Let’s face it: living a healthy life can be a lot of work. The planning, prepping, cooking; not to mention trying to please everyone in the family while YOU’RE trying to eat healthy (maybe the biggest challenge of all). Truth is, there are so many time saving hacks that can make your healthy lifestyle easier, saving time and money…while still pleasing the whole fam! Check out these time-saving meal prep hacks you can start using ASAP!
1. Season meat three ways using just one pan.
Save time without boring your taste buds by preparing two or three variations of your protein at once, using aluminum foil dividers in your pan. Tasty and healthy options might include … Lemon pepper, sesame garlic, BBQ, honey mustard — your choice of seasoning, you can have it all!
2. Hard-boil eggs in the oven.
A problem cooking eggs: You can usually only fit up to five eggs in a pot. To make a dozen in one go by baking your eggs in muffin tins for just 30 minutes. You’ll get a perfectly hard-boiled batch and can refrigerate for the week and eat as you need to!
3. Customize healthy oatmeal jars.
Pre-packaged oatmeal has a TON of unnecessary grams of sugar and other added ingredients. It’s so easy to make it yourself and, at the same time, prep for the week. If you DIY and use portable glass jars, you’ll control exactly what and how much you’re eating. Putting plain organic oats, nuts, seeds, fruit, berries, cinnamon and almond milk in mason jars and refrigerating them overnight gives you plenty of options and saves you time in the morning fixing breakfast for the family because it’s already done! Salad in a jar is another great option; easy, quick, and portable! I like these size jars for salads.
4. Leftovers? Let’s call it repurposing.
Repurpose main course items (like protein) into something new. For example, plain chili one night can be turned into tacos the next, or it can top of spaghetti, rice or another grain. You can also make a pesto, spicy tomato sauce, dressings, or various vinaigrettes and sauces during your meal prep time to add a new flavor to leftover chicken, ground turkey, other proteins and even leftover veggies to give your family something new….and keep them from getting bored. And you come out looking like a chef.
Do you have any meal prep hacks you like to use? Share them with me on social media and tag me @thehopepedraza to let me know!