6 MetPro Approved Meal Prep Hacks
By: MetPro Coaches
Meal prep gets a bad rep for being a very time-consuming chore and can often intimidate people. At MetPro, we believe it's one of the best skills you can adopt into your daily or weekly routine. It’s, in fact, a skill – the more you practice it, the better and quicker you get. Over the years, we’ve adopted a few tips and tricks that have helped us and our clients master the art of meal prepping. Here are some of our favorites:
1.) Prep by Macro, Not by Meal
Prepping by macro is a sure way to stick to your meal plan. If you plan by meal, it is a lot harder to split your food into the appropriate and accurate macros once all of your ingredients are mixed together. We recommend bulk cooking your favorite protein and meal carb, split the appropriate amounts into different meals, and then add your veggies and fats as you go.
2.) Keep It Simple
While the stuffed bell peppers might look great… keep your meals simple until you feel more comfortable meal prepping. Start out by planning meals by macro and then as you begin to understand your phase or meal plan better, you can get more creative with your food. Head over to our recipes page where we have broken down the MetPro servings and macros, once you get more adventurous, branch out and find new recipes that you can spin into MetPro approved meals!
3.) Make Extra
If you cook by meal, it’s just as easy to cook 4 meals as it is one. When making dinner opt to make extra! If your dinner recipe calls for chicken, throw in a couple of extra chicken breasts and incorporate them into your meal prep for the week. If you are making a recipe for two, double the recipe and there's lunch for the next 2 days.
4.) Use That Freezer!
We love to make items, such as Coach Dallas’ Turkey Burger Meatballs, in bulk and freeze them. They are delicious and are ready to eat after just 3 minutes in the microwave. The same can be done with a lot of recipes. If you find a recipe that you love and can easily make it in bulk, go ahead and make enough to store in the freezer. This way, when you’re having one of those busy weeks, you always have a plan B!
5.) Prep Those Veggies
Prep your veggies to make your meals easier to throw together. Have veggies washed, chopped/sliced/diced, and ready to throw into cooking, prepped meals, and to have as snacks. You're more likely to use them if they're already prepped and ready! Great examples include: chop or dice your onions and peppers to add to meals and slice up cucumbers or celery to have on hand for free food snacking.
6.) Experiment
When possible, experiment with different vegetables, spices, and new recipes. Find ways to make them easy and fast, but delicious! There’s nothing wrong with eating broccoli, brown rice and chicken every night, but for the times when you find yourself getting burnt out, think outside the box and try something new! You're more likely to stick to your meal plan, and more importantly, enjoy the meals you've made when you are looking forward to them. Head to our recipes page if you are in need of some new flavor!
It’s like the old saying goes, “fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” Meal prepping can be stressful at first, but the more you do it, the simpler it will get. Not to mention, it makes sticking to your meal plan a lot easier! With these 6 tips, we hope you learned a few new tricks to add to your meal-prepping process.