3 Things You MUST Have for Successful Meal Prep
Many of you have tried the "if it fits your macros", calorie counting, intermittent fasting, or keto approach to dieting and few have had great success. I'm a big advocate of doing any style of dieting as long as it works for your lifestyle, keeps you healthy, and helps reach your goals. Many of you trying these diets have experienced pitfalls because they lack structure.
Preparation is a necessity for structure.
Structure is a necessity for consistency.
Consistency is a necessity for success.
Which is why these diets fail for so many. Telling someone to track foods until they hit a certain number (or calories) can be counter-intuitive because it doesn't emphasize the importance of preparation. If you are failing to prepare then prepare to fail. The best thing you can do for long term success on your fitness journey is learning how meal prep and learning the importance of planning your meals. There is very little margin of error when your meals are cooked fresh, and ready to go. When food prep is not utilized, it leaves a person guessing. Guessing is not something you want to be doing when you are on your way to success. Guessing will only hold you back. With so many of us having so little time to dedicate to meal prepping (due to workload, busy schedules, traveling), we have to find ways to prepare food as fast as possible without sacrificing taste. This article will tell you the benefit and importance of 3 household appliances you must have in order to prepare healthy food that's fresh, fast, and still tastes good.
1.) Blender - The blender can be utilized to make many different things. I find it comes most in handy with protein shakes, batter for protein pancakes, scrambled eggs, and making greek yogurt dip. Personally, I use the blender for protein shakes the most. If you want eating healthy to become a life long habit; food must be enjoyable to consume. 2 scoops of protein with 2 cups of water doesn't always leave you with the sensation of another shake being desired. When a blender is used for a protein shake, it's eye opening to see what some almond milk and ice cubes can do. The blender will give your protein shakes a more desired texture and taste. You go from clumps to crisp and cold.
2.) Rice Cooker - I have yet to meet a meal prepper who didn't have rice somewhere in their daily menu. Rice can be paired with any protein and flavored a variety of ways. Rice complements Chicken, Beef, Tuna, Steak, Fish, Tofu, Beans. Whether its shrimp skewers, chicken fajitas, teriyaki beef broccoli, or honey glazed salmon, rice will always be there for the win. The importance of the rice cooker is that it consistently produces restaurant quality rice, and you don't need to toil on the stove. Put 2 cups of rice in the cooker (with the appropriate cups of water) before you go to bed and you'll have fresh, hot rice in the morning for when you prep your meals. Set it and forget it!
3.) Air Fryer - This one is a game changer. Never again will you have rubbery chicken, tough salmon, or leather boot steak (YUCK!). The air fryer cooks proteins to perfection along with giving your veggies a nice crisp. I'd recommend using brussel sprouts, french green beans, or broccoli. The air fryer gives a crisp, crunchy texture to your veggies that can't be left unmentioned. For many people, eating veggies is the biggest chore of any meal. The Air Fryer will aide you in sliding those veggies down your gullet. Salmon and Chicken are my favorite two for the Air Fryer because of the crispy texture it gives the outside while still leaving the inside meat juicy. Sink your teeth into that and you won't be missing that shitty chicken sandwich at Wendy's for lunch. That's a promise.
