Cooking ahead of time isn’t just one of the best strategies to ensure you and your little ones actually get a vegetable or two in your day, it’s also a HUGE time-saver. Plus, it can help you reduce meal-time stress – like that 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. “witching hour” when the little people are bouncing off the walls and you’re digging around in the fridge, wishing you had taken meat out of the freezer. Then ordering pizza.
You know what I mean.
Why should you meal prep?
When one of my Online Training Clients expresses her frustration over mealtime battles or spending too much on lunches out, I like to share with them the life-changing practice of Sunday meal prep. It might be Monday for a mama on mat leave, or Saturday night — it doesn’t matter — but it’s 1-2 hours of cooking, done ahead of time when your schedule allows.
What happens when you do this?
Quite simply, you eat better. Your children eat better, you feel less anxiety, you eat more vegetables and protein than you ever would or could without planning and prepping… and that means your health, mood and energy levels go through the roof!
Sounds pretty awesome, right?
Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t have 3 hours on Sunday to cook because work deadlines/laundry/ballet/soccer/housework/workouts/etc.”
I get it. Really. I have 3 kids. We have laundry/ballet/soccer/housework/workouts/life too.
But I know I’m not going to order takeout 7 days per week. Which means I’ll need to devote about, or at least, 30 minutes every weeknight to cooking dinner. Plus, if I don’t want to subsist on Starbucks and canned soup, I’m going to need to put together breakfasts and lunches. Then there are those freaking kids and their litterless lunches and round-the-clock snacking habits.
If I can do this work in one efficient window on Sunday, all I need to do the rest of the week is combine things I’ve prepped to make delicious bowls of goodness, to fill up lunch boxes, and to throw together dinners.
It’s not precious Sunday time lost. It’s anxiety lost. Stress lost. Money saved. Time saved. Sanity saved. Our family nutrition saved.
10 MEAL PREP RECIPES FOR BUSY MAMAS
Here are 10 of my favourite recipes to prep on a Sunday, and some of the go-tos I recommend to my clients when they get started with the meal prep habit for the first time.
There are MANY more recipes on the BB site, but these 10 are in my rotation often because they’re easy to combine with pasta, grains, veggies and into leftovers bowls, or take on the go!
Dry Poached Chicken Breasts
Mini Turkey Meatloaves With Rosemary + Parmesan
Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
5-Ingredient Breakfast Casserole
Tex-Mex Black Bean + Quinoa Bowls
2-Ingredient Ham & Egg Cups
Turkey Sausage + Chickpea + Kale Soup
Nut-Free (School Safe) Chocolate Energy Bites
Gluten-Free 4-Ingredient Blender Pancakes
Slow Cooker Eat-All-Week Pork Carnitas
Chewy Chocolate Chip “Power” Cookies
ARE YOU STRUGGLING, MAMA?
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If you can’t seem to organize your life to take care of yourself the way you want;
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If you keep saying “Next Monday will be different!” And then it’s not;
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If you’re pregnant and not sure how to customize your eating & exercise;
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If you’re on maternity leave and want to learn how to cook and feed your family plus manage your workouts when you go back to work;
Just reach out & send me an email.
Our totally personalized Online Training is available from your home, is way less expensive than you might expect, and has helped mamas from all walks of life feel amazing and revolutionize the way they see exercise, nutrition, and their bodies.
Love your body. Lower your stress. Lose the “diet” mentality. I can show you how.
Let me know how I can help!