By Sara
So you recently adopted a whole food plant-based diet or went vegan and are wondering what you can do to increase your chances of sticking to it? Have you heard the saying “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”? This is why meal planning is for you, friend! Today’s post is going to take a look at the top reasons to consider meal prepping, especially when just starting out, new to the plant-powered world.
5.) Look at this process as an investment in your health.
Investing the time on a day or 2 you have off can save you time in the kitchen the rest of the week. Not only that, but it will pay off when you unexpectedly have to work late, or a meeting goes long, or your child’s soccer game has a weather delay. There are So. Many. Reasons. To meal prep. Putting in the time on days off will also allow you to face fewer temptations throughout the week since you already know what your meals will consist of and will be ready with snacks when needed. Moreover, good nutrition plays a huge role in heart health and reducing diabetes risk factors, among other health benefits.
“Goals don’t get people results. Systems are what bring the results. If you set up a system to guarantee success you will achieve it. “
4.) Meal prepping allows you to have more variety in what you eat.
I’ve been vegan and now whole food plant-based for nearly four years now, and have only a handful of recipes that I repeat. Most are new, because there is so much to explore, which keeps meals exciting! Variety is the spice of life, and mixing it up with different ethnic foods and meals is so much fun—we have had a much more varied diet since making this change than we did previously.
3.) Meal prepping makes grocery shopping faster and easier.
When you have taken time to plan out meals, and put together a shopping list for ingredients, it takes the stress out of grocery shopping. Rather than standing there staring at items on the shelves, you can be a woman-on-a-mission and get in, get out and get done!
2.) Prepping meals saves money!
When you get good at meal prepping, you will have little leftover at the end of the week… meaning you are eating all of your food, and therefore there is less waste. If after a few days I haven’t eaten all of something I’ve made, and know I won’t get to finishing it, I’ll oftentimes throw a serving or two in the freezer (labelled of course!) for enjoyment later when I have a “lazy” weekend and don’t feel like cooking (often these are weekends filled with blogging tasks, so I am working overtime on my passion!) Also, by having all your meals planned out, and plenty of fruit for snacks, you can avoid the costs of dinners out and convenience snacks, which are expensive on the regular!
1.) Meal prepping can help you to reach your nutrition goals.
Goals don’t get people results. Systems are what bring the results. If you set up a system to guarantee success you will get it. This is exactly what meal prepping entails, thus is how to best get the results. You will be able to stick to your healthful habit with ease, thanks to having limited temptations to eat non-vegan foods, when you know what gastronomical delights you’ve planned for the week. Being excited about your system can garner faster results merely by taking bad choices off the table, so to speak.
So what do you think? Are you convinced to try meal prepping to feed yourself and your family? Do you have some plant-based cookbooks to try out? Looking for suggestions? If so, hit me up in the comments, or send us an email. We’d absolutely love to hear from you!
