Mastering Meal Prep
Learn what it takes to become a master at meal prepping. Take
control of your eating habits, feel better and live your best life!
Natalie Brown - Synergy Nutrition & Lifestyle
Mastering Meal Prep
Table Of Contents
Notes From The Author 2
It’s a Lifestyle, Not a Diet!!! 3
Why food prep? 4
If You Fail to Plan, Then Plan to Fail! 5
Choosing Your Meals 6
Eat Healthy on a Budget 8
Create a Meal Plan 9
Create a Grocery List 10
Grocery Shopping 11
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Mastering Meal Prep
Notes From The Author
Hi! My name is Natalie Brown, owner and founder of
Synergy Nutrition & Lifestyle. I started my health journey as a
personal trainer. I have always loved tness, but knew
nothing about nutrition and the importance in overall health.
I too struggled with losing weight, having sinus issues and
balancing my hormones. It wasn't until I started working
with another personal trainer who was also a part-time
nutritionist that I started to understand the importance of
food and how much it effects the success in tness and
nutrition goals. And so began my journey into nutrition. I
have studied and learned from some of the best in the
business. Since then I have become a Certi ed Holistic
Nutritionist. I have also tried and failed multiple fad diets,
from Paleo to Keto to Raw and have come to realize that the
food industry makes nutrition way too dif cult. It is as easy as
this...EAT REAL FOOD!!! Once I started to eat real, plant-
based whole foods everything within my body started to
function as it should.
I create Synergy Nutrition & Lifestyle with the goal to
motivate people to make real changes in their nutrition so
that they can nally feel good inside and out. There is no
easy button when it comes to health. If you want to be
healthy, if you want to have endless energy at any age, if you want to be able to deal with any of life's
challenge's with ease and vigor you will need to make some serious life changes. I am here to help you make
those changes and to motivate you to stick with them.
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Mastering Meal Prep
It’s a Lifestyle, Not a Diet!!!
First things rst…I would like to say congratulations!! You are
on your way to creating a healthier and happier lifestyle for
yourself and whomever else you are meal prepping for. Meal
prepping is the rst step in creating a healthier lifestyle. Note
that I said lifestyle and not diet. This is not a DIET. I do not
believe in diets for many reasons. Diets are very temporary.
Why are they temporary, you ask? Well, most people give up
a month or two in and end up eating worse than when they
started the diet. The diet mentality tends to be very negative.
Diets are not fun, and they make eating food a negative part
of your life, making food the enemy and placing unnecessary
pressure on yourself, which can create poor self-image. Most diets also involve counting or keeping track of
something or are restrictive in some way, which doesn’t create a huge success rate. I do, however, believe in
HEALTH. I believe that certain foods can heal the body of ailments and can give people longer, more
enjoyable lives. The health mentality focuses on food as fuel and good habits that can last a lifetime. Health is
a lifelong journey that you create simply by making healthy, positive choices every day. This guide is meant for
any eating style you believe in (i.e. Paleo, Keto, Vegan, Vegetarian, etc.). I am assuming that one of your
primary goals in purchasing this book is to improve your overall health, which is why I included some tips on
how to create meals for better health and not just to ll your belly.
FINAL NOTE: Everything is a choice and you are in the driver
seat. You are in complete control of your life and its outcome.
You must choose to be healthy and happy! Thank you for
choosing this book to help guide you in the right direction.
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Mastering Meal Prep
Why food prep?
It is becoming more and more dif cult to nd food that is healthy in today’s busy world, especially when you
are on the go. There are many claims and advertisement that certain food is healthy, when it is quite the
opposite, which leads to many health problems that can make life even more dif cult to deal with. Most of the
time you don’t even know what is in your food or where the food came from. And with today’s food practices
it is hard to trust big name brands to give you food that will improve your health. Your best bet is to make your
own food and take it with you, that way, you know exactly what is in your food and how it was prepared.
On top of knowing what is in your food
and how it was prepared, it is also
dif cult to make healthy food decisions
when you are on the go. Usually, it is a
rush meal, when you are past your
normal hungry and creeping into
HANGRY and you need something,
“RIGHT NOW!” You are more than likely
going to choose fast food and a lot of it!
