You will surely already have heard of it, the term “meal prep” abbreviated from English “meal preparation”.The initial version indicated a method to plan and prepare the meals of the week, creating “recipes” already defined. This organization certainly saved time and money but left little room for flexibility and creativity.
With the evolved version of “meal prep” comes to the fore:
- the importance of what we put into our bodies, which should not be simple food but a food that nourishes us and helps us to keep us healthy
- greater confidence and a sense of freedom in front of the stove, “dishes” are no longer created but “bases” that make the composition of our meals easy and appetizing, varying the combinations, but also changing the appearance, of proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit
- the elimination of stress, energy, economic and food waste putting our meals with awareness quickly and without stress.
HOW TO START
The necessary condition for being able to start organizing our “meal prep” carefully is the knowledge of some key points, they helped me to understand “what and how to do”, and I hope they will help you too, some articles written by doctors that I submit to you immediately:
What does our body need?
It is really the case to say it: we are what we eat!
It is time that we begin to respect our body a little more, feeding it adequately to its needs. It is made up of many small “bricks” that over time are consumed and rebuilt, a bit like an architectural work in continuous restoration.
A varied and balanced diet that allows us to produce the energy we need to function must contain: proteins, fats, carbohydrates (or sugars), fibers, mineral salts, and vitamins.
Which foods should always compose our meals?
A carbohydrate base:
◊ pasta; bread; rice; polenta (corn); cereals and other seeds (wheat, spelled, kamut, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, sorghum, etc.);
◊ potatoes;
◊ water crackers (rice, corn, spelled);
◊ chestnuts;
◊ legumes;
The important thing is that the “farinaceous” element (from the first course to the bread, from the savory pies to the sweet ones) is obtained with flour as complete as possible or with a medium-low glycemic load.
Legumes are part of the “integral carbohydrates” sector due to their higher percentage of starch than the protein content.
A protein component:
◊ all kinds of meat (beef, veal, pork, turkey, chicken, rabbit, horse);
◊ eggs (of hen, goose, quail, duck);
◊ all kinds of fish, fresh or frozen;
◊ oily seeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, etc.) unsalted;
◊ atural cheeses, that is made with milk, rennet and salt, without preservatives or additives (not more than 2-3 times a week);
◊ sliced meat without glutamates, polyphosphates, nitrites and nitrates (not more than 2 times a week);
◊ soybean as a seed or as a derivative (tofu).
Fruits and vegetables
◊ That is foods rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins, antioxidants. If raw and plain they can be consumed in free quantities throughout the day. If cooked or seasoned, they should be consumed only at mealtimes even more abundantly than expected for carbohydrates and proteins.
Fats
They are an essential source of nutrients and are useful in controlling glycemic peaks; for this reason they can (and must) be used in a serene way in their daily life, avoiding trans fats .
Refrigerator and freezer are allies if you have little time?
The bacteriostatic action of the cold makes it possible to stock up on some products present only in certain periods of the year. You can decide to freeze because we have purchased a large quantity of food for an advantageous price, or you can decide to keep ready-made dishes for use in emergencies or when you don’t really feel like cooking.
The best choice is to consume any preparation at the moment, but with due care you can keep it all in the fridge for a short time: be careful though, even if the food is cooked it is always a substrate for the growth of mold or bacteria and the processes activated with cooking even if the temperature is lowered continue to go on.
If the chosen preservation is in the freezer, the temperature difference considerably slows down all these processes, however not stopping them completely.
Household freezers are able to store products already frozen very efficiently
If a food is to be frozen, the critical point is its inability to rapidly lower the temperature in the heart of the product, which determines the final quality and storage time.
The processed foods will have a shorter maximum shelf life than the foods already frozen.
Now with clearer ideas we are ready for the organization, I will talk about my “meal prep” in the next posts.
In the meantime I have prepared:
MEAL PREP RECIPES, now you can click and find different ideas
MEAL PREP 2: Organization of the weekly menu ◊ APP ◊ What do I cook
MEAL PREP 3: How to prepare, season and cook food correctly
MEAL PREP 4 How to cool and prepare my recipes for conservation “meal prep”
clibi 