Cori (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free work on and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I’m going to butcher this morning. It’s going to be good, but we’re talking about hacking meal prep because it’s so important that we really do plan out how we’re going to hit our macros if we want to see results to start, because often we aren’t necessarily naturally hitting them. It’s a learning process. So I’m super excited to be joined by Julia, my fabulous registered dietician today to talk about hacking meal prep and really making sure that you’re hitting your macros efficiently and effectively For all of us. People who especially like me, are slightly lazy. So Julia, thank you for joining me.

Julia (01:04):
Of course. Thank you for having me. I am so thrilled to be here and so excited to jump on in and talk all things meal prep today.

Cori (01:12):
So let’s start out just talking about what the benefits of meal prepping really are.

Julia (01:17):
Sure. So I mean, first off, we know that it saves us a lot of time and money. We’re not having to eat out throughout the week. We kind of have those meals planned out and we’re able to actually utilize that food that we’re getting and we’re just buying what we need so no food is going to waste. It also reduces that midweek stress. So for people who again, have a really busy schedule, they’re not able to plan as well, this can really help you have that plan in place so that you don’t even have to think about it. It also helps us to increase our nutrient density in our diet to add in more produce vegetables, protein, foods that you may otherwise not really grab for in a pinch. And then it also ensures, like you said, that we are meeting our nutrition goals. So failing to plan is planning to fail, so it really just puts us ahead of the game ready for that success and also dismisses the question of what to eat when you are hungry because it’s already there ready to grab and go so you’re not having to scramble around.

(02:13):
Ultimately though, I think everything connects is that it really sets us up for success in the long term.

Cori (02:21):
It it makes a change because usually when we are working to hit macros, we are changing ratios, we’re making a change to our diet, we’re working towards a specific goal. It makes it easier because the more you’re having to think about things and try and adjust in the moment, the harder it really is and it’s easy to get busy and fall back into old habits. So with that being said, who do you recommend meal prep for? Besides lazy people just like me.

Julia (02:46):
I mean especially for anyone who is very busy, if you work long hours, if you are a busy parent or just anyone with a really packed schedule who may find it hard to find that time to sit down and cook a meal throughout the day, like you said, for someone who is struggling to hit their macro goals. So if you know that you are someone who struggles with that, planning ahead is really going to be key for that success. And then finally, if you feel like you’re someone who maybe you just snack throughout the day and you don’t really have that meal structure, it’s really hard to make good decisions in the moment when we let ourselves get really hungry. I tell my clients all the time, I would be the worst dietician if it wasn’t for meal prep because I wouldn’t make the best decisions in that moment. But it is really all about setting yourself up for success so that when you have those moments where you are hungry, your body’s telling you that you need to fuel yourself, you have that option ready to go right there, and it gives you that meal structure that you need.

Cori (03:38):
Often in making habit changes, it’s like trying to bring to light old patterns as we create new ones and it’s stressful, it takes a lot of willpower. We’re having to use a lot of mental capacity, and part of what meal prep really does is it makes things a little bit more mindless. We don’t have to think about what we’re eating, we don’t have to think about where we’re going to go to get it. We don’t even have to think about the macros or any of those different things. It also not only makes things more mindless, which makes it easier and less stressful to make the changes, but it does shift our environment. It allows us to have those foods on hand so we’re not necessarily defaulting back into old patterns going to the cabinet when we’re stressed. We know we have something in the fridge, which holds us a little bit more accountable too, versus if we don’t have anything, it’s easy to be like, well, let me have these other things going off of that before we dive into some tips to really get started, meal prepping if you haven’t done it before, if you are a parent, I think often we get into this thing of like, I’m prepping meals for other people.

(04:32):
How do I prep for myself as well? So with getting started and even potentially making meals for other people, what tips do you have? How can you really find that balance so you can hit your macros, not have to make a bazillion different dishes, but also make things easier and get started with it?

Julia (04:48):
Yeah, that’s an awesome, awesome question. I feel like it’s a really common struggle is that people feel like they see meal prepping, they see the demands of it and they’re not sure how they can adapt it to really fit their lifestyle. If you are someone who you are a busy parent, definitely customize it to your needs. So there’s not a one size fits all when it comes to meal prep. Don’t be afraid to play around with certain recipes and portion sizes if you need to maybe give your child a little bit more rice and if you want a lower carb split, you can maybe take that away and add some avocado on top to add a little bit more fat and just make those little tweaks, but you still can have those similar meals laid out. Ultimately, I think just strategizing and knowing what your needs are, knowing what your pain points are, right?

