Imagine this. You’ve been in classes since 8:00am and walk into your dorm at 5:00pm realizing you’ve barely eaten anything all day. Eating out is too expensive and you just need a quick dinner before you attend another meeting this evening. You open your fridge to see what you have and forgot you had prepared a meal already! A container of chicken, rice, and green beans sounds so satisfying so you throw it in microwave and boom! Your dinner is ready. 

How is Meal Prepping a Healthier Alternative?

You might be thinking, wouldn’t it be easier to cook meals as the day progresses? Think again!

During meal prepping, you are more aware of the foods you are combining. Those who focus on meal prepping are more likely to have more nutrition in their diet because they focus on a diverse food selection. These individuals are conscious about their meal choices and have time to carefully consider what they incorporate in their diet.

A study stated that there was a positive relationship between meal prepping and intake of healthier options. Those who planned their meals had more intake of vegetables, salads, and fruits. The study also found that those who did not meal prep spent more money eating out. Another study had a similar approach. This study targeted college students specifically. First-year college students who meal prepped had a higher consumption of fruits, veggies, fiber, and whole grains. Since these students meal prepped, they had a lower intake of sugars and fried food. Both studies indicate that meal prepping encourages a healthier diet.  

Meal prepping also helps with weight maintenance. Some might rely on meal prepping for weight loss. Why? If you set aside established meals, you are less likely to snack throughout the day, leading to a lower calorie intake. One of the benefits to meal planning is that you can manage hunger, preventing overeating. Those who take meal prepping seriously will be able to weigh and measure portions. However, for college students who are not interested in those specifics can better track where their calories are coming from, aiming for more nutrient based foods. Consequently, they can manage weight and calorie intake to meet their personal goals.

Expert nutritionist and owner of CrossFit 120, Andréa Shanahan, says that the best meal provides four key ingredients: proteins, fats, carbs, and vegetables. These ingredients provide the necessary nutrients for your day. Shanahan mentions that college students eat plenty of calories, but not as many nutrients. She tells her clients to “eat the rainbow” as a different color on a plate offers different nutrients. Plants contain different pigments that give them variety of color. Each pigment is related to a different nutrient with better health benefits. To incorporate this into your meal prepping, you can be more aware of the proteins, fats, carbs, and vegetables you select. Plus, you can add more color to your prepped meals to get as many nutrients as possible. Meal prepping allows you to carefully select diverse foods that will have the most nutrients possible.

Meal Prepping vs. Eating out: What’s the Difference?

College students often think that if they eat out, they can store their leftovers and call that meal prepping. Wrong!

First, when you eat out, you are spending money on one meal that could account for ingredients for multiple meals. Andréa Shanahan states that meal prepping is significantly more affordable than eating out.

A study was done to look at the links between cooking at home and diet. Their results showed that those who spent more time cooking at home had a lower intake of sugars and fats. Alternatively, those that ate out and cooked less had a higher intake of fats. Consequently, meal prepping is the better alternative as it encourages a lower intake of sugars and fats, leading to a healthier diet.

Shanahan also stresses that while you choose a healthier option on the menu, it still has high calories. Restaurants cook their food in bulk, so they use cheap cooking oil, like vegetable oil. “It’s not like they’re cooking your food with avocado or coconut oil back there,” Shanahan states. This makes the “healthier options” inflammatory foods because of the cheap oil.

Shanahan says that our body “breaks down fat in Omega 3s and Omega 6s.” She goes on to say how Omega 3s come from fatty fish and fish oil, which is beneficial while Omega 6s are inflammatory and high calorie, like the cheap oil. Shanahan says that while you might order broccoli and chicken, “that broccoli is cooked in so much oil, where it is just greasy, as is the chicken. So, you could be getting a healthy meal that could be 1,500 calories.”

An article from UnlockedFood.Ca goes into more depth about the importance of Omega 3 fats and Omega 6 fats. Omega 3 fats, like Shanahan stressed, is the healthy unsaturated fats that our body needs. Unlocked Foods expands and describes that Omega 3s assist in keeping the immune system healthy as prevents heart disease down the road. While Unlocked Foods and Harvard Health claim that Omega 6s aren’t terrible for you, they still caution against too high of an intake of these fats as they can cause inflammation as Shanahan stated.

Why do we care about these Omega fats? Based off the information provided by these sources, you can determine the best approach for you. Meal prepping allows you to be more aware of what ingredients you use. For instance, if you are cooking large batches, you can select coconut or avocado oil instead of vegetable oil, decreasing your intake of inflammatory ingredients. Consequently, you create a healthier alternative by prepping your own meals rather than eating out because you are in control of what you put in your food.

6 Tips on Meal Prepping: How to Start Planning Your Meals

1.     Time

Pick a lighter scheduled day out of your week to meal prep. During this time, you can choose how far into the future you want to meal prep. It can be the week, two weeks, or a month.

2.     Kitchenware

It is best to invest in a couple of pots and pans so you can cook in bulk. A stove and oven are highly recommended as you can be more efficient and have an increase of cooking options. An air fryer is also a good investment for college students. To store your food, have multiple glass or plastic containers.

3.     Get Creative

Meal prepping does not mean that you need to be eating the same food all day, every day. Find alternatives that interest you. Andy Myland, a personal trainer at an Anytime Fitness location, shared his meal plan. He stated that he maintains a “similar structure of food throughout the week,” but does not eat the same things as that can become “mentally boring”. Myland mentioned multiple times that “just because you meal prep, does not mean that you have to eat the same foods”. It is important to listen to your body and have variety in your meals.

4.     No Recipe Needed

Shanahan says that her clients often get hung up on not having recipes. Shanahan says that while meal prepping, focus on cooking a protein, carb, fat, and vegetable separately and then simply put them together. More times than not, the four options will complement each other.

5.     Eat the Rainbow

Shanahan encourages her clients to eat the rainbow. Add as many colors to your plate as possible. Each color provides a different nutrient, so it is important to have variety in your meals.

6.     Watch Your Wallet

Meal prepping is not supposed to be expensive. Myland encourages shopping for affordable food so you can cook as much as possible for a lower price. When shopping, you might want to compare the prices with how much food you are getting out of it. For instance, you might consider buying a box of 12 cans of green beans as opposed to a frozen bag of green beans because cans would take your further than a frozen bag.