Meal Prep like a pro

I personally am not a person who preps. I like to make quick meals at night and eat the leftovers for lunch or with dinner the next day.

But that doesn’t work for everyone. That doesn’t work for really really busy people. That doesn’t work for people who don’t enjoy cooking.

So instead of trying to give you tips on how to meal prep, I approached a friend of mine, a Mrs. Lauren Baxley (know to me as miss Lauren Falleur when we lived together in college) who is the MASTER of meal prepping. I have watching her posts on social media about meal prepping for a few years now. So here are meal prep tips from a master:

  1. Start your list early. Mine is usually started by Wednesday. That way, if I think of things throughout the week I’d like I just add it to the list.
  2. If anything, start prepping small. Commit to just lunch prep or breakfast prep or heck, just snack prep at first.
  3. Buy glass containers that don’t leak. You can buy a good set on amazon for 25 dollars. This will save you millions in lunchboxes (mine were gross) and it’s better for your health and better for the environment. Plus plastic containers hold smells and flavors.
  4. Avoid the grocery store on Sunday. It’s stressful and often out of stock . I love Friday night shopping before my weekly Mexican meal with my family (when not in football season 🙄). If I know I will be gone and unable to grocery shop I clicklist or Walmart pick up early.
  5. Prep whenever you can. Right now for me it’s once a week since I don’t have time for a mid week prep between work and activities. And it works – the food never goes bad after 5 days. I’ve prepped for other and never heard a complaint of a 5 day old meal, nor of any illness resulting
  6. Change your recipes. I rarely, maybe 1/20 times, get tired of my prep. I try new recipes every week and rarely repeat them. I find them everywhere from skinny taste, Pinterest, to local bloggers.

 

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Turns out she also has a blog of her own where she shares some of her recipes. You can find that here.  Or you can follow her on instagram where she is always posting her latest eats here.

Also – I did a little Q&A with her. She’s a pretty spectacular person.

Q: How long have you been meal prepping?

A: About 2.5 years . I have prepped every week since I started with the exception of vacations 😂.
Q: What got you started?
A:  Beckett turned one in November and although I was at my pre-pregnancy weight it was all fat. I decided literally January 1, 2017 that I was going to change. That’s also when all my gym time started. Some people think New Years resolutions don’t stick, mine did.
Q: What health changes have you seen since starting to meal prep?
A: When I started in 2017 my resting heart rate was in the 90s and maybe into the low 100s at times. Mostly due to being unconditioned and unhealthy. Now it’s 60 to 70! Also eating healthy pre-planned meals always makes me feel better during a workout. My body composition overall shows the change in my health as a result of pre-planned meals.
Q: What about traveling?
A. It depends on the kind of travel. I do not prep for vacation. I may try to throw some healthy snacks in my bag for meetings or places associated with work. When I may not have access to a microwave I usually prep a cold meal that doesn’t need heat.
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Lauren the wife of a high school athletic director and football/soccer coach. Mother of the sassiest 3 year old.  She is a burn specialty nurse at Arkansas Children’s Hospital where she treats burn injuries of not just children but adults as well. Lauren spends her free time attending and serving at church. She loves being with friends, short family trips, cooking (MEAL PREPPING), trying new foods, running, and CrossFit. Lauren has ran 6 half marathons and one full where she nearly died. 
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Thank you Lauren for being my friend, being a badass and an inspiration and for meal prepping like a pro and sharing your tips with others!

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