The Go To Guide for Making Your Meal Prep Easier

When I talk to clients about meal prep, many tell me they’ve tried it before but couldn’t stay consistent. I’m never surprised! Meal prepping is one of the best strategies for sticking to your nutrition goals, but most people find it overwhelming and time-consuming.

However, meal prep doesn’t have to take up your whole day. With the right meal prep tips and a few time-saving strategies, it can become a seamless part of your routine. As a coach, my goal is to help clients simplify the process so meal prep becomes easy, effective, and sustainable.

While the initial planning of what you’re going to cook and eat for the week is very important, where I see most people struggle is in the execution of cooking. As someone who spent a big chunk of her career in corporate catering where timing was crucial to success, I’ve made it my goal to help others avoid spending an entire day meal prepping.

My biggest hack for making meal prep easier is what I call the “zone method.”

In this method, you set up your kitchen for success so that you can easily move from one task to another, not wasting time going from the fridge to the pantry or constantly gathering your tools. My foodie readers may have heard the fancy term "mise en place," which is often used in professional kitchens. The idea of "gather" or "everything in its place" helps chefs avoid missteps and move quickly.

I love this concept so much, but I wanted to make it more relatable to a normal household kitchen. That’s why I developed the zone concept.

‍

With zones, you set up areas in your kitchen to flow through your prep. This works best if you first clear out any unnecessary clutter or dirty dishes. Then, pull out all the items in each zone before you start cooking anything.

In Zone 1, set up all your ingredients. Pull out everything from the fridge, pantry, etc. While you don’t want some refrigerated items sitting on the counter all day, they should be fine for a typical meal prep session.

Zone 2 should be right next to Zone 1. This is where you place your cutting board, knife, pans, parchment paper, cooking spray, etc. Move your trash can and recycling bin here as well. That may sound odd, but you’d be surprised how much time is wasted walking over to the trash can. Put it right where you need it!

Zone 3 should be an empty space where you can place any food that’s ready to cook. I like setting this up near my stove or oven.

Zone 4 should be close to the oven and have your cooling racks, trivets, pot holders, etc. This is also where you’ll package your meals into containers for storage.

Zone 5 is an empty space for dirty dishes. Setting this up near the sink is ideal. Try not to wash items as you prep—just leave everything for the end. This also applies to loading the dishwasher. Save all of that for the end of your meal prep.

I’ve had clients use this method and report their meal prep time has drastically reduced. One client told me it saved her almost a full hour!

Meal prep doesn’t have to be complicated or exhausting. By using my zone method and setting up your kitchen for success, you can drastically reduce the time you spend on meal prep and create a smooth, efficient process.

If you’re ready to take your meal prep skills to the next level, check out my Meal Prep and Planning Made Easy course, where I’ll walk you through more meal prep strategies to help you stay consistent and reach your nutrition goals. Whether you’re a beginner or just looking to simplify, this course will give you everything you need to master easy meal prep. [Enroll here.]

‍