Dietitians' Favorite Meal Prep Tricks

Most health professionals agree a little planning goes a long way when it comes living a healthy lifestyle. Meal planning and preparation can save you time, money and stress, and decrease food waste and those dreaded, last-minute "I'm starving" poor food choices. From choosing weekly menus to prepping ingredients and keeping the freezer stocked, here are tips and tricks dietitians use to prepare for themselves and their families for a week of healthy eating.

-- "The majority of my weekend meal prep revolves around planning and packing school lunches for my two little girls," says culinary nutrition expert Holley Grainger, a registered dietitian. "I try to avoid throwing random food into lunchboxes by creating weekly lunch menus and prepping and packing the lunches the night before. With two little ones, lunches aren't always perfect, but if I plan ahead, I do a better job of making sure their meals are nutritionally balanced and mornings are (slightly) less chaotic."

-- Registered dietitian Carolyn O'Neil, author of the cookbook "The Slim Down South: Eating Well and Living Healthy in the Land of Biscuits and Bacon," notes that planning ahead for a week of healthy meals is about being prepared to adapt when things don't go as expected. She writes, "The secret isn't changing your way of life to fit a completely new way of eating; it's learning how to adapt to life's changing demands and little surprises in a healthy way. If an unexpected road trip pops up, map out menu choices at quick-serve restaurants along the way by visiting restaurant websites. If a busy work day has you desk-bound, make the most of your meal by keeping a nice placemat in your desk so you can set the atmosphere for a little lunch, even it's only 20 minutes with a cafeteria sandwich."

-- "To ensure that I am prepared for the week, food-wise, the first thing I do is look at my calendar," says registered dietitian Willow Jarosh of C&J Nutrition in New York. "If I'm going out to dinner, then I won't need to cook that night. Or, if I have a set of meetings that sandwich a lunch break, I'll plan a very portable lunch. Travel merits travel-friendly snacks and meals, and late nights at the office demand 20-minute (or less) dinners. Once I look at my schedule I'll write down a general plan for meals that meet each day's needs, repeating ingredients (and using leftovers) as much as possible. From there I create a shopping list, head to the store and stock up for the week ahead. For me, having a general plan for each day feels exciting as I look forward to the upcoming week's meals. It also reduces stress, since I know I have the ingredients on hand to make meals without a hassle. This also minimizes that "I have nothing to eat" feeling and reduces food waste! Now if only I could organize something similar for outfits..."

-- Texas dietitian Robin Plotkin of Robin's Bite sets time aside each weekend to replenish healthy snack stashes in her fridge, freezer, glove box, purse and more. Having pre-portioned healthy snacks on hand such as pistachios, trail mix, dried fruit or applesauce pouches keeps her hands out of the cookie jar. "I also like to select one new recipe per week that I integrate into our weekly dinner rotation. I check out my favorite websites and blogs for inspiration."

-- Registered dietitian Sarah-Jane Bedwell, author of "Schedule Me Skinny: Lose the Weight and Keep it Off in Just 30 Minutes a Week," recommends spending 15 minutes at the beginning of the week prepping food so meals can be put together in just minutes all throughout the week. "To prep, first I recommend cooking one large batch of whole grain or starchy vegetable (such as quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, potatoes, etc.). Next, I recommend washing and chopping hearty veggies (such as peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, etc.). Finally, I recommend measuring out single portions of added fats (cheeses, nuts, etc.) into baggies or small containers for easy portion control during the busy work week. Then, on a hectic week night, you can simply throw together these elements you've already prepped along with an easy protein source, such as canned salmon or tuna or drained and rinsed canned beans to make a quick, healthy dinner, like my Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl, which can also be used for lunch the next day."

-- "Breakfasts are non-negotiable in my house, meaning we don't skip or skimp. Because end-of-the-day meals can get harried based on schedules (and honestly, exhaustion by every member of the family), we make sitting down to breakfast in the mornings a priority," says registered dietitian Regan Jones, founding editor of healthyaperture.com. Doing so requires a little advanced planning on the weekends. "One of my favorite sanity savers are 'hard boiled eggs,' but I actually don't hard 'boil' them. I've learned to make use of an already hot oven (when I'm making muffins for the week, etc.) and use this oven-method to prep a dozen eggs to help us through the week. In just under 30 minutes, I can have muffins and eggs prepped for the week, and while both are in the oven, I wash and prep berries, grapes, pineapple and oranges so that fresh fruit is always a quick-and-easy choice."

-- "My main prep in meal planning is to roast up a bunch of different vegetables like mushrooms, broccoli, carrots or whatever I have on hand," says registered dietitian Deanna Segrave-Daly, a blogger at Teaspoon of Spice. "Then it's easy to mix with whole grains like rice; pasta; stuffed into tortillas/taco shells; or used as toppings on pizza crust, whole-wheat flatbread or pita for quick weekday meals. I'll also roast chopped tomatoes with garlic and herbs to use as make-shift tomato sauce. In fall/winter, I'll roasted winter squash and puree it for use in dishes like mac and cheese, pasta and oatmeal."

-- Registered dietitian Chris Mohr, who has a PhD, uses the "cook once, eat twice" technique. "We have a menu laid out for the week, shop according to the menu and then plan the meals/leftovers accordingly. Juggling two kids under 6, working and everything else ... cooking from scratch seven days/week is out of the question. This gives a little more flexibility while still allowing us to enjoy family meals together that we prepared."