Easiest Meal Prep – Bariatric Edition

I know.  Meal prepping is the equivalent of food logging.  We all know we should do it but to do it…not many of us do it.

I can’t help you today with the food logging part, other than saying “do it”.  I currently do not log my food.  I can say that my clients who actually log their food, do better than those who do not.  That says a lot.

I can help you today with the meal prepping part.  I meal prep all the time.  I don’t do huge meal preps for 4 or 5 days ahead.  I don’t have to due to my lifestyle, but I do meal prep for two days.  I mean, I set myself up for healthy meals to not fall into a bag of Frito Lays. 

It makes me happy to prep my fridge for success.  So what does that look like?  It starts at the supermarket. 

My cart hits the fruit and veg first.  I get radishes, cucumbers, orange/red peppers, cucumbers.  When it comes to fruit, I always get berries.  It could be strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries.  I’m getting the ones that are on sale. 

Next up is the meat department and once again, whatever is on sale is going into my cart.  I cook for 4 to 6 people almost daily.  The sales are where it’s at!!  I plan my meals in my head when I am shopping for food.  If it’s stewing beef on sale, we will be having this on the menu for the week.  If chicken is on sale, get ready for 4 different kinds of chicken dishes.

Now I am headed to get some pickles, good quality deli meat, eggs, and cheese. Hello Greek yogurt.  My Greek yogurt doubles as my sour cream.  I get the kind that has 19 grams of protein per ¾ cup serving.  I use my Greek yogurt as a salad dressing/ dip also.  It is very versatile. I won’t just eat a bowl of it, but I do use it for so many other things.

When I am at the supermarket, I try to stay out of the aisles.  That’s where the danger lurks.  I’ll grab my coffee there, and my avocado oil etc.  I try to keep my hands off the chips, popcorn, pretzels, crackers, cereals.  If I buy the chips, I am going to eat them.

My last stop is at the frozen fruit section.  I like to use frozen fruit to make my “nice-cream” recipe which is ½  a cup of frozen berries mixed in a food processor with ½ a cup of cottage cheese.  Try this!!

When I get home, I put my groceries away and prep at the same time.  I will marinate whatever meat was on sale, get my veggies washed and cut/ stored, get my berries washed/ready to go.  I pop 10 eggs into water to boil. 

That’s it.  That’s my food prep.  I don’t package things into individual containers. I just make sure that there is high quality REAL food waiting for us when the fridge door opens.  It’s just as easy to grab a bowl of berries, as it is to grab a bag of chips.  Pass the nuts, not the pretzels.  Pickles, not ice-cream.

Come to think of it, I am hungry right now.  I’m going to grab two hard-boiled eggs and some fresh strawberries.

Set yourself up for success.

Healthy Hugs,

Sheri Burke – your bariatric RHN