Experts say that, when it comes to successful weight loss,
the primary factor lies in what you eat. So, even if you’re exercising like
crazy, you might be missing those weight loss goals because you’re failing to
eat right. That’s why planning and preparing your meals in advance is such a
key component of meeting your health goals. But meal prep can be a
time-consuming hassle. Here are 5 products that can make it a little easier,
and hopefully bring you one step closer to a healthier you.
Food Storage
Containers
This might seem obvious, but food storage containers are a
cornerstone of proper meal prep. If you’re using a variety of different
containers to prepare a single meal, you’re liable to forget some of the components
of your meal, or just give up on the hassle of washing that many extra dishes
every week. So do yourself a favor and invest in some glass food storage
containers. You’ll want ones in a variety of sizes, and may want to
consider getting ones that are divided into smaller sections.
These kinds of containers make it easy to pack your entire
lunch into a single container, so that you don’t have to juggle three or four
different dishes for every meal. With the right containers, you’ll be ready to
start your meal prepping.
Salad Spinner
Salads are an incredibly healthy and convenient way to meal
prep. All of the ingredients can be tossed into a single container, and you can
mix it up each day so that you’re never eating the same exact meal. This makes
it easily worth the cost of purchasing a salad spinner—or an entire salad
maker set. Having this tool (along with the appropriate slicers and dicers
for your vegetables) makes preparing your salad faster and easier, which means
you’re more likely to actually prepare it, rather than grabbing a burger on
your lunch break.
Meal Planning
Calendar
One of the best ways to stick with your eating plan is to
write it down—and not in a digital sticky note app on your phone, where you’re
likely to forget about it. Get some kind of physical calendar and hang it up on
your fridge or keep it on your counter. This can be a dry-erase calendar, a
weekly planner, or a calendar that you print up on your computer. Whatever kind
you prefer to get, just make sure that you write out your planned meals for
every day of the week. This will help you to stay on track.
Slow Cooker or
Instant Pot
One of the worst parts about meal prepping is just how much
time it takes to put together enough meals for five days. Who wants to spend
their entire Sunday cooking lunches for the work week? This is where a slow
cooker or instant pot comes in handy. Both of these tools allow you to just
toss in all of your ingredients, turn it on, and leave it until it’s ready.
That means you can actually take some time to enjoy your Sunday, rather than
being in the kitchen all day.
However, this does mean that you’ll have the same meal for
every lunch that week. So make sure that you’re cooking something you’ll love
eating over and over again.
Silicone Baking Mats
The other terrible thing about meal prep? Cleaning it all
up. Many people avoid cooking simply because of the mess that the process can
make in the kitchen. And when you’re trying to cook healthy meals for a week,
the mess can be pretty big. That’s why silicone baking mats are a must-have
tool for meal prep.
If you’re baking anything in the oven, put it on a silicone
mat instead of on the cookie sheet. These products prevent anything and
everything from sticking, and they can easily be wiped clean after you’re done
cooking. No more scraping and scrubbing pans. You can roast veggies and bake
chicken without leaving yourself with a gigantic mess to clean up afterwards.
As the year draws to a close, it’s time to start thinking
about what you’ll do differently in 2019 to meet your health goals. Perhaps
arming yourself with the right tools is all you need to ensure that this New
Year will lead you to a healthier, happier you. And while the products above
can’t guarantee your success in reach your weight loss goals, they’ll certainly
make the process a little bit easier, and give you that little bit of extra
help you need to succeed.
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