WEBVTT - Meal Prep Tips For People Who Hate Meal Prep 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.600 You go on pictures, you're scrolling, you find some recipes 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:05.760 that look amazing. Week one motivated, Week two, you're okay. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.079 Week three you're like hating life and your kitchen is 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:10.639 a mess and you've got all these ingredients and like 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:14.360 weird herbs that you're never going to use again. Hello guys, 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:17.119 and welcome back to Stepping Up. I am pumped for 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.800 this episode. And I know you guys when you probably 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.240 saw the title, you were like yes, because Okay, well 0:00:22.280 --> 0:00:26.000 maybe you won't, maybe you're not, you maybe have a life. Anyways, 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:28.320 I did an episode like this a long time ago 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:30.920 on meal prep Tips and Hacks, and it was one 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.800 of my top episodes that you guys have listened to. 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:36.360 And I think it's one of those things that you know, 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:39.720 meal prep and like food in general, just takes up 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.560 so much of our time and mental load. Like think 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:47.120 about how many times, like a day, you literally are saying, like, 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:49.200 what are we having for dinner? And then you realize 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:51.320 being an adult is literally asking what are we having 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:53.400 for dinner? Every day for the rest of our life. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.400 And I'm someone that I just hate making those trivial decisions, 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.360 like big scary business decision let's go. I don't know, 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:03.680 I thrive, but when it comes to like do I 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.720 want chicken or beef, or do I want an ice 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:10.639 latte or not like things like that, I just can't. 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:12.800 I just my brain just doesn't want to deal with it. 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.680 But I have evolved these meal prep tips and hacks, 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:19.760 and I've even like gone on Reddit to see if 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:21.600 there's anything else on there. But these are going to 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.880 be the meal prep tips for people that hate meal prep. Now, 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:27.120 this episode is for you. If you're someone who you 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.600 know you've tried meal prep before, you've done your meal 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:32.280 plan and then it gets to Wednesday and you look 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.240 at what you're meant to have and you hate it, 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.160 and then you have uber eats, or maybe you try 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:38.959 to pack lunches for the week and it lasts for 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:41.840 two days. Now, these are all the things that are 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:44.120 going to help you, because I am also someone that 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:48.640 I just really struggle to stick with things. And you know, 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:50.680 I have done meal prep in that for a long time, 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:52.640 but I have fallen out with it for a long 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:54.280 time too. You know when I wrote the book and 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:56.320 that I just ate Indian food all the time and 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:58.880 it was delicious. I love a good butt of chicken. 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:01.200 But you do need a kind of come back to reality. 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.120 And also our health and my gut health was really 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.560 really bad from you know, not making my own food 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.360 as much as I should have. So these tips are 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:12.600 just going to like change the game for you. Please 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:15.120 as always, I'd love to see you guys implement these 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.320 or even just take a photo of you listening to 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.200 the podcast and tag me on Instagram. It just makes 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:22.400 me so so happy. But I'm not gonna blab on 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:25.520 for too much longer. My life update is not really 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.120 like a life I guess it's a life update, but 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:30.800 it's more I'm going to be really vulnerable with you 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.640 guys and share an embarrassing moment. So the girls have 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.040 started doing netball, which I'm so proud of them because 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.280 I never did ball sports ever in my life and 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.080 I suck and I always wanted the girls to get 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.040 into ball sports. So for me, this is a really 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:45.640 proud moment. I don't know the rules, I don't know 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.200 what's happening, but I am on the sidelines cheering them on, 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.160 so that's the main thing. So we were at netball 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.840 the other day. They did training. They both have different 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:56.480 training days and It was one of the girls training days, 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:01.720 and I had a pretty big deadline, which the girls knew, 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:03.239 and they were doing like a break so it was 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:05.000 not like they were playing and I was ignoring them anyway, 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.280 So I was on my phone standard and I had 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.440 to go back to the car to grab something. Anyway, 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:11.840 I have been using a rental car for a while 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:15.040 because my car is getting fixed. So I got my 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.119 like I'm literally staring at my phone, you know, zombie mode, 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.680 looking down at my phone and walking to the car. Anyway, 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:23.840 I must I think I was in the middle of 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:25.960 writing an email or I was just writing, so I 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.440 wasn't paying attention. I opened the door of the car 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:30.840 and I kind of just stand there and I continue 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:32.600 to write on my phone. And it's preb been a 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.600 couple of minutes by this point. Anyway, I finished writing 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:38.120 what I'm doing, and I look up and there's this lady, 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.440 this poor woman, sitting in the driver's seat who looked 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:43.200 like I think she was having a nap, but now 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:47.080 she was no longer asleep. She's just sitting there staring 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:50.640 at me, this like woman who's just come And I've 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.720 opened her passenger door because I was gonna get my bag. 