17 Minutes Per Day on Food Prep Destroys The Dad Bod
Say goodbye to the dad bod with only 20 minutes in the kitchen. Save time and money and get in shape with meal prep.
Proper Meal Prepping Can Help You Ditch the Dad Bod
The abundance of convenience and away-from-home meals that make up much of the standard American diet relates to a lack of time or skills to cook at home. While we think we are saving time, we are sacrificing our health by eating foods of low quality. Convenience and junk foods typically provide significantly fewer nutrients and more calories and saturated fat than home-cooked meals. How can a hard-working father eke out time to cook from scratch? Delicious and healthy meals do not require half a day in the kitchen. You can prepare nutrient-dense whole foods in the same amount of time it takes to wait for high-calorie, high-sodium, and high-carb fare. Now, homemade fast food can help you beat obesity.
Meal Prep Benefits
Meal prepping offers many benefits. It can help you save money by avoiding the higher costs of prepared foods. A few minutes of chopping and storing ingredients actually saves you time that you would otherwise spend searching for a pre-made meal. Portion control can help with weight management. Planning your meals ahead also helps you alleviate stress over what to eat at the last minute.
Where to Start
How can you make meal prepping work for you? Whether the kitchen is foreign territory or your favorite spot, you can start with the basics and experience how exciting and liberating it is to make your own meals. It is not necessary to fix an entire meal ahead of time — use these time-saving tips as baby steps toward healthier eating and weight loss.
• Plan ahead: Plan a menu for the upcoming week and make a grocery list. A host of menu planning apps and websites have already done this work for you if you’re low on ideas. Creating a list can help you steer clear of unhealthy and expensive impulsive grocery or take-out purchases.
• Chop, chop!: Chop, slice, and dice fruits and veggies for the week all at once. This small investment of time pays off when you’re ready to grub. You will also be more likely to use up what you have actually prepared.
• Make friends with your freezer: Fix freezer-friendly foods for convenient individual servings. Build in portion control by placing smoothies, soups, and broths in ice cube trays. Freeze quality lean meats into small serving sizes that will defrost quickly. Meal prepping at home gives you more time to focus on becoming a more present and healthier dad.