Meal Prep, a practical and healthy life solution for those of you who are busy

A healthy and economical life must be everyone's dream. Unfortunately, not everyone, especially those who have worked, have free time to cook themselves because of the busy routine.

If you are someone who is busy enough to prepare your own food, try the method of meal preparation which is usually abbreviated as meal prep or meal prepping.

Meal prep is the design of a healthy food menu done in one day. This menu is designed for a certain period of time, usually for 7 days.

After the food menu for a certain period of time is finished cooking, then placed into a container or airtight container, then frozen in the freezer to keep it fresh.

You know, instead of freezing food and warming it up, it makes you unhealthy, huh?

On the contrary, freezing food when the food is fresh will keep the food fresh for a long time. This technique is called flash freeze.

However, you need to note that there are several types of food that are not suitable for freezing. For example raw potatoes, boiled eggs, tofu, cream cheese, and whipped cream.

When you want to eat, the food that has been prepared just warms up using a microwave. If you don't have a microwave, you can warm it using steam. Practical right?

You can also save time and effort because you only need to prepare food and cook for one time a week.

Meal prep aims to make a healthy food menu that is practical, easy, and efficient, but still delicious and nutritious. So, you can save time, energy, and money, while living healthy.

Interested in practicing meal prep? Here are some tips for you.

Plan as needed

Will you design a menu for one, two, or four people? Decide also for how long the meal prep menu will be designed.

Is it for 3 days, 7 days and 10 days; Is it for the meal menu 3 times a day or just breakfast and lunch menus? Determine according to your needs.

For beginners, I recommends that you do it gradually so as not to be "shocked". For example, design a meal prep breakfast menu for 3 days, only after that slowly try to design a menu for 3 times a day and increase the time to 7 days.

Compile a menu list

Arrange the menu list and adjust it to your budget. For example, for a budget of 200 thousand a week.

This menu list is arranged so that you are disciplined when shopping, not tempted to buy other items and deviate from the menu that has been designed.

Use healthy ingredients

For those of you who want to live a healthy life, try applying a menu with balanced nutrition, such as enough carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins, which can be obtained from fish, chicken, beef, vegetables and eggs.

Try cooking by minimizing fried processing, or replacing ordinary cooking oil with olive oil. Reduce the use of flavorings, sugar and salt.

Maximize the material used

For example, you have chicken meat ingredients, maximize it into a variety of dishes, for example steamed chicken, Hainanese chicken rice, soup, sauteed with vegetables, and others.

Create the ingredients that you have to become more than one cooking menu.

Determine the time to shop, prepare ingredients, and cook

Determine the time when you shop for ingredients for meal prep, for example on Friday night you design the menu, then on Saturday you shop for ingredients.

After that, determine when you prepare ingredients, namely washing, peeling, and cutting material. For example, you will prepare ingredients on the same day you shop, that is, on Saturdays, or do it on Sundays while cooking.

You can also shop, prepare ingredients, and cook on the same day. Just adjust it to your ability and the time you have, huh.

Prepare containers and storage

To make things easier, place meal prep with a menu for different days in containers of different colors, or give a description of each container. Then, place the container in the freezer freezer.

Keep in mind, the concept of meal prep is cooking with a simple and efficient menu. So, don't let you trouble yourself by designing a complicated menu and take a long time to cook it.

Happy meal prepping!