Meal prepping is a helpful way to set yourself up for healthy choices throughout the week. Preparing food ahead of time to keep in the fridge is a great way to save time during busy days so you don't have to stop, think about, and cook a healthy meal. However, it can be a challenge to meal plan, grocery shop, prepare all the ingredients and even find meal prep ideas that work for multiple meals throughout the week to not waste ingredients.
Part of my goal as a Registered Dietitian, is to help take that stress away! I work with my clients to develop meal planning and meal prepping skills that work with their own lifestyles, and the kinds of food they like to eat. I help my clients find recipes they like, build grocery lists, and I teach them valuable meal planning and meal prep skills. Within the realm of Intuitive Eating, meal planning and meal prep fits well in a flexible and mindful way. Traditionally, meal plans can be seen as restrictive, and another 'rule' to follow and feel guilty about if you aren't following the plan to a T. When I work on meal planning with my clients, we approach it with flexibility and in a personalized way, including variety and options for each meal, without the calorie counting and restrictions that come with diet-centric meal plans. This way, you are able to decide what you feel like eating in the moment, and have a number of options to choose from that are ready to go, and feel satisfied with your choice!
I understand, though, that not everyone enjoys cooking or has the time as a student, a busy mom, or working professional, so I’ve been lucky enough to find a service that bypasses many of these steps for you, and actually has delicious meals!
Inspired Go is a meal delivery service that offers meal delivery of salads, sheet pan meals, juices and more. Inspired Go’s greens are locally sourced, grown in a sustainable Canadian greenhouse, and they partner with local chefs to create their delicious recipes. Their meals stay fresh in the fridge for a week and are delivered right to your door, perfect for easy meal prep throughout the week! Inspired Go’s mission is to inspire every individual to thrive by removing the barriers to healthy eating, which I also love.
A few of my top tips for meal planning & meal prepping:
Take a freezer inventory to see what you need to use up
Pick a new and exciting recipe to try – and build your repertoire of meals you love
Start with dinners, plan out 5 dinners for the week, and build your grocery list
Plan a few quick and convenient meals, and a few that take longer to make
Buy more Tupperware! Make extra for leftovers! Freeze items in individual portions
Batch cook grains as an easy addition to bowls and salads
Wash and chop your fruits and vegetables when you buy them, to make them easier to grab and go
With the stresses of daily life, trying to take on all that comes with learning to meal plan, meal prep, feed yourself AND your family, and all the while making healthy choices is a big challenge. Starting off with prepping one meal per week may be more realistic for some, and Inspired Go comes in handy to provide a wide variety of other meals for the rest of your week. To make things even better, my clients get an exclusive discount code to Inspired Go!
A few things I like to use from Inspired Go for meal prep include:
Overnight Oats - https://inspiredgo.ca/collections/breakfast
Sheet Pan Meals - https://inspiredgo.ca/collections/dinner
How Inspired Go Works:
Inspired Go currently delivers to Vancouver & the Lower Mainland, Kelowna, Vernon, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
Choose your meals for home delivery online at https://inspiredgo.ca/ When checking out you will be able to select a preferred delivery date.
On delivery day, you will receive a delivery notification when your order is on its way to you. If you aren’t home, not a problem! They deliver in an insulated cooler with ice packs that will keep it fresh for 4+ hours until you arrive. The bags and all meal packaging are 100% recyclable.
The minimum order is $40 and you receive free shipping on orders over $65!
What makes Inspired Go unique?
Inspired Go packages their salads and bowls in patent packaging that allows the ingredients to be separated. This means your meals stay fresher longer and if there is an item you don’t care for you can choose to not include it in your meal!
Meals are ready to eat with minimal to zero cooking required!
Inspired Go is proudly Canadian and source their greens from a sustainable Greenhouse in Coaldale, Alberta. Their greens are grown without the use of pesticides and with 99% less water than growing in a field. It also doesn’t have to travel a long distance to get to you – their greenhouse is 100x more land efficient than field agriculture.
*Disclaimer: this blog post was written in collaboration with Inspired Go, and I received free meals from Inspired Go to sample. All opinions and perspectives are my own.