After this meal you will feel heavy and
tired due to the greasy mess you just ate
and the rest of the day will be a
challenge to get through. Sound
familiar? Instead, you could have packed
healthy snacks and a lunch for your
hustle and bustle day. This would have allowed you to nibble on small portions until lunch time. At lunch you
will eat an energizing meal that will carry you until dinner or your next snack. You will feel fueled and ready
to tackle anything else the day will throw at you.
It is important to prepare your food, especially if you are trying to be healthier. You will need REAL food
throughout your day in order to stay energized and motivated to take on your busy life.
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If You Fail to Plan, Then Plan to Fail!
There are a few things to keep in mind before you start your planning and meal prep. Meal prep does take
time, so you will need to take the rest of your schedule into account. I suggest answering the following
questions, so you can successfully plan your meal prep.
1. Are you going to meal prep every meal in one day? If not, what meals do you have time to cook throughout
the week?
For example, I personally am very busy during the day, so I like to meal prep my lunches ahead of time, but I
usually get home at a decent time during the weeknights to cook a fresh meal for my family. What does your
schedule allow? Fresh is best, but if you have to meal prep every meal all at once then make enough time to
do that at least once a week.
2. What kind of mood are you going to be in when it comes time to meal prep?
Are you going to be in the mood to cook dinner for yourself and/or the family when you get home after
work? If so, AWESOME!! If you think you will be more incline to order pizza after a long day, then plan to
prep your dinner ahead of time that way you do not have to think about it. You will be less likely to make a
poor food choice if it is planned out!!
3. What does your schedule look like?
Pick one day of the week that you will meal prep your meals. You should grocery shop and meal prep in the
same day. Get it all over with on the same day.
4. Will my fresh produce last until the end of my weekly meal plan?
If you are cooking some meals throughout the week because you have the time to do so, then you need to
make sure your produce will last until then. Pick foods that last longer for your later in the week meals. Also,
make sure that you are familiar with how to properly store fresh produce. (I will discuss that later on in the
book).
5. Once you pick a day to grocery and meal prep, how long will it take you make your food?
Make sure you schedule enough time for yourself on grocery shopping/meal prep day to complete the
process. When you choose your recipes for the week, note how long each one will take to complete and make
a plan for actual meal prepping day (ex: bake sweet potatoes while cooking quinoa, make dressing after
potatoes are done, etc)
6. How many people do you need to cook for?
This is huge! Too many time I have chosen recipes that were not enough for myself and my whole fmaily. I
end up spending all this time on meal prepping a meal that will only last me and my husband until
Wednesday, leaving us no other options but to eat out for lunch on Thursday and Friday. Make sure to check
the servings on your recipes or double up the recipe if necessary.
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Choosing Your Meals
The following section will help you gure out what meals to
choose for your meal prep based on your nutritional goals,
produce season and budget.
No waste or leftovers.
When choosing your recipes, make sure you have multiple
meals that include the same ingredients so that you do not
have any waste. For instance, choose meals that incorporate
veggie broth, so you don’t just use half of a container on one
meal and the container sits in your fridge for a week or two
before the other half gets used. And schedule the similar meals next to each other. This goes for fresh produce
too. When you buy produce, especially herbs and greens, it comes in a bushel, so these are more likely to go
bad if you only need it for one of your seven meals.
If you have leftovers from your dinner creation, then eat it for lunch the next day, so you do not waste the
leftovers. Your goal by the end of the week is to have no food leftover. In fact, I usually keep Saturdays (or the
day before my grocery shopping/meal prep day) as my Leftover Day, which is when we eat all the leftovers or
create a meal using the remaining ingredients that haven’t been used. Very effective!!
In-Season Produce
Best practice when choosing recipes for your meal plan is to create meals based on produce that is in season.
This will not only save you money, but you will get the produce at its peak of freshness and nutritional quality.
Usually the produce that you see off season is grown out of its normal growing season, which can throw off its
natural growth pattern, making the plant more dif cult to grow, therefore needing “help” from farmers using
pesticides, waxes, chemicals and genetic modi cation. By choosing local and seasonal food, you are more
likely to get a cleaner product! TIP: The natural cycle of produce is perfectly designed to support our health.
