How do you plan your 5-6 meals a day?

[Romedoggy]

o.k...so, if you're not Holly Homemaker...how do you ensure you have enough healthy meals to eat each day (5-6)? What kind of ideas would you have for those of us who would rather cut off a limb that cook?
Do you cook everything one day a week? One day a month? Since brown rice takes like 45 minutes to cook, how to you ensure you spend less time in the kitchen and more time in the gym?

[Clueless]

Google 'OAMC'

Planning is key. Make big batches of stuff and split it up.

Invest in lots of smallish Tupperware.

[Cindy Day]

Yes it's very helpful to take 1-2 days a week to do some meal prepping. Sundays or Sundays & Wednesday are great days to grill, bake or otherwise cook chicken, lean beef, fish or pork tenderloin (some meats I like freshly cooked like fish or seafood). You can also cook up a bunch of brown rice and/or sweet potatoes.

You can go a step further and portion your meal allotment out in containers to have them ready for "on-the-go" lifestyle always being prepared and avoiding extreme hunger which can get some folks into "trouble" (reaching for things not on their goal-oriented plan).

If you hate to cook, there are so many convienances in the groceries today. Pick up a rotesserie chicken and pull the white meat off in the desires sized pieces. Veggies come in pre cut/sliced packages (individual and snack sizes) in the grocer produce section.

I buy raw nuts in bulk at the Fresh Market and have them stored in my freezer.

Once you get a system down, it becomes easier. Being prepared is (more than) half the battle.

[Romedoggy]

Lightweight, I love that idea. I mean breaking down everything into small portions and putting them in your freezer. I think that is my biggest problem (waiting until I'm ready to knaw my arm off before deciding what to eat).
That would obviously take up a lot of space in your freezer, so would you do what clueless suggested (tupperware)? What about zip lock bags? You could really break meals down and then just grab n' go!

[Ali]

Lightweight, I love that idea. I mean breaking down everything into small portions and putting them in your freezer. I think that is my biggest problem (waiting until I'm ready to knaw my arm off before deciding what to eat).
That would obviously take up a lot of space in your freezer, so would you do what clueless suggested (tupperware)? What about zip lock bags? You could really break meals down and then just grab n' go!

ziploc bags work. I think it was Erin last year calling it MIB. (meal in (a) bag).

[Romedoggy]

I love that (MIB)
Using the OAMC idea do we have recipes posted here on Lean Bodies? I checked Clueless's OAMC website suggestion. Looks good, but I really want to work on fat loss.
So saying that... I think I would need to change some of these recipes first. What do you guys think?

[Ana]

I cook on sundays and wed, but I portion the night before. It doesn't take too long I find.
It makes it easier for me for storage. I prep all my meals the night before but everything is cooked except for my oat/egg white pancakes those I make every night.

[Meechel]

I just cooked this morning and portioned out todays meats (usually portion out about 4 days worth) and then cook again on the weekend.

I have my plan on the side of the fridge and even though prepping the night before is smart I just slack ass at night and wait until the morning.

I do like to portion meats like all Wed meat in one container (or lets say 3 containers for workout day meats on left side fridge then 4 containers non workout days right side fridge then I just grab and go!)

It took me a while but even on PSMF I did use some of the convenient options of tuna and chicken in foil bags from store (to prevent from saying well I don't have any meat cooked!)

[Audrey]

I usually cook my chicken in big batches (with different seasonings each time) and store it in big tupperwares in the fridge. Then I portion out what I need for my meals at night for the next day.

As for brown rice, if you have a rice cooker, it should make things a lot easier. Just cook a big batch for the next 2-3 days and store it in the fridge. You don’t even have to be in the house while your rice cooks. Just press the ‘Cook” button and you have cooked rice 30-40 minutes later :wink:

Oatmeal is a very convenient carb as well… you can just measure what you need, pou some water and microwave it for 1-2 minutes. Instant carbs :D

You can also boil 1-2 dozens of eggs so that you have some eggs/egg whites for the next few days. Just store them in the fridge as well and just grab them as you need them.

Having food ready to eat in advance makes it a lot less likely for you to reach for junk when the time comes to eat as you HAVE something to eat and therefore no excuse to not follow your plan.

[RpH]

Good advice, thanks.

[Noel Clark]

I love that (MIB)
Using the OAMC idea do we have recipes posted here on Lean Bodies? I checked Clueless's OAMC website suggestion. Looks good, but I really want to work on fat loss.
So saying that... I think I would need to change some of these recipes first. What do you guys think?

Yes, there is a whole recipe section...some good for you..some not so good :muahaha:

i think that the others have given you great ideas! Planning is the key!!!

[Inatic]

Once you get a system down, it really isnt that much trouble. OAMC doesnt have to be the high fat stuff it can be what ever you want. Just basically cooking in bulk.

If you cook (bake, gril, stew, etc) one meal, just cook extra that would be at least 4 days to a weeks worth till you have time to cook again. Put something in the freezer for just in case.

Pre made rotisseriers are a time savor for sure.
There are also par boiled pouches of rice (that you micro) that do up in like 10-15 min.

Keep tins of tuna around for times when you might be out of protein.

[KellyFL]

I spend a lot of time in my car dur to my job in medical device sales. What do you guys recommend for each meals I can eat with one hand while driving? So far I've been sticking to protein shakes, low carb wraps with chicken & nuts. Any other easy ideas?

[Inatic]

I spend a lot of time in my car dur to my job in medical device sales. What do you guys recommend for each meals I can eat with one hand while driving? So far I've been sticking to protein shakes, low carb wraps with chicken & nuts. Any other easy ideas?

I can eat just about any of my meals in the car with one hand. Can you not pull over for 5 min to eat something that might not be easy finger food?

Cut chicken/turkey/beef into strips. Easy to handle.

sweet potatoes/white potatoes left in a lg chunk. to go with the prootein on the side.
Cook eggwhites/veggies in an omelet style instead of scrambled. Ezekiel toasts on the side
You can do lettuce wraps etc with tuna and it should stay put.
Green beans and fresh peppers sliced and are handy.