Diary of a Dietitian: I Hate Meal Prep

Meal Prep Hacks for The Busy Professionals Who Want to Eat Healthy

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I’m not Catholic but admitting to the internet how much I dread meal prepping feels like a sin I should never say outside the confessional box. Forgive me Father, for I have ordered take-out (again!)

Seriously though. I haaaaate it.

Since becoming a working mom, the idea of carving out four hours on my day off to meal prep sounds like pure torture. Meal planning for me and the two bottomless pits I live with (baby and baby daddy) already takes forever. The last thing I want to do afterwards is dig around in my cabinets for twelves sets of matching Tupperware so I can fill them all with the same ground turkey and broccoli I ate last week.

Even though my fiance takes on the dish duty while I lead baby’s bedtime routine, I’d still have to clean out meal prep containers after each individual use. I know that sounds like an excuse, but have you ever brought one of those home after work? Unless you scrub them at the office, they stink.

So although meal prepping sounds about as fun as walking barefoot on a bed of nails, I do it anyway… but I do it my way.

And honestly, my way has been life-changing.

It still takes some planning and some time, but it doesn’t consume my whole weekend afternoon. I’m also not eating old chicken or soggy asparagus for three days.

Instead, I enjoy delicious and healthy meals on the regular by employing one of two tactics: The Assembly Method and Batch Cooking.

The Assembly Method

For my busy professionals, working parents, or novice chefs, The Assembly Method is going to be your best friend.

It’s as simple as it sounds. Instead of cooking lunch or dinner, you’re going to assemble a bunch of healthy, pre-prepped ingredients to make a meal. Boom.

“But how do I know which ingredients are healthy?”

Great question! I have two resources to help you. The first is using Chapter 2 of my book How to Eat Like a Normal Person: A Guide to Overcoming the All-or-Nothing Mindset with Food & Diet. There, you’ll find an in depth description of The BNT Protocol, which is how I teach my clients in private practice how to make balanced, nutritious meals. The book lists of the best sources of complex carbs, proteins, dietary fats, and veggies.

If you don’t want to wait for Amazon Prime’s 2-day shipping, you can download my Build A Balanced Bowl Meal Prep Guide. It’s so easy to use, my 11 month old could do it (actually, he’d just crumble the paper print out and stick it in his mouth).

With the Bowl Prep Guide, you plan meals by circling one food from each of the five columns- leafy greens, complex carbs, proteins, vegetables, and healthy fats. Then, you assemble these ingredients to make delicious bowls, salads, wraps, and sandwiches.

Take my dinner last night as an example. I had a bag of spring mix I needed to use, so that was my leafy green. Then, I bought some pre-marinated salmon fillets from Publix. This counted as both a protein and a healthy fat! All I was missing was another vegetable and carb. I dug around my pantry and found some microwavable brown rice. As that heated up, I seasoned some frozen broccoli with garlic powder and stuck it in the oven with the salmon.

Bam- that’s dinner! A brown rice bowl with spring mix, salmon, and broccoli. While it took a couple minutes of planning, I didn’t have to dirty a single knife or cutting board.

Other ideas include…

• Spreading lemon hummus spread on a sprouted grain wrap (like this one) and stuffing it with pre-shredded rotisserie chicken, a handful of spinach, and feta cheese.

• Microwaving pre-cooked quinoa and topping it with cocktail shrimp, salsa, and avocado. For added veggies, pair it with a colorful assortment of mini bell peppers.

• Cracking open a can of wild caught tuna to mix with avocado, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Eat with dietitian-approved whole grain crackers and carrot sticks.

Yum. So easy, so effortless. I love sharing this method when I speak to corporate employees and leaders about how to fuel well with a professional schedule.

“That’s great and all, Kait… but what about when I actually do need to cook to satisfy everyone’s hunger?”

Well, my friend. That’s when you….

Batch Cook Dinner

While I avoid the traditional meal prep, that doesn’t mean I dislike cooking! It’s just that I refuse to cook more than one meal at a time… unless the second meal is dessert!

Take Monday night for instance. The fridge is stocked and my family looks forward to a home cooked meal after the weekend shenanigans. Since I don’t see clients at Nutrition Awareness on Monday, there is a 99% chance I am tying up my apron and gettin’ in the kitchen. (Okay let’s be for real… I always forget about aprons until it’s too late, and I’m scrubbing red sauce off my white blouse).

When I plan, I take a couple things into consideration:

1) I don’t want to cook on Tuesdays or Thursdays because I work later.

2) Everyone in my house has a big appetite, so I may need more ingredients than the recipe calls for.

Knowing this, I make my life easier by planning a double or triple batch of whatever recipe I’m making on Monday so my family has another meal for Tuesday.

This is where making healthy crockpot meals like Turkey Veggie Chili come in handy. They’re quick and taste great the next day!

Then on Wednesday, I repeat the process with a new recipe. Depending on weekend plans, I’ll batch cook again on Friday or Saturday.

This means instead of slaving in the kitchen every single evening or for hours on Sunday, I’m only cooking a 2-3 nights per week. Talk about a time saver!

Gift Yourself a Healthy Take-Out Night

If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with a variety of dining options, schedule a night each week to Postmates something healthy. Yes- you heard me! Make your busy life better by allowing yourself to place an order and bring it home. It’s a modern twist on meal prep! Just promise me it’ll be from somewhere decent, ok?

In Orlando, I love CAVA, Fresh Kitchen, Bolay, or even Chipotle because I can customize my order to be nutritious. Plus, I usually have leftovers!

That’s A (Hummus & Veggie) Wrap!

I’m optimistic these meal prep hacks you busy professionals who want to eat healthy will make your life easier.

Let me know what you plan to do: the assembly method using the Build A Balanced Bowl Meal Prep Guide, batch cooking a couple nights per week, or planning healthy take out.

I’m high fiving you through the screen!

-Kait