Apples grow in the fall, which makes them the perfect
transition food to rid of excess heat and cool down before
winter. In spring, an abundance of leafy greens helps us
alkalize, detox and lose some extra pounds after a long
winter of heavier foods. In the summer we need to cool
down and stay hydrated by eating more fruits, berries,
cucumber and watermelon. Building a lifestyle around
seasonal food facilitates the body’s natural healing process!
Also, shopping for produce in season helps the local farmers
and the economy.
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Recipes or Foods
One way to choose your meals is by choosing recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day of the
week. I personally like to choose recipes. I like to choose recipes because it gives me a variety of ways to cook
meals so I don't get bored. Plus, when cooking recipes it creates a certain number of servings so I am able to
spread it out to more then one day depending on the serving size. For instance, if a recipe makes 6 servings
for dinner, my family will eat 3 servings for dinner, which will leave me 3 servings for lunch the next day.
You can also just choose what foods you are going to eat on a particular day, cook them in bulk on food prep
day and distribute the foods into meal prep containers accordingly. This is a very common practice when meal
prepping. For example, you can choose to cook brown rice, sweet potatoes, broccoli and kale on meal prep
day. Once complete you can divide the food evenly into your food containers and you will have the same meal
prepped for multiple days. This is a great idea for people that are trying to save some time.
Eat Healthy on a Budget
Eating healthy does not have to be expensive. In fact, there are quite a lot of healthy, nutritious foods that are
great for your wallet.
Buy In Bulk
+ Beans and Legumes: Purchase dry beans in bulk instead of canned. It takes more time to cook dry beans,
but it is much cheaper than buying canned. Beans have been shown to help with weight control, reduce risk
factors for heart disease, reduce blood sugar (great for diabetics) and even reduce the risk for cancer. They
are not called the "Magical Fruit" for nothing!!
+ Frozen Berries: Berries can be expensive, especially if you buy them out of peak growing season, but if you
purchase them frozen and in bulk you will save money and the berries will last much longer. This is another
superfood that needs to incorporated in your diet if you want to supercharge your health. Berries have been
shown to reduce in ammation, improve blood sugar and insulin resistance, aid in lower cholesterol levels,
and help protect against cancer. Berries are high in antioxidants, nutrients and ber.
+ Flours: You have two choices to ours. You ca either buy ours in the bulk section of your supermarket or
you can make your own ours by using your food processor to blend speci c foods into our (i.e. almond,
chickpea, rice, oats, etc.) Both methods are cost effective.
+ Grains: Quinoa, rice, millet, barley and oats are all super affordable and should be in the bulk of your plant
protein in your diet. These all can be found in the bulk section of your supermarket. Grains are packed with
nutrients including protein, ber, B vitamins, antioxidants and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper,
magnesium). Consuming grains has been shown to reduce the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, heart disease,
obesity and some forms of cancer.
+ Nuts: Nuts can be expensive, but are high in protein, ber and good fats, and are essential to a plant-based
nutrition plan. The cheapest option for nuts is to buy in bulk. It's best to stay away from roasted and salted
nuts as they have been processed. Raw and/or sprouted nuts are the healthiest option, but are more
expensive.
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Purchase In-Season Produce
As stated in the previous section of this book, purchasing produce when it is in season is going to save you a
lot of money. Try to base your weekly meal plans around in-season produce.
Stop Buying Junk Food
Stay away from the center of the store, if possible. This is where all of the packaged, processed foods linger.
Even the so-called "healthy" packaged foods lack nutrition and are high in price. If you want to be able to
afford higher quality, higher nutrition foods, then stay away from the junk food isle.
Do Not Shop When You Are Hungry
If you go to the grocery store hungry, you are more likely to stray away from you grocery list and buy
expensive junk food. When you are hungry, you often crave foods that are bad for you and not in your budget.
