Although the actual work of meal prepping may take place in the kitchen, all the fun begins in the grocery store. How well (or poorly) you execute your shopping can make a huge difference when it comes to meeting your nutritional needs and hitting your fitness goals. Here are three of my top tips for a successful shopping trip:
Buy in bulk.
Stock up on large quantities of your lean meats and veggies. There's nothing worse than realizing mid-week that you've run out of something and having to run back to the store. Grabbing your items in bulk - think 3 or 4 packages at a time - will also allow you to take advantage of special deals at many chain grocery stores.
Use condiments to spice up your meals.
It can get boring eating the same baked chicken and brown rice meal after meal. To liven things up, take advantage of spices and seasonings like Mrs. Dash or Flavor God that are sold at your grocery store. Condiments like sea salt, pepper, sugar-free ketchup, and mustard are fine, too. Avoid dressings, sauces, and juices since they tend to have a lot of empty calories and sugars.
Don’t forget about frozen produce.
Frozen fruits and veggies get a bad rap for purportedly not containing as many vitamins and minerals as the real variety. Not only is this completely false, but buying frozen produce can help ensure you eat clean even when your raw fruits and veggies go bad. Certain types of produce (e.g., leafy greens, bananas, berries) tend to spoil rather quickly, but the frozen variety keep for months and months on end.
For a more in-depth discussion on each of these items, just tap below to catch one of my recent grocery store runs in action!