As students are busy with classes, extracurricular activities, and work, it becomes difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Reaching for a bag of chips saves more time than trying to cook a meal between courses, but it can lead to poor health outcomes. Meal prepping is a great way to have meals on the go for several days.
Meal preparation basically involves planning your meals for the next day and so on. It also allows you to store meals in the freezer or refrigerator if you have extra. Although meal prep takes some time, marking a day on your calendar to prep your meals takes the stress out of trying to make one with a busy schedule. Preparing meals can also be economical, rather than buying snacks every day or eating out. Having a meal prepared ahead of time can also reduce the amount of money you spend. Rather than going to the grocery store several times a week, meal prepping allows you to buy most of your food in one day and then cook everything on the same day.
Preparing your produce is the key to meal prep. Vegetables are not only important for overall health, they are also easy to prepare and store. Fed & Fit, a nutritional and wellness program website, reviews the simple steps to preparing vegetables. Start by washing your vegetables in cold water to limit the risk of unwanted germs. Once you’ve let your vegetables dry completely, you can chop them depending on what you’re preparing. Soup ingredients may call for diced vegetables rather than leaving them whole. After preparing your vegetables, you can store them in a container, jar or bag.
Meat and fish can also be preserved before or after cooking. Depending on the best before date on the package, some raw poultry can be left in the freezer for more than six months. Preparing meats doesn’t have to be difficult; for example, cooking chicken for the week and using it in many meals can help beat repetitiveness as it gives you more options.
Having basic foods around your apartment or house is equally important. Foods such as rice, bread, cereal, or whatever else you might need are useful to have on hand if you ever find yourself short on time. Staple foods are what you would normally eat, so switching to healthy alternatives and replacing fruit with sweets can help you stay healthy in the long run. According to National geographic studystaple foods provide plenty of nutritional value and energy to support your daily functions.
Meals that are ready for you during your busy days can be helpful in fueling you and saving time. Taking a day to grocery store and prep allows for a week’s worth of meals and even promotes healthier choices.
Contact Hannah Lifrieri at [email protected]. For more health and wellness content, stay tuned for future editions of the “A Wealth of Health” column, and follow the Culture Bureau on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.