THE BEST MEAL PREP TIPS AND TRICKS (includes video)
HOW TO BE EFFICIENT, ORGANIZED & MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MEAL PREP!
If you didn't know, I am a private chef for professional NBA athletes! I love my job but I have to be organized in the kitchen if I want to be successful. I am taking you guys behind the scenes on a work day prepping 5 different meals 2x, 10 total meals in just a few hours! I am sharing my very own BEST PRACTICES on meal prep whether you are doing it for yourself, your family, your partner or professionally!
In this video, we go over:
How I plan the meals
How to set up for efficiency in the kitchen
How to execute a successful meal prep
Step 1: Gain inspiration and build your meals!
I use Pinterest, Instagram and google to gain some visuals. I usually begin by deciding which types of protein I want to work with for the week. Once you have that down, then I move on to the themes of the meals. AKA do I want southwestern, Italian, American, are the meals vegan, vegetarian, asian? Now that you have your proteins, and the themes written down start mix and matching them to pair them up! Let me give you an example, let’s start with shrimp. Shrimp we know goes well with many flavors but one of my favorites is asian. So we have shrimp and asian coupled up… Now lets move on to couple up the rest of the proteins and themes. From here you can type in shrimp asian meals into any search engine and thousands of inspiring meals will come up. If something stands out, check it out! I love gaining inspiration but also putting my own twist on it based on what you love eating! You’ll keep doing this until you have ALL meals built out with the exact ingredients, toppings, sauces and proteins!
STEP 2: Build your shopping list!
Do this in your kitchen so you can browse through your pantry, fridge and freezer to see what you already have on hand. Now, look through your weekly ads at your local grocery stores and see what is on sale! Don’t be afraid to substitute items you already have on hand or are on sale at the grocery store to change your menu a bit at this step! Remember, we want to be efficient. One less thing for you to buy at the store will not only save you money but time if you have it at home! Once you have gone through every single recipe to got down the ingredients you need, categorize the ingredients into sections. I.e. fruit, vegetables, beans, grains, sauces, cheese, protein etc. I like to visualize my grocery store and write the items that I will first come across in the store at the beginning of the list! That way you are quick in the store and back home in no time. This also really helps for not buying unnecessary things you do not need, aka wasting time! Alright, got your list? Let’s move to the next step…
STEP 3: Grocery shop.
Easy enough. I love this part, any other weirdos out there like me that live for the shopping part?
STEP 4: Organize your space.
Here’s what I mean… Put the groceries away where they belong. Clean off the countertops. Empty the dishwasher. Put on your favorite playlist. Put on an apron. Put your hair back. Game face on? Great job.
STEP 5: PLAN COOK TIMES FOR EFFICIENCY.
Yup, you may need a pot for white rice, a pot for quinoa, how about a pot for boiling chicken? You’ll need a sheet pan for roasting veggies and even a pan to fry the shrimp! It’s all gotta cook and it all has different cook times right? Typically a brown rice needs 40 minutes, sweet potatoes need to be washed, peeled & chopped, chicken needs to marinate. Ok so let’s organize. On a piece of paper write down what needs the longest amount of time to cook to the shortest. Write down what needs to just be chopped, and what needs to be marinated. Organize your life so that you know each step of the way. Write it all down, every step of the way before even beginning to cook. This sets your brain up so you know what’s coming & won’t miss an essential ingredient or step! In this video I prepped all of my root veggies, threw them in the oven, got the wild rice & white rice cooking on the stove and threw the fish and chicken to marinate! Steps 1-5 are essential to set you up for success. All of the hard work is done, now you get to COOK & ASSEMBLE!
STEP 6: COOK & ASSEMBLE.
Yup, get creative, take photos, enjoy the process! This is the best part!
Meals you see in this video:
Indianapolis, IN
Chicken and Shrimp Fried “Rice” made with just quinoa, cauliflower rice, carrots, green peas, corn and edamame. Pan fried with some coconut oil and coconut aminos. Then topped with pan fried teriyaki chicken strips and shrimp. Serve with sesame seeds, green onions with a side of soy sauce!
Buddha Bowl: Delicious wild rice served with crispy roasted rosemary sweet potatoes, cooked beets, massaged kale (massaged in olive oil to make it easier to digest), diced green apple, toasted pecans, feta cheese and a balsamic glaze. Details on my Instagram page. Link here
Greek pasta salad: Brown rice, gluten free pasta with chopped cucumber, chopped cherry tomatoes, diced red onion, hearts of palm, kalamata olives, tossed in a homemade lemon Italian sauce. Topped this with pan seared chicken, sumac, hummus and more Italian dressing. Full recipe for this can be found in my eCookbook. Link here
BBQ Broiled Salmon with a cilantro lime & roasted corn white rice served warm. Served along side a chilled black bean, tomato, corn, mango, red onion and cilantro salsa with tons of fresh lime juice. Follow me on Instagram to get the recipe for this being posted soon!
Pesto Crusted Salmon served with a tri-colored quinoa, roasted rosemary potatoes, roasted carrots, crispy broccolini and tons of lemon juice. Recipe for my pesto crusted salmon is on YouTube! Link here