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:56.680 I opened her passenger door, and I'd just been standing 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:00.080 there for two minutes, just standing there on my phone, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:01.920 and she couldn't even see my face, like someone just 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.680 come and open her door and stood there. I was. 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:08.640 I was mortified. And then I was like, I'm so sorry, 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:12.720 and I must have woke her up. I felt so embarrassed, 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:15.640 and I do dumb shit all the time. Anyway, I 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.080 finally went back to my car, got the thing I needed, 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.479 and went back up and Ryan was just laughing his 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:23.359 head off at me. I don't know anyway, things like 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:27.160 that happen pretty often. So that's my life update is 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.200 I am still a mess. All right, Let's get into it. 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.520 So now I'm going to take you through the systems 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.719 that I actually use. This is not like a Pinterest 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.240 board type setup. This is just real tips that are 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.360 actually going to help. And also these tips are really 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:42.559 flexible as well. So when I talk about meal planning, 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.080 it's going to be flexible. You're not going to be 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:46.720 locked in. So let's get into it, and by the 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.320 end of this episode, you were going to have a 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.160 real proper meal planning system that you can set up 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:53.880 in fifteen minutes. You can choose and chop and change 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:55.640 what you want, but it's just going to make your 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:57.560 life easier. Even if you do one of these things, 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:59.920 it's going to make your life so much easier. First, 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.480 I'm gonna give you like a little disclaimer, reality check. 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:04.760 You know, like I feel like so many of us, 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.560 you're probably sitting there thinking like why when I try 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.719 to do meal planning, why does it only last me 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.320 two to three weeks if that? And you feel like 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.080 you're the problem. You think, why can't I just stick 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:17.800 to this? And it's the same with the gym or 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.679 exercise or anything like, you're like, why can't I stick 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.680 to this? You know, you go on pictures, you're scrolling, 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.240 you find some recipes that look amazing, and they look 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:28.839 decent and healthy and easy enough. You go out and 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.280 buy hundreds of dollars worth of groceries. You come back 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:34.520 and usually for me, I will stop there. I will 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:36.479 let you know, I will stop there. I won't even 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.560 make the thing, and then say you prep the food 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.440 and then you know you've done that for that one 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:46.560 day and you're exhausted and you've already given up. You know, 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.320 it's like week one motivated. Week two, you're okay. Week 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.800 three you're like hating life and your kitchen is a mess, 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.720 and you've got all these ingredients and like weird herbs 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:56.920 that you're never going to use again because of interest, 0:05:57.240 --> 0:05:59.360 Like we're not doing that, Like, let's just do easy 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.760 as you guys know, I did my Lazy Girl's Guide's 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:03.800 Healthy Eating where I did reels. I need to do 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:07.800 them again by the way of really really easy healthy recipes, 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:09.760 and I have all those types of things. I've actually 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:11.840 got an ebook on Stepha's planners. I think I think 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:13.479 it's still on there. I think it's like lunch Hacks 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.479 or something, and I'm just all about easy recipes, Like 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.200 that's what we want here. Now. This brings me to 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.520 meal prep hack number one, and this is having ten 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:27.040 meals on rotation. That is it. So my family, we 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:29.159 probably don't even have ten at this point, but we 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:33.320 like what we like. I like what I like, which 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:36.159 means I am more than happy to be eating the 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:39.680 same meal on the same day if I want, every 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:43.159 single week. And that works for us. And I know 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.040 a lot of us try to, you know, spice it up, 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.800 but it's not the bedroom. This is the kitchen, And 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:51.960 I think when you are just you find meals you 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:55.760 and your family, which is bloody hard in itself. If 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:59.600 you find that golden meal, you keep that. So this 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.240 is why having just ten meals, ten set dinners that 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.560 you and your family eat on rotation, that is just 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:09.920 gonna help with decision fatigue. You're gonna stop buying hundreds 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:11.880 of dollars worth of stupid herbs you found on pinches 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:15.080 you're not gonna use, and you don't have to have 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:18.480 that extra micro decisions and thinking every day what are 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:20.720 we going to have for lunches and dinners this week. 