Create a Meal Plan
It’s important to make this process as easy as possible. The easier it is, the better chance you have at success,
which is why I created a template for you to just print out and ll in every week. I like to ll in this weekly
plan and put it up on my family calendar so that everybody knows what to expect for meals that week. It also
keeps me on track and motivated to stick to my nutrition goals. You can nd my meal template on my
website. www.synergy tlifestyle.com
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What is included in the weekly planner and how to utilize it for success:
+ Daily Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner Fill-In Spaces: Write down exactly what you plan to eat at each meal. That
way, you can go meal by meal and add it to your grocery list. This will prevent you from missing necessary
items for your meal plan and reduce you chances of running out of food for your recipes. If you run out of
food halfway into your week you are more likely to eat out, which will hurt your weekly nutrition goals.
+ Weekly Snacks Fill-In Space: There is only a few lines here for snacks. I like to keep it simple when it
comes to the snacks, so I like to write down a few different snacks that I can add to my days of the week. For
instance, I will write down apple w/ almond butter, celery and carrot w/ hummus and handful of nuts w/
berries. So for the whole week I have these three snacks to choose from each day.
+ Daily Meal Prep To Do Spaces: This space is for people who want to do a little bit of meal prep everyday.
Myself, for instance, I like to spend about 30 minutes meal prepping next day meals, prepping veggies for
dinners or packing up next days lunches. TIP: Crunched for time during the week? I like to choose breakfast
and lunch recipes that take little to no time to prep (this usually consists of dark green salads and cold meal
recipes.).
+ Weekly Goals: It is important to set goals for yourself in every aspect of your life. This is how you continue
to grow as a person. I like to write down at least two goals for my nutrition on my meal plan every week. I
like to post this calendar in the kitchen where I can see my goals everyday to refocus myself. Some example
goals are:
"Drink at least 3 liters of water daily."
OR
"Get my daily serving of cruciferous vegetables with my lunch every day this
week."
Create a Grocery List
Why is it important to create a grocery list? A grocery list is so important, especially if you are wanting to
improve your eating habits. Not only will it make your grocery shopping trip much easier, but you will be sure
to get only the food and ingredients you “need” for your meal plan and you will save time. Time is precious
and any less time I can spend at the grocery store is well appreciated. You can nd my grocery list template
on my website. www.synergy tlifestyle.com
I separated the grocery list into ve sections. This will save you time and sanity. There is nothing more
frustrating then having to go all the way back across the store for an item that you could have picked up if you
were more organized.
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Grocery List Categories
+ Produce: Fresh fruits and vegetables and herbs
+ Dry Goods: Canned, boxed items (broths, beans, pastas, etc)
+ Cold Case: Nut milks, frozen veggies and fruits, anything found in the refrigerator section of the store
+ Bulk: Grains, ours, nuts, seeds
+ Meat/Misc: Meat (self-explanatory) and any personal items that need to be picked up from the store that is
not food; such as toiletries, vitamins, supplements, etc
Once you ll in your meal plan, whether it is with recipes or speci c foods for each meal, go through each day
one at a time and ll in the grocery list with all the food items needed for each meal. If you need more then
one of the same food then make a tally mark next to that food as you add the quantity. If you are using
recipes, make note of the exact amount of food it requires. Sometimes, the recipe call for 1/2 red onion or 3
celery stalks. Since you will not be using the whole head of celery for one meal it is a good idea to make sure
these foods get used in other meals so they do not go to waste. I like to make note of the quantity of the food
on my grocery list so that I can add to it as I go along. If you end up with 1/2 red onion on your list you will
need to round up to 1 red onion.
Grocery Shopping
The following section will give you tips to make your grocery trip seamless and short.
Organic vs. Non-organic produce
The difference between organic and non-organic food has to do with how the food is produced. Organic food
is produced without synthetic hormones, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, genetically modi ed organisms
(GMO's), antibiotics and growth hormones, and irradiation and ionizing radiation.
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Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is a list of non-organic produce that has been known to contain a high level of pesticides
and chemicals. It is therefore recommended to purchase these veggies and fruits from the organic section
of your farmers markets.
Clean 15
The Clean 15 is a list of produce that you can purchase non-organic if you are on a budget. This list has
been deemed to contain less pesticides than other non-organic fruits and veggies.
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Produce
Produce is the bulk of your meal plan (at least it should be). So what are some things to think about when
purchasing produce?
+ Ripe vs. Not Ripe: There are some foods that continue
to ripen after you bring them home. This is good to
think about when you plan meals later on in the week.
