You’ve probably seen the variety of Youtubers presenting complex weekly meal prep plans, or perhaps the horde of Instagram snaps have caught your eye. Wherever you look, it’s easy to see food prepping is more popular than ever – and for good reason. We’re here to simplify it and strip away the pomp and frills so you can reap the cost, time and health benefits prepping provides. 

Why should you start meal prepping?

We’ll start by unpacking the plentiful advantages of meal prepping, for you, your wallet and the planet.

How meal prepping helps you save.

The most notable savings for prepping are money and time. Instead of cooking multiple meals every day – which leads to increased power bills from the stove, oven or microwave – preparing food in advance means cooking more food in a shorter amount of time and simply portioning it out over the week. You can even prep for longer periods with the correct storage techniques. This can save hours over the week and allow you to dedicate time to other areas in your life, whether it be hobbies, family time or exercise. 

People all over the globe have reported excessive time spent in the kitchen, with  a study showing Australians and Americans spend around 6 hours cooking and Indians dedicate a whopping 13 hours to food preparation. Many people are short of time with work and family commitments, so it’s a no-brainer to get behind meal prepping as an easy way to win back some of that time. 

What meal prepping has to do with sustainability.

Meal prepping drastically reduces electricity, gas and water usage by limiting cooking time, along with cutting down on wasted or unused food. Food wastage is a massive contributor to climate change due to the methane released by these scraps – and with the United Nations  reporting half of fruit and veggie produce goes to waste around the globe, that’s a lot of methane.

Food prepping is a simple way to ensure you use everything you buy and, more importantly, only buy what you need. With calculated planning and learning how to properly store food, wastage will be a thing of the past in your household. 

How to get started.

With just a few easy steps, you’ll be on your way to meal prepping like a pro. 

Choose your food.

You’ll want to pick products with greater longevity, along with high nutrition, to get the most out of your prepping. Here are some of our top picks for healthy, easy-to-store and affordable food:

1. Grains: pasta, rice, bucket, millet, wholegrain bread
2. Legumes: beans, lentils, chickpeas 
3. Raw veggies: carrot, celery, capsicum
4. Cooked veggies: broccoli, asparagus, pumpkin
5. Fruit (whole): apples, mandarin, bananas
6. Nuts and cheese
7. Condiments: sauces, spreads and dips

When choosing your products, it’s best to steer clear of cut fruit as they tend to go bad quicker. Keeping your fruit whole until you eat it is the best way to increase longevity. Also, when making sandwiches, try to avoid wet ingredients. No one likes a soggy sandwich. 

Follow the proper storage techniques.

While items like nuts and bananas tend to be shelf stable, many items require refrigeration – including cooked vegetables, cheese and meats. But even with adequate fridge storage, meals may still decrease in freshness and quality. The best way to prevent this is to prep for smaller periods of time, for example 3-5 days. But in the case of longer-term prepping, freezing meals is also an option. It will be more of a hassle due to the need for defrosting, but for many it is worth the savings in time and money.

Need some help on your health journey? 

Here at I Quit Sugar, we’re avid supporters of meal-prepping and we’re keen to help health-conscious individuals get the resources and help they need to transform their lifestyle. Bestselling author,  Sarah Wilson, provided the framework for successfully cutting out sugar and leading a healthy lifestyle, and we’re here to share it with you. 

Our 8-Week Program is coming up where we’ll be cutting out sugar and transforming our relationship with food. It starts with the food we eat and how we eat it – we’ll show you the tried-and-true techniques for success. Plus, you’ll have access to meal-prepping plans with a supportive community to lean on. Check out the exclusive features of our challenge: 

1. 8 weeks of meal plans and shopping lists
2. 90+ member-only recipes
3. Community forums and
4.  Support from the I Quit Sugar team and our 8-Week Program Ambassadors

Ready to revolutionise your health and lifestyle? Jump on board with us and we’ll show you how. Don’t wait –JOIN NOW!