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.600 Examples of our ten meals we love is we have 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.480 pesto pasta. We have make your own pizza. We have 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.119 the burrito bowls which is my slow cooked Mexican beef. 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.880 We have Sarte chicken, we have chicken snitzel. We have 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.960 steak and veg. We have salmon with like coconut yogurt. 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.080 Sounds gross, but delicious. We have those types of meals 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.760 and we have them every single week. And the good 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:46.280 thing about having ten meals is like once you're rotating it, 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:48.800 it doesn't feel as repetitive. So for me and our 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.440 femi like, we're happy to have even the same four meals, 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:54.040 but some people do like to mix it up a bit. 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.720 And the good number about ten, ten really is the 0:07:56.800 --> 0:08:00.680 magic number because usually out of those ten, people like 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.360 your family will like at least seven of them, there's 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:05.400 going to be someone there that's going to be pretty 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.840 happy with what you've picked. And you know what ingredients 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:11.080 you need. You know how often you go through those 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.960 ingredients again, like herbs or sources that you might need. 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.120 You know how frequently you need to repurchase this. So 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:19.560 then when it comes to grocery shopping, which is a 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:22.040 whole other ballgame, you know what you're doing already because 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:24.360 you've made these meal lots of times. And if you 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.440 are sitting there thinking like, I don't know what these 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.280 top ten meals are, just have a little think about. 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:31.360 You know what you have been making. What are some 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.360 things that you make that just seem easy to make? 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:36.400 But also the kids are happy to eat. And if 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:37.840 you still don't know, you can sit down with your 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:40.600 family and just bounce ideas off of each other. I 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:42.880 know that kids are probably going to say koc. But 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:46.720 besides those, just come up with your even seven to 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.600 ten meals. And then you have it, and please, for 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:51.400 the love of God, write them down. Write them down 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.600 in your planner, write them down, print them off on 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.200 the wall, because you will forget. We will forget. I 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:57.760 forget all the time. Like just then, I was like, 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:00.040 I'm going to list all the meals we love, and 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.959 I could only remember like five. And again, our brain 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.199 is not meant to actually remember all the things. So 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.440 pick your ten and then you're going to start rotating them. 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.560 And this brings me to my meal prep hack number two. 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:15.319 So this is having theme nights. Now. I talked about 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.400 this in my weird ways, like to keep a cleanish house, 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.800 and that's to have theme days with cleaning certain zones. 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.920 So Monday was Master and minis so they're the bedrooms, 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:29.280 and then Tuesdays is tiled area Tuesdays. So everything has 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:31.840 a theme. And this is the same. So I'm sure 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:33.840 growing up, you guys would probably have heard of, like 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:36.640 I know, meet free Mondays or like I remember our 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.079 friends had take away Fridays or something, and I was like, 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.600 and you do it, you remember it? And I would 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.480 remember I had dinner at my friend's house once and 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:48.080 it was takeaway Friday or takeaway Tuesday, and I never 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.960 forgot that that was the day they had takeaway, And 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.600 it's something about maybe for me, I love alliterations, so 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:56.120 I love if I can do you know, taco Tuesdays 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.319 and things like that, You're going to remember it and 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.920 that's going to take out the decision making as well. 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.640 So he's a little example of what your theme nights 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:07.160 can look like. So Monday pasta or meat free Mondays, 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.480 Tuesday could be taco Tuesday or chicken and stir fry. 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:13.720 Wednesday is slow cooker, which slow cooker in itself is 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:15.800 a hack that if you don't have a slow cooker 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:19.200 you need to buy one. Thursdays could be Mexican or 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:21.480 it could be you know, like meat and veg. And 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:25.320 then Friday could be fend for yourself Friday. So that's 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.559 an example of what theme days look like for meal planning, 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.520 because when you do that, you were going to take 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.880 two seconds to actually do your meal plan which is 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.880 my next tip for meal prep. Now, when I say 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.360 meal planning, I think a lot of people do also 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.160 get a bit overwhelmed because it's like you've decided this, 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:47.880 you know, maybe on Sunday, you've sat down, you've planned 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.920 your meals for the week ahead. You've decided on Tuesday, 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:55.080 we're having fratatas. I don't know why I decided tratatas, 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:58.080 but that's what you're having. And then Tuesday comes and 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:00.120 you really don't want that. You're like, no, you'll no, 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:02.240 thank you. The thing is with meal planning, guys, is 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:06.440 you don't It's not like a contract. It's a loose schedule. 