(05:30):
So if you are someone who maybe you struggle to get in enough vegetables, then you can strategize. Choose recipes that are really rich in vegetables, things like stir fries, salads, soups, or even utilizing frozen or pre-cut vegetables. If you are someone who maybe you struggle and you don’t have time to cook on the weekends, you’re a busy parent, you’re running around, you have kids soccer games a lot on your plate, make extra meals ahead for the weekend that you can save and freeze and just pop in the microwave real quick or plan your meal prep around the weekend and make those your eat out meals. If you are someone who you struggle to hit your protein goal, choose meals with really easy protein sources. Things like Greek yogurt, eggs, deli meats, rotisserie chicken or just prep some proteins in advance. We kind of call that like a bulk meal prep where we just pick some things like chicken or a shrimp and just have that on hand, ready to throw in salads, bowls and ready to go. If you are someone who maybe struggled with breakfast, you have a busy day ahead of you with work, then prepare something the night before that you can just grab and go, but whatever it is, I think these are all very different examples, but they all show that you’re identifying what your weaknesses and where you can really optimize your meal prep and get ahead of the game.

Cori (06:44):
I love those tips because I found that I use a variety of them even depending on the time of year or what goal I’m working towards, where there are times where I want more recipe based things and I make those recipes even casseroles and then I cut them up. But there’s also times where I want a little bit more flexibility in the meals I’m eating because I’m not as sure of other meals, and so having that bulk prep of just vegetables on the side and different options of vegetables or different options of carb sources or different options of proteins, I can then combine ’em in different ways, whether I do make the salad or the stir fry out of the chicken or I add it to tacos or whatever else, I have things that could be used in multiple different ways even based on how the rest of my day went, which I find super helpful. So it is really key. We find those different ways of meal prepping that fit our lifestyle and realize there’s opportunity in all of these options that meal prep doesn’t just mean one thing, but if we are going into a meal prep session and we are really looking to hit specific macro ratios, how would you recommend that someone approach breaking down those meals to even determine what type of recipes they might need or what type of meal prep might work best for them?

Julia (07:51):
Well, first off, if you are someone who you are tracking macros, just taking a look at what those macros look like and maybe even dividing them by the amount of meals and snacks that you want to have throughout the day just to get a rough estimate of what that looks like. So for example, if you goal is 130 grams of protein, maybe you can divide that by three or four to account for at least three meals or one to two snacks throughout the day, and that gives you roughly 30, 35 grams approaching that you want to aim for at each meal. From there, you can begin to look at recipes that really match those macros, and the same for carbs and fat. Obviously it doesn’t have to be perfect meal to meal, but it really just gives you kind of that blueprint that you’re working with to hit those goals because we can meal prep in advance, but it’s not as beneficial for hitting our goals if we’re not making sure that we’re choosing recipes that are really working with those goals and then going off that just making it as simple and as realistic for you as possible.

(08:45):
So don’t throw in a bunch of new recipes at once. I always say just try to introduce one new recipe a week. If you love it, your family loves it, that it’s one of your staple recipes as we it, and you can cycle that in week to week, but definitely make it as realistic for you as possible. Like we said, don’t be afraid to play around with portion sizes if you need to for your family and just make it as realistic for your lifestyle as possible.

Cori (09:11):
And as you do that too, and even if you bulk prep some different things, think about family meals like the taco bar or the salad bar, all those are options where you can have all the ingredients prepped and bring them out for your family and everybody can sort of make something that hits their own macros, but I love that dividing up to really see what you would need at each meal because you can even then start to think about different ways that really make it fit what you need. I know I want to work in certain snacks or certain desserts or certain things, and so then I can work other meals around it even being like, okay, I’m not going to divide protein and carbs and fats evenly. I know sometimes people will be like, well, what’s a really high protein snack? And I’m like, I don’t use protein at my snack.

(09:49):
I try and keep carbs and fat for my snack and then work my other meals around it. So within having that breakdown of what you need to hit at each meal, you can start to say, Hey, maybe I’ll shift a little bit more here or a little bit more here to work in things that I love. What are some other suggestions you have for people if they’re really looking to make meal prep work for their lifestyle and find that balance? Because we don’t want to just be forcing some mold on ourselves that really isn’t sustainable, that we’re just dreaming of going back to what we used to do because then we’re not actually going to have the habit stick and we’re going to lose all the results we’ve worked hard to build.

Julia (10:20):
Yeah, I love that question because again, I think we see meal prepper, we hear it, and we think of all those containers laid out for every single meal throughout the day, and that can seem really overwhelming and not realistic for someone who isn’t able to do that. So again, just going back to the drawing board and adapting it to your lifestyle, remembering that there is no right or one way to meal prep, like you were saying, it’s all about identifying what works best for you. So this can look really different person to person. This can be prepping one to two recipes and eating the same meals for several days at a time. This can be, like you were saying, prepping several staple items, so maybe a ground Turkey, a rice, maybe some hard boiled eggs, maybe chicken salad, and then using them interchangeably throughout the week where you need to.

