Maybe Meal Prep ...

but my way

The above photo, due mainly to my lack of photography skills, looks gross, but is one of our favorite breakfasts. We try to have it once a week. It’s just two poached eggs, sliced avocado and wild rice. Looks like dogfood here, but it’s quite good! The rice can be made in a large batch ahead of time and refrigerated to use with this and other meals.

This is the type of meal prepping I’ve been doing for ages – chopping onions, preparing rice, making hummus and cutting up veggies for snacking, etc. But this after this simple breakfast, I decided to really apply the Meal Prep concept completely. SPOILER! It’s hard, and not so glamorous.

First, I decided I needed to clean out the fridge to make room and get rid of “extras” left over from the Holidays, as well as giving it a good wipe down and such. That action was exhausting in itself and started off my meal prepping the next day with a sore back and aching knees.

So, I started Sunday by making baked oatmeal my husband and I could have for breakfast that morning, then have enough for two more days! I put that into containers for easy grab-and-heat access. (I had come up with a meal plan and shopping list the day before, too.)

Then I went to start chopping onions and my food processor was dead. I use it all the time. No warning – just dead.

What I learned:

I definitely don’t have enough containers, I need to plan better for meals and ingredients, I need more time for getting it done, I need to pace myself better. It’s going to take a little time to figure out what works best for us.

But the benefits of prepping for meals are that (as I do know from prior experience):

1. I know ahead of time “what’s for dinner” so I don’t have to think about it

2. I don’t have to try to come up with a plan for food and then also prepare it when I am mentally and physically drained

3. Better decisions are already made for me to put into my body instead of being vulnerable to “bad” choices made when those are the “easier” option

4. Fewer dishes pile up

5. A healthier lifestyle appears almost as a side-effort

6. Less is spent on groceries, and less food waste occurs, due to planning

The benefits specifically for me, as an aging woman with a progressive disability affecting my energy levels, is all of the above, plus it lets me rest and/or challenge myself in a more controlled manner and keeps me on track to make healthier choices. An added challenge is that my husband and I focus on Gluten Free options. I’ll try again next week! But probably in more of my own way …

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