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:08.240 It's like a go with the flow one, but it's 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:10.920 you have it in place so you get the right 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.480 groceries for those meals. So for me, my meal plan 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:16.800 I tend to not even like I as you guys know. 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:19.120 I've got the meal planning magnets that I make with 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:23.560 SVP and having them on the fridge it just helps 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:26.680 everyone know what's going on. And an extra tip I 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.240 have with our meal planning magnets is in red. On 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.880 in the red markers, I will write say the night before, 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:34.560 if I have to take something out of the fridge 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.760 to defrost, I will write it down. So say Wednesday, 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:39.760 we're gonna have steak, but the steaks in the freezer 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.640 Tuesday night in red it will say defrost steak. And 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:45.640 I know that means to take it out, and people 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:47.800 know everyone, even Harper knows it means to take it 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:49.920 out and put it in the fridge. So having that 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:52.880 visual queue in your face so other people can see 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:55.360 it too, is so so helpful. But what you need 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.680 to know with meal planning is it's a guide, it's 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:01.160 not a contract. If you want to mix it up, 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:03.480 it doesn't matter because you're going to have the ingredients anyway. 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:05.960 The only issue here is if you say you buy 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:08.880 salmon and it's in the fridge and salmon night was 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:10.760 meant to be Monday, but now you want it Saturday, 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.280 that's where it can get a bit messy. So I 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.760 feel like if you just have you know, certain meats 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:18.640 that you know you want to have within the first 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:20.840 three days of the week, keep them in the fridge 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:22.920 and you can mix a match and you don't have 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.719 to be stuck with that. And also they say with 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:29.440 behavioral scientists, they say, if you have a default like 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.240 fallback option, so say yeah, like you see the bill 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.840 plan and you don't want to have frattatas if I 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:39.320 say that, bit fancy, don't I frattata anyway? If you 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:42.960 have a fall back option to say like, okay, oh yeah. Well, 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:45.440 like say I don't want them, and I'm like, oh yeah, 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:47.760 but we've got this for pesto pasta. I'll just whip 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.640 that up. Because you've got the fall back and the 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.000 default option, you're then not going to resort to like 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:56.000 getting takeaway. So you're still doing the habit, which is 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:58.960 making your meals at home and eating healthy or whatever 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:00.840 it is, and you're still following your meal plan. But 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:04.320 you've got back up and that's fine. Now. My next 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:07.679 meal prep hack is one that I will swear by 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.280 till the day I die. And it it is. And 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:13.240 I know you guys would have seen, you know, on 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:16.840 TikTok and things, you'll see people meal prepping so they 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:20.400 actually prep a full meal, which you're like probably thinking, yes, Steph, 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.160 isn't that while we're here in the first place, But no, 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:25.280 I do this differently. I guess I could probably call 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:28.520 my food prep. So you know, you'll see people online 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.480 who they prep there literally they will literally make the 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.600 actual meal, so it could be the pasta, which I 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:35.959 actually will do that. That one's an easy one to 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:39.000 prep and I actually like that. But they will prep 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:40.880 the meat with the veg and put it all together 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:43.360 in the container. But for me, again, I like to 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:48.280 have flexibility if I because I'm a walking contradiction, I 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:51.760 need structure. But also if it's too rigid, I will 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:55.280 run away. So that's why I'm also with these you know, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:59.839 different tips. I'm very much talking about being flexible and changing. 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.840 And it's not like so strict and rigid that you 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:04.960 feel like you have to eat this on this night 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:07.959 and make this on this day. So what I mean 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.160 by this is instead of me prepping full meals, I 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:15.040 will prep components of meals. So if you followed me 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.520 for a while, you would know this and I and 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.480 if you haven't, this is what I mean. Basically, every 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.680 week I will prep Mexican beef. So I will just 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.840 prep the protein component and that's it. And with that 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.120 Mexican beef, I can make tacos. I can make burrito bowls. 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.160 I can make nachos. So you can see where I'm 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.800 going with this. I will prep the one that's hardest, 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:41.920 but it's ready to go. And usually yes, we will 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.280 still always have burrito bowls, but I have the options 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:46.520 to do other things. And also I'm not having to 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:48.840 do the extra steps, and then it keeps it really 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:51.160 nice and fresh. And it's the same down to like 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.320 pulled chicken. So like chuck it in the slow cooker. 