By WMBD TV
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — National Meal Prep Day is celebrated to encourage people to start meal prepping and receive the financial and health benefits.
Meal prepping helps you eat healthier foods while also saving money at the grocery store by preparing meals in advance to heat up and eat throughout the week.
“People can plan four to seven days. I wouldn’t recommend any longer than that. It really gives you an opportunity to sit down and put together a plan for healthy meals and make sure you’re getting your lean proteins in there, your healthy grains and carbohydrates, and definitely vegetables,” said Catherine Porter, executive director of the Carle Health and Fitness Center.
In order for meal prepping to work for you, finding the right recipes that are nutritious and delicious is helpful. Talking with a dietitian about recipes and plans that work for you can be a great start.
“Just in this little bit of time with one of the dietitians, you can get all the tips, and really the best way to start, and even some great recipes to try that are super easy but healthy, because that will definitely help your success,” Porter said.
You can even save money in the grocery store by planning your meals before you go, and bringing a list with you of what you need, and only getting those items.
“If you’re meal prepping, half the week, and you’re planning to cook the other few days of the week, maybe use the same ingredients. When you go to the grocery store, you have this list that has your healthy alternatives, your healthy choices. Going with the list also helps with some of those impulse buys and some of the snacks and stuff,” she said.
Porter also recommends starting small, prepping just three days at first, and then expanding to the full week once you find what works for you.
WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.
