Organize Your Life - Meal Prep Edition
Some of my goals for this school year involve saving money and maintaining my health and fitness levels. To accomplish this I am venturing into the amazing world of food prepping! I am going to share with you a few things that have helped me start this daunting journey, as well as how to make these awesome oatmeal to-go jars!
Assess your goals. Knowing what you want to accomplish out of meal prepping will help as you are deciding what to make, how much to make, and how often to make it. For example, I have a history of running out of time in the evening and/or morning to make myself breakfast and lunch during the week. This causes me to choose less healthy options and spend a lot more money on eating out throughout the day. I would like to avoid this by designating one specific time to do most of my food prepping.
Make a plan. Do you want to prep every single meal 7 days a week? Do you want to focus on lunches only? What day(s) will you cook on? Your goal assessment will help with planning your meal prep. School day lunches are the thing that I tend to forget the most so that is what I cook when I am home on Sunday morning - I make 5 meals, keeping 2 in the fridge for Monday and Tuesday, and freezing 3 for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In addition to cooking my weakly lunches, I also keep backup breakfast options that are easy to make and can be stored for long periods of time (like oatmeal jars and frozen fruit bags for smoothies).
Write a list - KEEP IT SIMPLE. Write a list before you go shopping so you don’t forget anything and you don’t end up with more than you need. For lunch meals I usually get one protein (chicken, turkey, tofu, fish), one carb (quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes), one veggie (asparagus, zucchini, kale, spinach), and whatever spices/condiments I will be using... Keeping it simple like this will make your cooking process much smoother.
Streamline your cooking. First of all you need to make sure you have the right cooking supplies, are your pots and pans big enough? Do you have enough storage containers for the number of meals you want? Once you are ready to start cooking you can streamline the process by starting with the food that takes longest to cook, using your oven for more than one thing at once, and having your food storage containers set up and ready to go assembly-line style.
Store your food safely. After your food is made make sure you store it safely so it will not go bad before you eat it. If you are eating it within a day or two it will be fine in a sealed container in the fridge. If you are cooking for longer periods of time you can freeze foods until you are ready for them!
These jars are a great back-up breakfast that can be stored for long periods of time without going bad and take little to no prep work once they are made.
Sweetener (optional - I use Truvia)
First fill your jar half full with quick oats, they will expand so leave quite a bit of space. Next add a few teaspoons of chia seeds, and sweetener to taste (I only used half a teaspoon of Truvia). Top with dried fruits and nuts - I made one jar with banana chips and blueberries, and another with a tropical fruit blend and slivered almonds. If you seal and store in a cool, dark cupboard these jars will last up to 4 months!
When you are ready to eat either add some milk (I like using almond milk) and leave in the fridge overnight, OR add some hot water and let sit for just a few minutes!
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