What Goes Into Meal Prepping

Oftentimes when we hear the term “meal prepping” we think of health gurus and keto diets, but meal prepping is much more than just balancing out healthy meals. At Eva Carlston Academy our students thoroughly enjoy sitting down with our nutritionist and planning out delicious and well-balanced meals that everyone looks forward to. But, why do we implement meal planning here at Eva Carlston, and what benefits does it have? 

What Is Meal Prepping? 

Meal prepping can be as simple as planning out your meals in advance and buying groceries according to those meals. Many people will go as far as spending one day of the week cooking all of their meals and then portioning it out. Whatever the case may be, meal prepping is a great way to save money on groceries while having easy access to recipes that have been found in advance. By planning meals and knowing what will be made ahead of time as well as the groceries needed for those meals it can also reduce anxiety surrounding food that many people struggle with because it takes away the “what if” and “how” of it.

How Meal Prepping is Important

As stated, meal prepping plays a vital role in helping reduce anxiety surrounding food. Many who have eating disorders or struggle to eat healthy can get anxious or depressed about cooking meals and will often go without. Incorporating regular meal prepping into a schedule it helps to organize, plan, and help with the guesswork that often comes with eating and cooking food. 

Additionally, it can help with financially planning out budgets for the month or week by planning a set schedule of meals ahead of time. Doing this and then writing out a grocery list will help prevent over spending on unnecessary items or food that will likely go to waste. Also, it reduces the amount of unhealthy frozen foods or snacks that add little to no nutritional value. Meal planning allows you to introduce new foods, try new recipes, and help you stay organized. 

Eva Carlston Students and Grocery Shopping

At Eva Carlston, one of the most important things that we value at our organization is meal planning with our in-house nutritionist. Each student takes a turn at the beginning of the week to plan the recipes they like or new ones they have found with the guidance of the nutritionist. Then, they are able to make a list of groceries that are needed for those meals and accompany a staff member to the store. In doing this, our students are able to learn financial literacy, individuality, communication, and leadership skills. We think it’s important to harness these skills with real life scenarios that they can take with them for years to come. 

Eva Carlston students thoroughly enjoy planning out meals and taking responsibility for the weekly groceries. It also gives our students a chance to eat their favorite foods, cook exciting new recipes, and introduce fun recipes to others. Our nutritionist ensures that all of the meals are well balanced in each food group and provide the nutritional value needed to keep their body and mind healthy!