The first two parts of this series have went over the why meal prep is a great tool and how to store your food. This section will cover the nitty gritty and what to actually cook and store and eat. One thing to always to remember is how much water to drink along with the food and the importance of it. Always Have a bottle of water with you. Some vital facts of H20 to remember:
•Blood is 83% water
•Muscles are 75% water
•The brain is 74% water
•Bone is 22% water
It may feel like an annoyance at the beginning but having water with you will make a huge difference in your life. Water is a requirement. Your body needs water to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients. Water also detoxifies the liver and kidneys, and carries away waste, and makes digestion possible. Fiber alone cannot aid proper digestive function. Feeling dehydrated? You may be, and not even know it! Without water, your blood is literally thicker, and your body has to work considerably tougher to cause it to circulate. Your brain becomes less active, it’s hard to concentrate, your body feels fatigued, and you just tire out. Aim for a gallon a day. Before you know it, you will start to crave and love your water.
For best consistency eat meals every 2.5 to 3 hours apart, choose the right about of each food for your goals. You can buy a scale for $10-$20 bucks that will help you tremendously divide the food up with accuracy and speed. Divide all your meals into portion sizes for meals and storage. To speed up time in the kitchen I will cook a large amount of rice or sweet potatoes, and steam some green beans and/or broccoli while my meat is on the grill or in the oven. Make sure to keep spices handy when cooking meat to keep things different and more enjoyable. When choosing foods, try and pick ones that are low in the glycemic index, though there are many other healthy choices such as raisins, peas, corns, carrots, and white potatoes.
The last thing to mention that could make or break your success is the food that you choose to prep and cook. The richest sources of protein are animal foods such as chicken, meat, fish, cheese and eggs. However, plant proteins are believed to be healthier because of their lower fat content. Some of the best protein to eat from animals is turkey, fish. Chicken, steak. Once it comes to picking out carbs there are a couple that I would say are the go depending on if you want simple or complex carbs. Sweet potatoes are my favorite but for those who don’t like those there is brown or white rice. There is also whole wheat pasta & breads. You can’t forget to add in enough healthy fats which many do because they think of fat as being a bad thing. Healthy fats can be found in olive oil, almonds, natural peanut butter, and avocados. Although many hate veggies they are also a must to eat along with the other foods to get enough fiber. Those foods include broccoli, asparagus, green beans, brussel sprouts.
While there are not a ton of choices of food above, those are just a base line to get you started. There are many other options out there to eat healthy. You have to find the right food that you can enjoy eating and still be healthy. Find the right combination that works for you and have fun with it.