(11:03):
This can also look like just doubling the recipes that you’re making. If you’re making a dinner for your family, maybe you’re just going to double that so that you can have that for lunch for the next day or the next few days to have on hand or even prepping as you go. This can be as simple as you’re going to throw a crockpot recipe in there in the morning or you’re going to prep something for breakfast the next day. You’re going to have your smoothie ready to grab and go in the freezer, or you’re going to have an overnight oo on hand that you can grab and run out the door. So it doesn’t have to be as complex as we may think it is. It’s all about kind of finding out what your lifestyle needs are and how do adapt it to that so that you really can optimize and hack your meal prep

Cori (11:46):
And in that bulk preparation and keeping things simple, which I personally think is so key. I can eat the same meal over and over again for a certain period of time, and then I get really bored and then I’m like, I can’t look at this again. But for people not like that, I’ve even found where I can bulk prep things and use that simplicity and then freeze them and I don’t have to eat that the rest of the week. If I do tend to get more bored, like more food diversity, I can freeze that and use that the next week or the week after that. So there is even some flexibility to create diversity while creating that simplicity in that you can then have a ton of different things frozen in different ways to pull out when you’re in a pinch or even to allow yourself more diversity over that week.

(12:25):
Off of that. When you’re thinking about meal prep and we’re thinking about some of those things, right? Prepping for ourselves might be good, but in the freezer I also have meal prep I’ve purchased or cooked items I purchased because I am at times that lazy that I don’t even want to cook the things, which is great, right? It allows me to be lazier, but it can also add some cost. If someone was looking to potentially cut costs with meal prepping, what recommendations would you have to make sure that this is really budget friendly as well?

Julia (12:55):
First off, if you are buying for a family or just wanting to meal prep, similar things, buying things in bulk. So again, even buying a bag of rice or oats will be so much cheaper than buying it in a smaller container. If you’re going to have these recipes on repeat, that can be super, super helpful. Even things like canned foods, nut butters, just easy things that you can buy in those large amounts and they won’t go bad. Also, not being afraid to take advantage of the frozen section. So I know frozen produce kind of gets a bad rep, but it’s usually harvested and frozen when it’s rip, meaning that it contains more nutrients for a fraction of the price than the fresh fruits and vegetables that we’re seeing. So do not be afraid to utilize that to throw that into things like chilies, soups, stir fries like we were saying, and really take advantage of that.

(13:42):
Also, of course, shopping the sale. So if you are someone who may be on the weekend or whenever that time looks like for you that you are going to plan out when you’re going to meal or prep and you’re writing out that grocery list, look up the store near you and look up what their sales are and see how you can incorporate those foods into your meals throughout the week to save you money. Another great tip is shopping this store brands. So for items like nut butters, like we were saying, there’s a lot of things that you can find that are similar ingredients if not the same ingredients of those name brands for a fraction of the price again. And then finally just prioritizing the perimeter in ear shopping. So we hear this all the time, and that’s because the perimeter is packed with those whole foods, which often offer a lot more micro and macronutrients than prepackaged foods in the middle aisles, again for a fraction of the price. So making sure to kind of work them into your recipes, and again, this is a huge benefit of meal prepping is that we can really be intentional about it and it chooses recipes beforehand and work these foods in.

Cori (14:44):
We can make sure nothing goes to waste. We can buy in bigger bulk because we can prep and then even freeze it again to use over a longer period of time. We can buy those frozen things, which lasts a lot longer too if we are worried about something going bad. But there’s lots of ways to really make it work. Even in the recipes you pick, I’ll try and pick recipes that use the same sort of ingredients to be able to buy one thing that I use in multiple different ways, and that way I’m not having to buy more diversity, which can really add up now off of this. So we have the being very budget friendly, potentially having to do a little bit more work. It often comes with it, and then we have the being a little bit lazier. If someone’s on the lazier side and willing to spend a little bit more money on something, what would you recommend to give them some hacks to really make meal prepping that much more of a lazy person game? I’m selfishly asking. I have a few of my own, but I’m selfishly asking.