Foods that continue to ripen once you bring them
home: bananas, avocados, peaches, plums, cantaloupe,
blueberries, tomato, strawberries
+ Branch Out: Never tried a eggplant before. Great!!
Put it in the cart and gure out a way to incorporate it
into your weekly meal plan. It is important to get a
variety of different fruits and veggies in your diet. Each
fruit and veggies has a unique set of nutrients that can bene t you in different ways. To make sure you get all
the vitamins and minerals you need on a daily basis it is important to EAT THE RAINBOW!!
Dry Goods
There are some things that you want to think about when purchasing dry goods for your meal plan.
+ Check the Ingredients: You should be able to read every single ingredient on the nutrition label. If there is
something in the ingredients that you have no clue what it is, then put it back on the shelf.
+ Canned Veggies & Fruit: Please do not purchase canned fruit and veggies. The process to can fresh produce
takes away all of it's bene cial nutrients and adds preservatives, salts and sugars that are more harmful to you
then good. If fruits and veggies are on your meal plan, which 50% of it should be, then buy them fresh.
+ Canned Beans: Canned beans is actually a great way to incorporate beans into your diet (which is highly
recommended), however, canned beans are made for convenience, therefore can be a bit more expensive
then if you buy them dry from the bulk section of the
supermarket. I personally like the convenience of canned
beans. The time saved when cooking is worth the price, in
my opinion.
+ Veggie Broths: Broths are a great substitute for oils for
various cooking methods and is commonly used when
cooking grains, soups and sauces. Please pay attention to the
ingredients. In some brands, there may be hidden
preservatives and additives that are bad for your health. You
want your veggie broth only to contain veggies and water
and maybe some sea salt. Thats it!
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Cold Case
Cold case means all of your frozen goods and stuff that needs to be stored in the refrigerator in order to stay
fresh. Cold case goods, unless frozen will perish after some time. There are some things to consider when
purchasing cold goods.
Nut Milks: If you want to reduce your in ammation and feel better I would recommend switching your dairy
milk to a nut milk. It is becoming so easy to nd a substitute for dairy. Even the big chain grocery stores have
a great selection of almond, ax, soy and other dairy-free options for those trying to eat for a healthier
lifestyle.
Bulk Items: If you have berries in your meal plan, but
you are trying to save some money, I would
recommend purchasing frozen berries in bulk. One,
berries continue to ripen once you get them home,
which means they go bad fast, so buying berries frozen
will last you longer. Second, you can purchase more
berries at a time when you buy them frozen, you can
get berries at a much cheaper price per ounce then if
you purchased them fresh. Also, frozen veggies are
great for rice bowls or stir frys for a quick and easy way
to include veggies in your diet.
Bulk
I love the bulk section of my supermarket. It has so many options to buy what can be very expensive when
purchased from big name brands.
+ Beans: Beans are so so good for your health and each one has different bene ts and nutritional values (just
like fresh produce) so getting a variety of beans in your diet is very important. You can a variety of beans in
the bulk section of your supermarket at a very low price. So if you have the time to cook the beans yourself I
highly recommend it!
+ Grains: I always, always purchase my grains from the bulk section of the store. Quinoa, millet, farro, brown
rice, wild rice, jasmine rice, etc. can all be found in this section. It is so affordable and quite easy to
incorporate these foods into your diet. They are easy to cook, delicious and very nutritious.
+ Flours and Other Ingredients: Along with grains, I always purchase my ours from the bulk section. You do
have the option to make your own ours if you want, but since purchasing them from the store is so cheap
and easy, I do it that way. Chickpea our, oat our, almond our and whole wheat ours are all great ours to
use in the plant-based diet. Another ingredient that is included into my everyday routine is nutritional yeast,
which can conveniently be found in the bulk section next to the ours. Yay!!
+ Nuts: Ok, nuts can be expensive, but no more expensive then meat. If you are able to nd a way to purchase
meat, then you can substitute for nuts. Nuts are a very important part of a healthy diet. They are high in
protein and good fats. Nuts make a great snack for those that are on-the-go and are great for making plant-
based sauces and for including in salads. I use nuts every single day and I am more healthy for it.
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