Food Preparation Strategies

True to my word, in my post "Eating Strategies" I PROMISED I would post later about food preparation strategies.... and here I am! Woman of my word!

Any competitive bodybuilder, figure or fitness athlete knows that preparation is half the battle when it comes to succeeding with your diet or nutritional plan. Being ill prepared can leave you scrambling for something to eat and often times settling for a less then optimal food choice simply because it's all you have available to you. I've heard it time and time again, "I don't have time to prepare my food, I'm too busy", but I'm telling you- YOU HAVE THE TIME. Make the time. People tend to make time for the things most important to them, so make food preparation one of those priorities, because when it comes to the big picture, being prepared can go a LONG way in helping you adhere to your diet.

There are TONS of different ways to be prepared for the week ahead, but the following are some that I find particularly helpful;

1. GROCERY LIST: If you're on a diet or nutritional plan then you know what your meals are supposed to be so make a grocery list accordingly. Write down what you need and the amount of each item you'll need to purchase, that way you won't waste food if there's excess and you won't run out of food if there's not enough. ALSO plan when you will go grocery shopping- once a week? Twice a week? I buy a lot of fresh fish so I go twice a week and prep my food twice a week, but if you only have the time to shop and prep once a week, that works too just be sure you PLAN IT OUT!
2. WEEKEND PREP: Spend some time on the weekend washing and cutting up vegetables, pre seasoning or marinating meat, etc. Store the veggies in air tight containers that way you can grab and go when you need to begin cooking.
3. EASE UP ON TIME: I know I personally don't even have the time to pre wash and cut veggies so I buy PRE CUT and PRE WASHED veggies. I highly recommend this. I buy bags of asparagus, green beans, and broccoli, and buy my spring mix and spinach pre washed as well. This makes it REALLY easy for me because it drastically reduces my prep time.
4. DO ONE MEAL AT A TIME: Since I usually eat the same thing every day (especially when on a prep) most of my meals tend to look similar. So for instance when I begin prepping I do all my breakfasts first, then all my second meals, then my third meals, then so on and so forth.
5. LABEL: I label my meals as well. Post It's suffice just fine for me and all I do is mark a "1" or "2" or "3" and so on and so forth on the Post It and place it on the lid. When I'm in a hurry and I know I'm on my 3rd meal I can just reach into the fridge, find a #3 and be on my way without having to open it up and see what's inside.
6. WEIGHT AND MEASURE EVERYTHING: You have to, this is non negiotable. If your meal is supposed to be 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, make sure you measure 1/2 cup and place it in a tupperware. This keeps you from overeating as well- if you just spoon randomly out of the container, guessing at how much you're going to be eating, chances are you'll overeat
7. MULTI-TASK: I am usually baking fish or chicken, cooking my lean ground beef in a pan, making egg whites, and baking sweet potatoes all at the same time. Double up! Triple up! Multi-tasking allows you to accomplish more in less time!
8. INVEST IN A COOLER: I have three. HAHA. But honestly- invest in a really good cooler and some ice packs to be sure you carry your food with you everywhere. I recommend one larger and one smaller. I take the smaller one to the gym with me when I know I only need one meal and I use the larger one for day trips, weekend excursions etc. That way I always have plenty of food on hand whenever I need it.
9. JUST IN CASE: Always have some "just in case" foods. By this I mean something simple and easy that requires no prep that you can grab in emergency. For me this usually entails pre cut and grilled chicken strips and pre cut celery. I can find both in my supermarket (Wegman's....it ROCKS) and I usually have a few packages of both on hand just in case I ran out of prepping time or ran out of meals.
10. ENJOY PREPPING: Learn to enjoy cooking. I usually crank up the stereo or plug into my IPod and use it as some "me" time to just rock out and relax and get myself in gear for the week!!!!