Sort it once, eat well all week

Why even bother with meal prepping?

Think about this for a sec. How often do you end up grabbing crisps or chocolate because you can’t face cooking? Or because the fridge is basically empty? Or you’re just knackered after a long day? Meal prepping stops you falling into that trap. It keeps good food handy, reduces decision fatigue and means fewer takeaway regrets.

If any of that rings truel, meal prepping could honestly change things for you.

First up, get your head around what you actually like eating.

Don’t bother prepping stuff you don’t enjoy. What's your favourite protein? Chicken, fish, tofu, beans? Just pick a few you actually like. Same goes for veg. Choose stuff you'd actually look forward to eating. Carrots, spinach, peppers, broccoli. Whatever genuinely tastes good to you. Pick carbs that fill you up nicely. Maybe quinoa, sweet potato or brown rice?

Cooking once instead of every day.

Batch cook a load of protein and carbs at the start of the week. Don’t go overboard on flavours, keep it simple so you can add sauces or spices later if you fancy something different. Cook up your veg too. Roast, steam, whatever you like. Portion everything out in containers. Makes life easier later.

Try mixing things up. Cook a batch of chicken thighs but season half differently. Do half plain for salads or wraps and the other half spiced for curries or stir-fries. This gives you variety without cooking twice.

Think about snacks too. Prepping snacks can genuinely save you when energy crashes hit or cravings kick in during busy afternoons or late nights. Because let's face it, you will snack. But instead of crisps and biscuits, prep some things like hummus and carrot sticks, protein balls or boiled eggs. Snacks that genuinely keep you going.

Easy meal formulas:

• Chicken with roasted peppers and quinoa
• Salmon with steamed broccoli and sweet potato
• Tofu stir-fry with mixed veg and brown rice
• Black bean chilli with peppers and wholegrain pasta
• Lentil curry with spinach and basmati rice