doing the tupperwear/dishes

The Pros & The Cons :: Meal Prep

As with anything in life, meal prepping has pros and it has cons. For me and my "lifestyle" meal prep has proven to be an extremely beneficial activity. I strongly support it, and these are the reasons why:

Pros:      

1. It's a huge time saver. Even if you are the kind of person that enjoys cooking delicious meals for your family, or the kind that hates being in the kitchen, meal prep can save you time and get you prepared for a delicious meal (for one or for many). Cooking a larger amount of a couple specific meals takes a lot less time then making those meals every single night. You can still make whatever you want, you just do it at one time.

2. It saves you money. You have a list of your recipes and the ingredients, you go to the store and buy them. Simple as that. You have a clear plan and you aren't distracted by the Twinkies and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch. You also save on food going to waste. How many times have you bought something and then thrown it away before anybody ate it? I have done that way more than I would like to admit.

3. It is easier to be healthy and to avoid eating random "unscheduled" foods. You are in a rush, you ended up working late, and you have to be somewhere shortly after work. Great news! You already made a delicious and healthy meal, so go ahead and heat it up. Its also a lot easier to skip those brownie bites at work when you know you have something that looks like the "sloppy omelette" waiting for you at home. 

Cons:        

1. I only do meal prep for dinners. But lots of people meal prep for all three meals as well as snacks. I think those are the people that have the issue of the food becoming boring. I usually make one or two dinners and rotate them every other day. I make things that are really really good, they taste amazing, and I'm usually excited to eat them. I don't have an issue with getting bored, but its always a risk you take. You gotta weigh the options, be a little bored or be fat :)

2. If you don't eat the meals like you planned, they could, very well, go bad. Another reason to stick to your plan! You don't want to waste food "when there are children starving in Africa." At least that's what my mom always told me!

There it is in black and white, there are far more pros then cons. Try it for yourself and see if it helps you reach goals.