Food Preppers... I NEED your help!

Food prepping has been a lifesaver for me. I notice a HUGE difference in my success the weeks I have prepped in advance versus the weeks I have not. Here are some of the advance prep steps I take during the wkend, usually right after I get home from the grocery store so that I can do much of it while putting away the items I purchased:

* cook several boneless, skinless chicken breasts, package them in 1/2 cup portions (I live alone), and freeze. throughout the week I use the cooked chicken in salads, in wrap sandwiches, on homemade pizza, or even just for a protein snack.

* brown ground turkey. sometimes I use it to make turkey chili, which I then freeze in one cup portions; other times I use it in burritos or nachos (in which case I freeze it in 1/2 cup portions).

* cook black beans. throughout the week, use in salads, burritos, nachos, quinoa, etc.

* hard boil eggs. I use the hard-boiled whites as a great snack when I need more lean protein; if I'm extra hungry, I fill them with hummus and/or a little avocado.

* preportion things like hummus, almond butter, light cream cheese, natural peanut butter, etc. into small 2-oz plastic containers so that during the week I can grab a hummus container and some carrot sticks when I need a snack.

* cut carrot sticks, radish slices, and celery sticks, all of which I store in water in the fridge until the day I want to eat them -- keeps them super crisp.

* cut up or even just portion a variety of fruit and put it in one-cup plastic containers.

* portion out nuts into one-serving baggies. SO easy to just grab a serving on the run this way.

* prep some sort of whole grain like brown rice, quinoa, or couscous, then portion into individual servings so that I don't have to measure later in the week.

* roast some veggies to toss into salads, on sandwiches, or on pizza throughout the week.

* sometimes I'll go even further and make a full recipe or two to eat during the week -- could be a healthy version of a quiche, a pizza, a healthy version of a pasta recipe, whatever. I then portion out and package the servings individually.

By Monday morning, my fridge is really fun to look at, with rows and rows of little individual servings of various healthy foods -- allows me to grab and go throughout the week with no stress. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but now that I'm in a routine I can usually do my weekly food prep in about one hour total, which for me has been totally worth it.

Best of luck with your efforts!