The Power of Meal Prepping

There are numerous factors that can consuming meals away from home a major risk factor for weight gain and metabolic dysfunction associated with liver disease.

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Takeout, restaurant, and convenience foods tend to be highly processed, plus their portion sizes are typically large and difficult to control. And these dishes are seldom centered on health-friendly items such as non-starchy vegetables. On the other hand, cooking and eating at home improves nutrition quality and significantly lowers the risk of obesity. 

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Preparing meals at home is a multi-step process. ‍

It requires planning and preparation to make busy weekday nights run smoothly. To prepare a meal, you’ve got to: 

1. Make a grocery list
2. Go grocery shopping
3. Washing and chopping (and otherwise preparing) ingredients ahead of time 

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And what do all of these things require? Time. 

In today’s busy world, carving time out of the week to shop and prepare food can seem like a challenge, leading many people to think that eating out requires less time. In reality, though, eating out also requires a significant amount of time. For example, traveling to a restaurant, ordering, waiting for your food to be prepared, and then returning home can easily take more than an hour. So, is it possible to redirect some of those minutes to meal prepping?

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In 30 minutes, you can more than likely - 

• Select several healthy recipes and create a shopping list
• Place an online order to be picked up at the grocery store
• Wash and chop fruits and veggies to have on hand for a quick snack
• Assemble a crockpot meal in a freezer bag so that all you have to do is dump its contents into a crockpot or an Instant Pot and turn it on for busy nights

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To help you get started, here are a few more tips to help you be successful:

1. Schedule meal prep time on your calendar. Write it down!
2. Pick a few recipes that have the same ingredients. For example, cook up one big batch of lentils for both lentil tacos and a protein topper for your salad.
3. Stock your kitchen with glass containers of various sizes so healthy foods will be easily visible.
4. Keep ready-to-eat veggies and fruits in glass containers at eye level in the fridge.
5. Cook in large batches so that you can plan on having extra food ready to go. Freeze it for an easy future meal or plan to use it for lunch the next day.

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^References 

1. ^{Kim D, Hou W, Wang F, Arcan C. Factors Affecting Obesity and Waist Circumference Among US Adults. Prev Chronic Dis. 2019 Jan 3;16:E02. doi: 10.5888/pcd16.180220. PMID: 30605422; PMCID: PMC6341820.}
2. ^{Mingay E, Hart M, Yoong S, Hure A. Why We Eat the Way We Do: A Call to Consider Food Culture in Public Health Initiatives. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 15;18(22):11967. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182211967. PMID: 34831723; PMCID: PMC8623951.}
3. ^{Tiwari A, Aggarwal A, Tang W, Drewnowski A. Cooking at Home: A Strategy to Comply With U.S. Dietary Guidelines at No Extra Cost. Am J Prev Med. 2017 May;52(5):616-624. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.017. Epub 2017 Feb 28. PMID: 28256283; PMCID: PMC5401643.}
4. ^{Tumin R, Anderson SE. Television, Home-Cooked Meals, and Family Meal Frequency: Associations with Adult Obesity. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017 Jun;117(6):937-945. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2017.01.009. Epub 2017 Feb 24. PMID: 28242429.}