Keeping healthy food on hand and making whole food replacements is the first step! Learning to replace whole foods in recipes is the next step! Then creating a strategy for meal prep that works for your family is the final step to consistently living the whole foods lifestyle.
There’s really almost no way around the fact that eating healthy means eating primarily at home. While there are healthy restaurant/out to eat options, it’s challenging to consistently find nutrient dense whole food options on the go or really know what’s in the food at a restaurant. Here are the Top Five Food Additives to avoid/ limit as much as possible: artificial sweeteners could also be added to this list…
Over the years, in different seasons of life, for different reasons, I’ve tried a ton of meal prep strategies! All of these strategies have their pros and cons. Check out this list to see which meal prep strategy or combo of strategies could work best for you and your family!
If you’ve followed E! for very long you may have seen our Nutrient Dense Meal Template. This is a great, general checklist of whole foods to include each meal. Portions for each person can vary of course, but this template provides an easy to follow meal prep guide by choosing 1-2 servings of each per meal from our Nutrition Guide Food List:
Ok. So how do you make it happen?
Knowing what to buy at the grocery store doesn’t translate into meals on its own! With whole foods there is some prep involved… Ingredients vs. prepared heat and serve processed foods.
Meal Planning apps like PlateJoy or Real Plans can help, but I also just like to snap a pic of the recipe on my phone and store in folders in Photos. I also do this with exercises!
Top 5 Meal Prep Strategies:
#1 – WEEKLY TEMPLATE
Choose types of meals to make at certain times of the week. For example…every week fix the same types of meals, but choose different recipes:
- Soup
- Bowls
- Mexican
- Asian
- Chopped Salad
- Sheet Pan Meal
- Smoothies
We have had muffins on Sunday morning, Soup for Sunday dinners, Mexican on Mondays, Chopped Salad on Tuesdays, Bowls on Wed, Leftovers on Thursday… you get the idea! You can change the template too for each season then you just plug and play recipes. These meal types can also work for breakfast/lunch too.
#2 – PREP THE PROTEIN 
Instead of putting your meat in the refrigerator or freezer when you get home from the store, you go ahead and cook the meat:
Ground meat in a skillet (can become spaghetti sauce, chili or taco salad or make into hamburger patties or meatloaf/meatball mix
Put roast in the crockpot
Chicken tenders on the electric skillet – season two kinds
Put whole chicken in the oven
Put eggs in Instant Pot to boil
When preparing meals – just add vegetables, salad and probiotic food for sides!
PRO TIP: Lightly cook the meats with plenty of moisture, so when you reheat they don’t dry out
#3 – FRESH FROZEN
Assemble all the fresh ingredients for a recipe into freezer gallon bags and label. Freeze fresh. The Family Freezer is a great resource if you want to try out this method. Meals are prepped and taste fresh when made. Make up several for the week and thaw/cook.
Fresh frozen meals can be cooked in the crockpot, Instant Pot, skillet or oven. Check out all the recipe ideas at The Family Freezer, and even filter by the ingredients you have on hand.
#4 – BREAKFAST BOARD
To change things up a bit, I prep a breakfast board for the
Week. Fruit, olives, avocado, soft cheese, yogurt,
Sourdough bread or muffins, boiled eggs, turkey
Sausage are examples… dates, figs, nuts can also work!
Grab and go these whole foods for a quick breakfast.
Put the lid on and throw back into the fridge.
#5 – INGREDIENT CONTAINERS
Prepping ingredients only – chop veggies, cook meats, slice fruits, boil eggs, cook sweet potatoes, boil brown rice, etc. If ingredients are prepped and stored in their own container, then assemble a plate – each family member can also choose different whole food combos too!
BONUS: Meal Prep companies that also provide whole food meals you could try (especially if cooking for 1-2 people and looking for some additional meals to have on hand to supplement your cooking)
Eating at home is worth it for time, money and health! If you don’t like to cook or eat out most of the week, start by taking small steps:
- Choose just one meal to have at home consistently
- Choose one meal prep company to try
- Choose to have certain nights at home that were once out to eat meals, then gradually add another night
Whole foods lifestyle is doable, but having a plan is key to success!!
Eureka! can help with entire meal plans/ grocery lists for specific health goals like:
- Weight Loss
- Autoimmune Conditions
- Happy Hormones
- Digestive Wellness
- And More!!
Join the Food Faith Club today!!