Taking the Brainwork out of Meal Prepping

Breaking a habit ultimately is about rewiring your brain. Habits are found in an area of your brain called the basal ganglia. The more often you perform an action or behave a certain way, the more it gets physically wired into your brain. This amazing adaptive quality of your brain is known as neuroplasticity.

So let’s take a simple approach for you and your family when it comes to meal prepping. Grab a piece of paper and write the first 4 days of the week (Monday-Thursday). Think of the favorite meals that your family likes and how you can create a healthier version if they are not whole food based. Now write down a meal or 3 for each day, you can be as specific or as general as you want to be.

Create your grocery list from this meal prepping sheet and rotate the meals to keep things a little varied. Here is the thing creating structure like this allows for less brain power for meal prepping and cooking so you can spend your mental energy on more important tasks and not impulsively grab fast food or eat unhealthy.

Here are a few examples of a list I have used: {Every meal has fruit & salad on table}

MONDAY-Chicken, sweet potatoes & salad, Zucchini boats & brown rice

TUESDAY-Tacos, Chili

WEDNESDAY-Breakfast dinner

THURSDAY-Spaghetti Squash & sauce, Caesar salad, Portobello mushrooms, roasted potatoes & quinoa

Most of us KNOW what to do! It is important to acknowledge that the change begins in our mind and in our daily habits. Need more ideas or support then head to my nutrition coaching page to learn more of what I offer as a whole food coach.