A Look Inside My Weekly Meal Prep & Grocery List

The other day, I asked my Facebook what their BIGGEST struggle is when it comes to staying on track with their ultimate health and fitness goals.

I wasn’t surprised that almost every answer was related to staying on track with their food choices!

Whether it’s not being able to find time due to a busy work schedule, or lack of motivation, or you just don’t know what to even buy at the store, the majority of everyone’s problem is how they eat!

If you’re reading this blog post, then you must deal with this issue too.

Maybe you don’t have time. Maybe you mostly eat take-out and drive thru’s because it’s convenient. Maybe your schedule is so sporadic that cooking at home is the last thing on your to-do list.

Regardless of your excuse (yep it’s an excuse), everyone DOES have time to meal prep.

It’s just a matter of managing and prioritizing your time accordingly.

In this blog post, I’m going to share with you:

• How to CREATE time to meal prep each week
• A sample of what my grocery list looks
• A typical meal prep routine I follow every single week
• Tips on how to stay consistent each week
• So, let’s start with learning how to CREATE more time out of your schedule.

The first thing roadblock that we need to get out of the way is your excuse for not having enough time.

Every. One. Has. Time.

It’s just a matter of allocating that time to align with your priorities.

You’d make time to drive down and see your mother if she were in the hospital, right?

You’d make time to go to your important doctor’s appointment, right?

And you make time to go see friends for drinks every Friday night, right?

The point I’m trying to make is that you’re using your time up one way or another, so why not set some time to meal prep and go grocery shopping each week.

It really doesn’t take long. In fact, the amount of time I spend meal prepping every Sunday is less than 90 minutes. Then, the time it takes for me to prep my meals during the week is less than 15 minutes.

Compare that to someone who goes out for every single meal. How much time is wasted waiting in line for your food, waiting for it to be made, and then finally eating it?

Not only that, how much more MONEY is being wasted by having someone else prepare your food?

Don’t get fooled by those meal prep delivery services, either. While it sounds nice that you’re getting freshly delivered meals each week that are perfectly portion controlled, you’re spending 2-3x more than you would if you just made it at home.

Plus, you REALLY don’t know what’s in those pre-prepped meals where added ingredients, sugar, and excess calories can be hiding.

First things first, set out some time every week to go to the store, buy your food, and prep your meals.

For most people, Sunday is usually the best day to do it.

Again, it doesn’t have to take your entire day, just allocate at least 2-3 hours at first since you don’t have a routine yet. Then overtime, you’ll be able to multitask like a pro and get things done in 90 minutes or less.

Grocery Shopping

So now that you’ve set some time aside to get this shizz done, it’s time to go grocery shopping!

Everyone’s preferences are different, so do what works for you.

However, no matter what lifestyle you choose to live, make sure you’re fulfilling all of your macronutrients for a healthy balanced meal.

• Carbs
• Protein
• Healthy Fat

In addition to macronutrients, make sure you buy foods that contain tons of micronutrients, usually and most often found in veggies!

The combination of carbs, protein, healthy fats, and veggies is the framework of how I create every single meal.

So, at the start of each week, I think about what meals I want to make. Here are some examples:

• Beef Meatballs (Protein & Fat), Cauliflower rice (Carb), and Avocado (Fat)
• Eggs (Protein & Fat), Spinach (Veggie), Sweet Potato (Carb)
• Huge Salad (Veggies/Carbs), Sunflower Seeds (Fat), Chicken (Protein)

From those meal ideas, I then start to create my grocery list to get all the ingredients I will need to last me about 4-5 days.

I also think about the snacks I’ll want to munch on throughout the day. Snacks like:

• Celery sticks
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Almonds
• KNOW FOODS snacks
• Apples
• Quest Bars
• Hardboiled eggs
• Etc

Then, I can’t forget about the ingredients that “decorate” my meals. Pantry items might include things like:

• Coconut oil
• Olive oil
• Ghee
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon
• Any herbs
• Almond butter
• Hot sauce

If I were to add up everything that I eat each week, including my grocery bill, my KNOW FOODS shipment for Paleo-approved waffles for breakfast, etc, it would probably add up to about $70-80.

It sounds like a lot of money, but when you break it down, I’m averaging about $10/day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks!

