Meal planning and prepping seems to be such a bore because who wants to have a regimented schedule to eat by? If I had a lot of time to prepare and cook meals, I may feel the same way but who has time these days? 

You don’t want to get home, tired after a long day and fall into the “Let’s just get take away tonight” trap and boom, you are digging into all the wrong stuff. The antidote to this is being organised and yes, meal planning is one of those things. However, it isn’t a plan that has to be slavishly followed, it’s a list of easy suggestions that you spent the energy on thinking through beforehand. You’ve done the work, now sit back and watch your week become easy and stress free when it comes to meals.

So what are the benefits of keto meal prep?

• For starters, when you are checking your macros (carbs, fats and proteins) you want to know that you are having a well-planned macro-friendly meal to hand when hunger strikes. So you end up making much smarter food decisions and it stops you falling back into your patterns of unhealthy choices.

• Meal prepping sets you up for success so that food isn’t a hassle during the day because you have done the work pre-hand and all it takes, is grabbing it to go. When you have shredded the cabbage for coleslaw, boiled the eggs for the Caesar salad or for quick snacks and lunch boxes, you only have to do the dishes once. When you make the slaw on a week night, all it takes is the dressing and you’re done! Dinner, sorted.

• Extra time on your hands, leaves you available for your family, hobbies or that exercise you keep saying you don’t have time for. Even the dog will thank you for those extra-long walks.

• You will save money because there is no more food wastage. No limp lettuce by the end of the week because you have forgotten about it and now it’s only good for the compost heap – assuming you even have time for one! I hate food wastage and especially if you have already cooked it – what a waste of time, energy and money. No one wants that!

• No more unplanned “emergency” meals that cost a fortune and let’s face it, you can make far tastier meals at home at a fraction of the price. Meals you know fit into your keto lifestyle.

Meal prepping means time to try new recipes and eat delicious meals that tickle your taste buds. Guesswork is over and the time you normally would have spent in the kitchen during the week, can be spent on other things in your life. Things that you have always wanted to do, but life is just too busy.  So give it a try and enjoy a worry free week of ready-to-go meals.