe and one or two new dishes. Or you can follow any of the weekly selections included in the Ready-Made Meal Plan.
Identify ingredients to prep and assemble later. Some meals like smoothies, salads, and snacks do not need to be cooked ahead of time, but it might help to prep the ingredients in advance.
Make a grocery list and go food shopping. I use this google spreadsheet to make grocery lists quickly without missing any key ingredients. You can print this handy spreadsheet and fill it out by hand, or copy and save it to your google drive and fill it out on your computer.
Don’t forget to include non-food items like soap and tin foil.
Once you have your list, search the fridge and pantry for items you already have in stock and scratch them off the list.
Get dressed for the occasion. Put on your comfy clothes and a good pair of tennis shoes, and pull back your hair. Comfort is important! Turn on the radio and tie on your apron. Seriously, wear an apron – no one cooks five entrees at once without spilling a little.
Prepare your kitchen. Remove all unnecessary items from the kitchen counter. I even stow the coffee maker and toaster in a cabinet. Counter space is critical!
Take stock of your storage. Make sure you have the freezer space you need. If necessary, clean it out and reorganize. Have plenty of BPA-free glass storage containers. I really like Pyrex for my hot foods and mason jars for salad greens and sauces.
Write a quick to-do list. Gather all of your recipes in one place like an iPad or a notebook. Instead of cooking one recipe at a time, group similar tasks together. I like to write the whole process down in a master to-do list so I can keep on task. Here is how I organize my process:
Make a grocery list and go food shopping if you need to. You might like to swing by the supermarket every day after work, or if you prefer, just go once a week. Either way, make a list to avoid impulse junk food buys.
I use this google spreadsheet to make grocery lists quickly without missing any key ingredients. You can print this handy spreadsheet and fill it out by hand, or copy and save it to your google drive and fill it out on your computer.
Decide on the menu. Most people who use the daily ritual keep their menu simple and relatively the same from day to day. I have included an example at the end of this section to help you get started.
To make your daily ritual fast, try using the same ingredients across multiple meals. Use the same protein for lunch and dinner. Eat the same salad at breakfast and lunch, etc.
Prepare your kitchen. Remove all unnecessary items from the kitchen counter. Get out the utensils and ingredients you’ll need.
Use my Ready-Made Meal Plan or Once-a-Month Meals planning service I mentioned. I’m a meal planning expert, but when it comes to once a month cooking, I always use a ready-made plan. Ready-made plans will save you time by curating the grocery list and organizing the entire process into steps that will reduce cooking time and mess. In my opinion, this is the only way to go!
Cook double batches and use leftovers. I have no problem eating the same dinner twice in a week or eating leftovers for lunch. If I liked it the first time, I’m happy to eat it once more.
Keep it simple. I have a standard format for our meals, which makes planning a breeze. We eat a green salad, a meat-based entree, and roasted or steamed veggies with every meal. Most weeks we eat the same salad and veggie dish every night. Standardizing the menu keeps things simple and nutritious.
Avoid storing food in plastic. This research study found that women with PCOS might be more vulnerable to exposure to BPA, a chemical found in many plastic household items. In my opinion, plastic containers are cheap, but not worth the risk.
Pack a salad that won’t go soggy during the day. Simply take a large jar and pour the dressing into the bottom. Then add veggies, top with greens, and make sure the jar stays refrigerated and upright throughout the day. When you’re ready to eat, shake it up and pour it into a bowl.