Day 11 of 31 Days of Fat Loss:  Fat Loss Shopping List & Meal Prep Hacks For Busy People Who Hate to Plan Ahead

Grocery shopping can be so overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to lose weight and jump start a healthy lifestyle.  Sometimes I get sucked in by the thousands of food items available, and end up spending way too much time in the store.  What helps me is shopping with a detailed list with amounts if possible. 

I also include the meals I’m making that week, so that if I can’t find a specific item or it’s too expensive or whatever, I can determine how important that ingredient is to the recipe and whether I can substitute something else or skip it altogether. 

Before you start wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles (who has time for that?), download my Fat Loss Shopping List by clicking on the picture to the right or the link below.

Okay, now that we’ve got our healthy, fresh food, now what?  Let’s talk meal prep.  It’s a good way to save time and mental energy to prep and cook some of your meals ahead of time.  No stressing about what to make for dinner when you already have a recipe in mind with most or all of the ingredients ready to go.  And you’re less likely to order a pizza or head to the drive-thru for fast food.  Win-win.

Full disclosure:  Unlike many other fit pros and competitors you see online, I seldom do meal prep or cook in bulk ahead of time.  I’m lazy, I hate planning ahead, and I have the luxury of having the free time and energy to cook my meals as they come.  So I’m not going to share anything that I wouldn’t do myself.  You could call this the Fit & Lazy Girl’s Guide to Super Simple Meal Prep.  I’m a big fan of easy and fast.

Don’t feel like you have to follow all of these tips at once.  Start small, like with cooking the proteins ahead of time or chopping all the veggies.

*  Chop all veggies at one time, both in strips/pieces to snack on or diced for recipes.

*  Chop up proteins for use in recipes.

*  Sautee lean ground beef or turkey and divide into 1 lb. (precooked weight) portions.

*  Bake potatoes and other root veggies (carrots, parsnips, etc.) in bulk.

*  Cook a few cups of rice at one time.

*  Hardboil eggs either on the stove or in the oven in a muffin pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*  Use that crockpot that’s been gathering dust in the cabinet.  I use mine frequently because you can set it and forget it, and it doesn’t heat up the house like the oven can (critical in the summer in Texas!).  Throw in chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, beef for moist, shred-able proteins to throw on salads, add barbecue or hot sauce, add to a wrap or sandwich, or other meals.  No need to add any liquids in most cases.  Here’s a great chicken recipe from SkinnyTaste.com.

*  Combine all the ingredients to bake at a later date for meals like meatloaf, meatballs, stuffed peppers, and frittatas.

*  Make recipes that hold up well and freeze for later in the week, like lasagna or chili.  Or make something that only gets better the longer it sits in the fridge like ceviche.

Need some containers to hold all these yummy lean eats?  Bodybuilding.com has a great article on all the different containers you can choose from here. 

What’s your best meal prep tip?  Am I forgetting any?  Let me know on my Facebook page.