Eating healthy can be a task, especially if you have a hectic schedule, but that doesn’t necessarily mean ignoring your health. Proper sleep, nutritionally dense means, and a little movement will keep you active throughout the clock. It’s high time that you recognize that a healthy lifestyle plays a significant role in your success.
With proper planning and preparation, you can make healthy eating easy and convenient. Planning and preparing meals is a lifesaver when leading a healthy but busy life. Not only will you be saving time and money, but you will also be sparing yourself from the stress of what to eat by meal-prepping for the week ahead.
This blog discusses some simple recipes you can prepare if you have an active lifestyle. Continue reading as we walk you through some meal ideas in the following sections.
Meal Prep Tips For Individuals Living An Active Lifestyle
Before we talk about simple recipes for meal prep, we will provide you with some meal prep tips:
- Chalk out your meals: Take time out of your busy schedule to list your weekly meals. This will help you make healthier choices and avoid last-minute unhealthy food options.
- Keep things simple: If planning three meals every day becomes too hectic for you, you can plan dinner or lunch for each meal of the week. But you must remember that there are adequate leftovers from dinner or lunch all week. For breakfasts, you can make simple meals or keep a good inventory of snacks until you find recipes you are comfortable with.
- Repeat the ingredients more than once: Repeating ingredients is the most efficient way of reducing food waste. You can use one vegetable for two or three different recipes. You can also swap the ingredients with those that work for you.
- Keep your ingredients ready beforehand: If your dish has components like chicken, grains, or others that can be cooked beforehand, do it. It will benefit you in a workweek as you will have some dish components prepared beforehand. You can also chop your vegetables ahead and store them in separate containers. This way, you’ll have ready-to-use vegetables.
- Have a well-stocked freezer: Stocking tons of meat or proteins is as important as stocking essential cooking items. You can stock up on a variety of meat like ground beef, turkey, shrimp, scallops, boneless chicken pieces, skinless chicken breasts, or more. Buying so much meat at once might seem expensive, but once you have them stocked, you are less likely to buy food from outside.
- Buy gift cards: Leading an active lifestyle isn’t easy! Sometimes, you don’t even get the time to cook for yourself. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you must work on an empty stomach. Thanks to platforms such as Coingate, you can now purchase gift cards from your nearest restaurants and store them for super-busy days.
Wonder what’s the best part? With Coingate, you needn’t necessarily empty your wallet to enjoy delicious meals. The platform allows you to swap your crypto earnings for gift cards from the top restaurants in your city.
Now that you know the hacks to plan your meals for the week, let’s discuss the types of meals you can cook in the following section.
Quick and Simple Meal Prep Ideas For Busy People
Overnight Oats:
Having overnight oats is a good breakfast option if you’re used to living your life on the run. You can prepare this recipe by combining rolled oats, milk, and your choice of toppings, such as fruits, nuts, or seeds.
That’s all! Once you’ve added the ingredients, your bowl is ready for a munch. Let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, and you’ll have a quick and nutritious breakfast prepared to grab in the morning.
Smoothie Packs Or Bowls:
Next, we have smoothie packs or bowls, another healthy breakfast option serving all the necessary nutrients. Besides, preparing this meal is as effortless as it could be.
Prepare the smoothie packs by pre-measuring and freezing your favorite ingredients in individual bags or containers. In the morning, you can blend the frozen ingredients with your choice of liquid, like milk or juice, for a quick and nutritious smoothie.
Mason Jar Salads:
Third on our list of quickly prepared meals are mason jar salads, a potential option for lunch or dinner. Besides, preparing salads in mason jars is the easiest and most time-saving method.
You can start by layering ingredients inside the mason jars. Start with the dressing at the bottom, followed by sturdier ingredients like cucumbers or tomatoes, and finish with leafy greens. Before you eat, shake the jar to distribute the dressing evenly.
One-pan Meals:
Last on our list of quick meal options are one-pan meals. As the name suggests, these meals can be prepared using only one pan, saving you the time to clean your dishes once you’re done eating.
While you could cook many one-pot meals, here’s one that balances your diet in the best manner possible. To start, roast a tray of mixed vegetables in your pot and add a protein like chicken or tofu for a complete and hassle-free meal.
Now You Know!
This brings us to the end of our blog on some quick and simple meal prep ideas if you live a busy lifestyle. So now that you have an idea of some of the quickest dishes, which meal are you looking forward to?
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