{"id":16290,"date":"2016-03-15T15:54:45","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T22:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/landing-uat.thedolcediet.com\/blog\/?p=16290"},"modified":"2021-07-27T09:48:28","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T09:48:28","slug":"dolce-diet-lifestyle-meal-prepping-made-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/landing-uat.thedolcediet.com\/blog\/dolce-diet-lifestyle-meal-prepping-made-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE: MEAL PREPPING MADE EASY"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE:
\nHow To Prepare Meals For The Week<\/h2>\n

by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD<\/h4>\n

Sticking to a meal plan is much, much easier when everything is prepared ahead of time. When you\u2019ve come home from a long day of work and training, the last thing you want to do is spend the rest of the night in the kitchen. Allotting some time at the beginning of the week to prep a majority of your meals will not only make adherence to the plan easier, but life in general as well. Here are some tips to help get you started.<\/p>\n

Plan out your week<\/h3>\n

What recipes are you going to be choosing this week? It\u2019s typically easiest to repeat the same meals 2-3 times a week so that you can batch cook.<\/p>\n

Make a list<\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve figured out which recipes you\u2019ll be utilizing, figure out how much of each ingredient you\u2019ll need. Keep in mind, there will be some things that don\u2019t require purchase every week, like spices. But it\u2019s important to have estimated amounts so you don\u2019t over or under buy anything, which will prevent wasting time, money and resources. Now, make sure you stick to the list! Don\u2019t go rogue in the baking aisle!<\/p>\n

Buy in bulk<\/h3>\n

With your list in hand, be sure to buy your dry ingredients first, again in bulk. It\u2019s usually cheaper to buy foods in bulk anyway. Then gather all of your produce and meats. It\u2019ll be a fairly large trip, but you\u2019ll pretty much be done for the rest of the week (most cooked meat will last up to 7 days in the fridge). You will likely need to go out again later in the week for some more fresh produce.<\/p>\n

Invest in food containers and a cooler<\/h3>\n

\"glad-matchware\"<\/a>This is absolutely the easiest way to prep and store everything. Most food containers (like Gladware<\/a> or Ziploc<\/a>) have the amount it holds imprinted on the bottom. You could even get the kind that has divided sections.<\/p>\n

Set aside some time to cook<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s where you\u2019ll batch cook (just double or triple a single-serve recipe). Portion out the amounts AFTER cooking. Some people try to cook three separate portions, this will make you want to tear your hair out. As long as you use the appropriate amounts and portion it into as equal parts as you can (eyeball it), you\u2019ll be fine each day. Just follow the recipe as you would for an individual portion. Or you could grill all of your meat at once, then divide it up and add it to your cooked vegetables\/grains. When you\u2019re all done, portion everything out into your food containers and label it with the prep date so you know how long it\u2019ll be good for. Be sure to tightly seal everything.<\/p>\n

For hot items, use a Thermos<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"thermos\"<\/a>If you can\u2019t cook your Breakfast Bowl at work, make time in the morning to cook it, then throw it in a Thermos, and it\u2019ll remain hot for the duration of the ride. You might want to save the addition of the fruit until just before you eat it so it doesn\u2019t get too soggy.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget your lunch at home<\/h3>\n

This has happened to me more times that I\u2019d like to admit, but try to set alarms or reminders to grab your lunch out of the fridge on your way out the door. If you forget, that\u2019s money wasted and now you\u2019re lost scrambling for a viable option come lunch time.<\/p>\n

Prep the recipes in different ways using the same ingredients<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not always a viable option to cook at work, and let\u2019s be honest, reheating scrambled eggs isn\u2019t the most appetizing. Instead, hard boil the eggs, and use the same ingredients you\u2019d use in the Egg Scramble and prepare it as a cold salad. It\u2019s a lot easier to store-and-go with this type of preparation.
\n\"3-weeks-to-shredded-shop-banner\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE: How To Prepare Meals For The Week by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD Sticking to a meal plan is much, much easier when everything is prepared ahead of time. When you\u2019ve come home from a long day of work and training, the last thing you want to do is spend the rest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,8],"tags":[1788,1789,1790,6,34],"class_list":["post-16290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-post","category-news","tag-easy-meal-prep-ideas","tag-how-to-meal-prep","tag-how-to-prepare-meals-for-the-week","tag-mike-dolce","tag-the-dolce-diet"],"yoast_head":"\nDOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE: MEAL PREPPING MADE EASY - The Dolce Diet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/landing-uat.thedolcediet.com\/blog\/dolce-diet-lifestyle-meal-prepping-made-easy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE: MEAL PREPPING MADE EASY - The Dolce Diet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DOLCE DIET LIFESTYLE: How To Prepare Meals For The Week by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD Sticking to a meal plan is much, much easier when everything is prepared ahead of time. 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