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.160 You've got your protein sauce ready to go. You can 0:14:57.200 --> 0:14:59.520 make that into sandwiches, wraps, you can make that into 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:02.640 part star stir fries, anything you need, but the main 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.640 thing is ready to go. And another way I do this, 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:08.560 we'll say vegetables and fruit is I will pre chop 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.520 them so certain veggies, like the hardier ones like capskin, 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:13.720 and that that will last me nearly the whole week. I 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:16.760 will pre chop them, and certain fruits I will pre 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.160 chop them as well, and I will get into the 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.240 fridge storing stuff a bit later. But having them done 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.800 and those extra steps made means when I go to 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.440 make the kids lunches or quickly grab lunch or make snacks, 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:33.120 they're already done. And also down to having the veggies 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:35.800 pre chopped, they're ready to chuck next to the meat 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:39.120 sauce I've made. So just prep components. Look, if you 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:41.600 want to prep full meals, go for it. But if 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.640 you're like someone like me, or if you're just starting 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.240 out with this, just take the pressure off and like 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:49.480 just prep components, and that's going to get your flexibility 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.840 back as well, even down to like say, I'll prep 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.840 the chicken and then I'll so I'll double it, so 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.240 I'll do a double batch, which means I can use 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:00.840 that chicken for the night we do the stur fries, 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:02.400 and I can also use it later in the week 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:04.880 for when we do pasta, and then it's done for 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:07.600 both double where me and the thing is too. And 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:09.720 actually there's actually, like I swear there's a study. Is 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:11.480 there a study on this? Yes, I'm like I already 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.080 written this down somewhere, so apparently, Like I don't know 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:16.960 about you guys, but when something's reheated, I find it 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.320 not satisfying at all. I just don't enjoy it as much. 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.160 But when it's like kind of prepared fresh, so like 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:27.119 dinner and things, because you've only prepared the meat component, 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.400 you're still assembling it fresh, so you're still getting the 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.920 dopamine from that, and it's going to be more satisfying 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.640 and taste better in my opinion, things like pasta that 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:37.880 I think that's fine, and like some slow cooked meals, 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.160 you can one hundred percent just make the whole thing 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.800 and chuck it in a container. But for me, it's 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.000 really killing two birds of one star and you're getting 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:46.720 the meal prep out of it, but you're also getting 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:48.760 it fresh as well. All right, So my next meal 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:52.680 prep hack is to do with storage. Now, there's two 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.720 different parts to this tit or hack. Now, the first 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:59.800 one is having something. So for example, if you want 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:01.360 to be meal prepping, you want to be taking your 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:04.760 lunch places. So say you know, obviously going to work, 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:06.280 you need to be able to take all your things, 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:07.679 or if you're out and about with the kids all 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:09.199 the time, you need to be able to have the 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:11.840 food you've prepped to come with you. So this is 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:15.679 where I actually created my lunch bags. Now, this was 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:17.720 I came up with this because I was going to 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:19.840 the White House to pack planners every day. I had 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:22.280 all these snacks I had made, I had my lunch, 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:24.200 I had my drink bottle, I had like some supplements 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:26.760 I got from my nature path, I had panatole, I 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.280 had my phone, and I had all of these bags. 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:31.879 And it was so frustrating and a lot of the 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.280 time I would literally leave containers in my car with 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:37.920 fresh food that now I couldn't eat. So I started 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.400 so like any of my good product ideas, I sat 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:41.960 down with a piece of paper and a pen and 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.480 I did the dodgiest drawing on the planet of my 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:48.080 new lunch bags, and then you know, a year later 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.520 they were born and it's this like and again this 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:53.320 is one hundred percent. This is a shameless SPP plug, 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:55.639 but it is life changing. And you don't have to 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.720 obviously use our lunch bags. You can use whatever nice 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.600 lunch bag you find, but having something that is like, 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:05.280 you know, aesthetic and pretty and just practical, you're going 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:08.280 to want to use it. So my lunch bags is 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:10.680 like the front pocket for your phone. I've got all 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.720 these pouches inside, like it's got so much room in it, 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.600 but it's so compact and it's really pretty. And we 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.280 actually just bought out our new tan color which matches 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.160 the lunch mice right my life pouch, and you guys 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.560 weren't crazy. It's so I'm obsessed with it. It's so 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.280 pretty anyway, So it's like a vegan leather. It looks 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:29.119 like it's this beautiful and we use it for like 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.760 picnics with the kids. And even La so Ela actually 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.679 works at SPP. She's my creative assistant. She's a legend. 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:37.280