My Meal Prep Monday

Depending on your schedule your meal prep day might be on a Sunday or even a Thursday. Mine happens to be on a Monday. I prefer to go grocery shopping on a Monday because I feel like the stores aren't as crowed, I can take my time, and most things are usually restocked from the weekend shopping rush. Also, especially during football season, Sunday is really the end of our week and I am usually preparing all of my game-day favorites and don't have time to even think about shopping or preparing anything for the week ahead. So, here are a few tips to help you and your family become more successful at staying organized, eating clean, and preparing most of your meals at home instead of dining out.

Clean out and Take Inventory
Always clean out the refrigerator and take stock of what is in there before making your list and heading to the store. This way you will only buy what you need and you have a real handle on what is going on in your refrigerator. Also, this really helps to keep you organized and prevents you from finding that long lost cucumber that got pushed to the back and has turned to mush...eww!

Prep as you put away
Once the groceries make it inside, start prepping things right away before putting them away. Wash and cut any fruit or veggies--that will make it easier to reach for a healthy snack during the week because it's all set and ready to go. I hard boil a few eggs and grill off some chicken breast for the week.

Create your own convenience food
Now that everything has been prepped and put in it's place you can start making meals for the week in a breeze. I love mason jar salads--they are life savers! It feels so good to just grab a salad that's already prepared, all you need is a fork! Also, at this time you can make homemade dips, or hummus, pasta or chicken salad, or any baked goods, trail mix, or granola that you plan to eat through out the week.

Storage
-I like to use glass containers with air tight lids.

-Make sure you keep hard boiled eggs in their shell, they stay fresher longer and can last about 5 days. 

-Most mason jar salads can stay nice and fresh for about 5 days as well. 

-Make sure you keep any raw meat away and towards the bottom of your fridge and fresh ready to eat food and produce towards the top.