What’s up EarthFIT fam? It’s Eli back with another nutrition video for you. And we’re covering a really fun topic today, one that’s very creative, one that I have a lot of passion for and you guys I think can get behind too. Today, we are talking about meal prep. Gonna talk, start off by talking about some of the misconceptions about meal prep. There’s three main ones, we’re gonna conquer those and then give you guys a good foundation in order to begin meal prepping yourself.

So the three common misconceptions, (1) the first one most commonly heard is eating the same meal four to five days in a row. We see it all over the internet, how easy it is, you know, you make your chicken, you put it in this side of the container. You make your rice, it goes in that little divider of the container, and then you make your broccoli and it goes in that side of the container. And then you get to eat that meal five more times that week. It’s pretty tough. That works for some people but that isn’t all meal prep is, it goes further than that. 

(2) The second misconception is that it’s bland and you get over the food quickly. That might not actually be a misconception. That might be the truth, because I would, if I’m the same way, if I had to eat chicken, rice and broccoli for five to six meals a week, I promise I would get tired of it too. So you can get creative with your meal prep. I promise…

(3) The third and final misconception is that meal prepping is expensive because you have to buy a lot of food in order to prepare for the remainder of the week, or you’re buying all that food. You’re making those four or five meals. You are eating those four or five meals only two or three times, and then it gets bland. You get over it, you toss some in the trash, it gets wasted and all you can think about is the expense. So those are the misconceptions. 

What meal prep really is. Let’s break that down. This is the fun stuff here. Meal prep is meal preparation. You are preparing your meals to push you towards your goals. Okay? So the reason why preparation follows meal is because we need to be prepared before we eat. If we are finding ourselves where we’re having to make split-second decisions on what meal we’re gonna have or what we’re gonna eat, there’s oftentimes we do not choose what is gonna push us towards our goal. Oftentimes we choose what is quick, convenient, and inexpensive. Unfortunately, that’s not a good plan to follow for longevity for sustainability. 

So preparation – meal prep, we just need to be in the mindset of that we are preparing a meal in advance to shoot us towards our goals, okay? So that we know what we need to eat when we need to eat it, to put towards the goal. So the other word that I like to follow with meal prep is we are meal prepping with a purpose. There is a purpose behind every meal that we eat. Oftentimes again, we are just looking for meals, making split second decisions and not thinking about the purpose. The fuel talks about balance in the last video. It’s very important if you miss so, I would love for you to go back and watch it, making sure that we’re hitting that balance, being making sure that that meal has a purpose and is serving a purpose that is pushing us towards that goal. 

So meal prep, meal prep with a purpose. What that looks like in my household? My meal prep is I sit down before I walk into the grocery store and I write down each meal, I’m going to eat. I am that kind of person. I can only eat leftovers for two maybe three meals after four, I’m done with it. I don’t want it anymore.Trust me, I’m right there with you. So what that looks like is Sunday night planning, Monday dinner, Tuesday dinner, Wednesday dinner, Thursday dinner for the rest of the week. The importance in this planning is that I’m planning my leftovers also. I know meals that make a lot. So what’ll happen is Monday night, I will plan a single night meal. Tuesday, Wednesday might be a leftover meal. Thursday, Friday might be a leftover meal right there. You just covered five days and you only making three meals, get creative with this. 

If making one meal, eating it four or five times throughout the week is your best option and your most consistent option, run with it. The most important part of meal preparation is that it is geared towards what works for you and that ranges for everybody. It’s different for everybody. So what I would love for you to do today is think about ways that you can meal prep for the following week. We’re looking for preparation and we’re looking for purpose behind our meals. So try to eliminate those split-second decisions. Try to plan ahead. Let’s prepare for meals that are gonna push us to a purpose of our goals.

Thank you guys for checking in today. If you have any more questions again, please ask ’em in the comments. Any more questions, please shoot me an email. Ask another coach around EarthFIT they would love to help you guys out. Thank you guys for tuning in today. We appreciate your time. Hope you guys have a wonderful rest of your day. Thank you.

-EarthFIT Coach Eli