I only eat out maybe 2 meals out of the week - the rest are meals I make at home!

That’s a pretty awesome steal if you ask me.

It might SOUND expensive, but remember the benefits of making most of your food at home:

• You save money in the long run
• You know exactly what’s in your food
• You have it prepped and ready to go for the entire week
• You will be able to portion control better
• You will probably eat healthier and make better choices

When you go grocery shopping, try to follow these guidelines:

• Think about eating REAL, WHOLE foods with little to no processing
• Stay away from any processed foods with artificial ingredients as much as possible
• Create your list and don’t get tempted to buy anything that’s NOT on the list
• Have a meal before you shop so that your stomach doesn’t get tempted to buy junk food

Meal Prep Routine

So now that you’ve gotten all of your food from the store, it’s time to create a meal prep routine!

In order to get your meal prep done in 90 minutes or less, you will love your new best friend: Mr. Oven.

Mr. Oven does ALL the work for you!

There’s this tagline for a As Seen on TV product where they say: “Just set it, and forget it!”

That’s exactly what Mr. Oven does for you.

You can practically bake EVERYTHING all at once. Certain foods might have different cook times, but you can basically cook anything from 350 degrees to 425 degrees depending on your preference.

For me, I like to cook things at 375 degrees.

Here’s a typical scenario in my kitchen:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Prepare my Paleo Fried Chicken Tenders to go into oven - 20 mins cook time
- Prepare my veggies of choice (put in a pan, sprinkle S&P, and olive oil) - 20 mins cook time
- Prepare my sweet potatoes (put in a pan coated in coconut spray, diced, sprinkle S&P) - about 40-45 mins cook time
- Cook all of my proteins, veggies, and carbs in the oven
- While that’s happening, I might be cutting up some fresh veggies and fruits for snacks

As you can see, I can combine all of ingredients into the oven at the same time, reducing my cook time to less than 90 minutes.

I put all of my cooked food in glass or plastic containers and have it ready for me to go for the week. I don’t necessarily pre-portion them out on Sunday because I have time every day to do that. However, that’s an option if you want to just get it all done.

I highly recommend some essential kitchen items if you want to be successful:

• Portioned Meal Prep Containers
• Baking trays and dishes
• Food scale
• BPA-free glass containers to hold your bulk foods

If you want to try some of my awesome meals, here are links to my favorite recipes that I make in bulk:

• Paleo “Fried” Chicken
• Lime Cilantro Cauliflower Rice
• Beef Meatballs

And for even more resources, you can check out:

• Jenny’s Keto Recipe Guide
• Jenny’s Paleo Approve Your Life E-Book

Tips On Staying Consistent

In order to be successful with this, you have to make this a part of your life. To be successful with anything, it requires dedication, time, and effort.

In the beginning, this wasn’t necessarily easy. But overtime, it has become so routine that I don’t even have to think about it. In fact, it’s actually fun for me!

I cannot imagine going one week without meal prep. If I do, I could only imagine myself going to Whole Foods for every meal, spending $10-15 PER MEAL, and overeating! Not to mention, getting tempted by all their delicious desserts and snack items. It’s just not worth it to me.

Yes, it might be a drag. But, if you really want to live a healthier lifestyle, create the time and I promise you, you will feel amazing!

Here are some final tips that might help:

• Schedule out when you’re grocery shopping and meal prepping in your calendar
• Get your family or roommates involved so that you don’t feel guilty for doing something “new” or “different”
• Find recipes that you’ll actually enjoy eating
  Plan. Plan. Plan!!! Know what you’ll be eating Monday-Friday and make a list!
• Buy kitchen items that will help you be successful like meal prep containers
• Google, Pinterest, or Instagram ideas or inspiration to get started

So to recap what you just learned in this blog post, we covered:

• How to CREATE time to meal prep each week
• A sample of what my grocery list looks
• A typical meal prep routine I follow every single week
• Tips on how to stay consistent each week

I hope this inspires you to get a hold of your meal prep and grocery list. In my next few blogs, I’ll be sharing how to tackle other things like motivation, how to find time, and so many other roadblocks that might be holding you back from achieving your ultimate health/fitness goals.

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