How to get started with healthy meal prep

We are all about keeping things simple down here in Devon, making simple changes, and not sweating the small stuff. Yes, the word ‘meal prep’ may conjure up Pinterest-worthy rows of perfectly matching Tupperware but it can be a total saviour if you find yourself without time to pack lunch in the morning or if cooking dinner every night feels impossible. The idea sounds great but it’s a little daunting knowing where to start so we’ve gotten a few top tips down for you:

Pick a day when you have free time– usually Saturdays and Sundays are popular for this. Pick a day and prep all the food you need for the week ahead.

Planning meals makes it easier to be healthy– we make better choices when we plan than we do when we are ‘in the moment’.It’s so easy to cave in at the mere mention of take out when we’re exhausted so aim to include a protein, vegetable, and starch in every meal to ensure you stay satisfied all day.

Have the right tools – no you don’t need to get the newest meal prep-ware to start. And you may find you have a good number of useful items in the house already – large roasting trays for roasting veggies or proteins. A large stock pot for making soups, curries, chillies, and stews. Investing in glass storage containers is much better for storing your prepped food without the worry of chemicals leaching into your food but if you do use plastic, then make sure they are BPA free.

Eat strategically – you’ve got all your meals prepped. What to eat first? Most prepared food will last 5days in the fridge, However, animal proteins tend to lose their visual appeal before plant-based options so it’s best to eat the meatier options first. Once you start getting into the rhythm, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is and wonder why you didn’t start this sooner!

When meal prepping gets too much, why not have healthy and tasty food prepared for you instead, on a Sand Sea Spa retreat you will have fresh and local produce made for you and it’s right here in the UK. Find out more about it by emailing us at hello@sandseasparetreats.com

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