Julia (15:39):
Yeah, of course. Just really taking advantage of those kind of more convenience foods. So again, if you’re able to get things like precut vegetables or fruits, if you’re able to do things like rotisserie chicken and then maybe you’re just chopping that up when you get home and throwing that in salads, bowls, things throughout the week. Also, things like canned tuna, canned salmon, chicken, canned beans, those are awesome options. Again, you’re just drilling them out of the can and able to throw them in right away. Even buying things like hard boiled eggs, again, it just doesn’t have to be super complex things. You don’t have to sit there and cook these foods for hours. You can typically get them already precooked. Even the same thing with chicken. A lot of times stores will have it frozen grilled chicken that you can easily just heat up when you get home, pop it in the fridge and it’s there to grab and throw in meals throughout the week. So definitely just taking advantage of those convenience items and also knowing where your weak points are. If you struggle to maybe get in carbohydrates, maybe you’re going to lean on the prepackaged rice instead of having to cook it yourself every week, but just not being afraid to really take advantage of those foods

Cori (16:44):
And in knowing your balance where you are wanting to be a little bit lazier, you can potentially spend a little bit more and then budget for the other things. But I know the easy microwave rice, all those different things, they can save a lot of time and make it easier even as you’re easing in even if you don’t necessarily want to do that long term. So it’s remembering too that sometimes we have to lower that barrier to entry, get ourself taking that action and getting that momentum building to then do more. I also want to bring up eating out when it comes to meal prep because I think a lot of times we think this is only cooking stuff at home, but part of meal prepping is even planning in those meals out and knowing go-to restaurants where you can hit your macros and work those things in because that allows us in a pinch when something does come up where maybe we can’t have our meal prep that we even planned to be able to have those go-to items, but also find that lifestyle of balance. Do you have any recommendations if someone is looking to work in meals out to their meal prep and to hitting their macros?

Julia (17:37):
Yeah, I would say just trying to kind of have a weekly menu in place, as we call it. So even if that’s you sitting down maybe a Sunday morning or whenever it looks like for you that you had that time to at least write out a rough plan, and I’ll even do this where I’ll leave maybe like a Friday night or a Saturday night or something open. I know those are going to be meals that I’m going to eat out and I really plan my meals around those and kind of write out even when I’m going to have for breakfast maybe those days just to have that rough plan in place. And this is also something really great that you can do if you have a family and you can really make it a fun experience for everyone. Let your kids chime in and kind of see what meals they want to have throughout the week and then plan around that, see where you can add in your lunch, your breakfast, those types of things. But really just giving yourself that plan ahead of time that you have so that you know that can default to that, and you’re working in those fun food experiences as well. So it’s not like you get to a point where you’re upset that you have to continue to eat your meal prep. You’re still working in those fun experiences, which I think is so key to making it enjoyable and sustainable long-term.

Cori (18:40):
You can find that lifestyle balance like meal prep isn’t just about prepping chicken and broccoli and only having to eat chicken and broccoli. It’s really about, as you mentioned, planning out that weekly menu so that you can say, Hey, we love pizza and game night on Friday night. I’m going to plan that in. How can I work the rest of the week to make that work so that you’re not skipping those things. It is that plan in place to create that lifestyle balance. Off of that key takeaways, things that someone looking to get started, you want to give as key reminders for someone meal prepping who might start to feel like if we get habit fatigue at times, what would you tell them in terms of getting them motivated to do this meal prep, to use these tips to really make changes that add up?

Julia (19:20):
Just remember that it doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, the more simple that we can make it, the more likely we are to follow through with it and at least stick with it at the beginning. But planning ahead is going to be what sets you up for that wary free week. I think a lot of the times we get overwhelmed with the work that we have to put in order to do meal prep, but when we look at the benefits that we get out of it and the time that we’re not spending throughout the week worrying, stressing, cooking, there are more benefits than there are cons to it for a lot of us. So just remembering, like you said at the beginning, that failing to plan is planning to fail. Just like you wouldn’t go into a test without studying, just like you wouldn’t buy a house without budgeting, all of your other goals require planning and preparation and so does hitting your macros.

(20:05):
So do not be afraid to take the time to sit down and plan it out a little bit. Even the most experienced coaches, everyone will tell you they utilize these meal prep and planning head stove because it is so, so key to success. So if you are someone looking to get started, you’re not sure where to get started, definitely check out our meal plan builder handout that we had dropped in the Facebook group. That is an awesome way to really show you the different options that you have when it comes to meal prepping and how to adapt it to your lifestyle,

Cori (20:33):
And I think that’s a key component. Adapt it to your lifestyle. When we’re talking about meal prep, we’re not talking about one specific way of doing it. There’s so many options and opportunities in that. So really think about what your lifestyle is, even maybe how you’ve approached meal prep in the past and what has and hasn’t worked and where you are right now to make it work for you because one size doesn’t fit all, and that applies to just about every habit that we’re going to implement, but the more we see the opportunity in the options, the better off we’re going to be. Thank you so much, Julia, for joining me today. Guys, I would love to hear how you use meal prep to help you hit your macros and what meals are your go-tos when you’re prepping ahead of time. 

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript