Y'all know I'm a weight loss coach specializing in the elimination of cravings, emotional eating, and self-sabotage.

What you may not know is that probably most of what I write about is relevant to you even if you aren't trying to lose weight!

This applies to today's post, which is for you whether you want to lose weight, save time or money, reduce stress, or just reduce the amount of time and mental energy you spend making decisions.

Today I want to talk to you about doing a little advance meal prepping.

Here's an example.

One of my favorite breakfasts is a Dr. Fuhrman recipe - chia/oat breakfast. 

It's super simple. 

2 Tbs of chia seeds, 2 Tbs of rolled oats, and half a cup of nondairy milk mixed together. It sits for 10 minutes (or you stir in the nondairy milk the night before and stick it in the fridge) while you wash a cup of berries to toss on top.

Easy-peasy, right?

But by now you all know I like to simplify and make things easier for myself.

So today when I prepped it I timed myself.

• Time to get the chia seeds and oats out of the pantry and put them away once = 45 seconds.

• Time to measure out oats 6 times = 30 seconds - so to do it once  = 5 seconds (note - that's using an 1/8 cup measure - if you are using a tablespoon, double that!)

• Time to open and close the bag 10 seconds (maybe more if it's being pesky)

• Time to measure out chia seeds 6 times = 30 seconds - so to do it once  = 5 seconds (again, double that if you are using a tablespoon rather than an 1/8 cup measuring cup)

• Time to open and close the jar of chia seeds 10 seconds

To make ONE serving: time =  45 + 5+10+5+10 = 75 seconds

So make one serving 7 times: = 75 x 7 = 525 seconds = 8 min 45 seconds

To make SEVEN servings: time  = 45 + 10 + 10 + 5x7 + 5x7=135 seconds = 2 min 15 seconds

PLUS the time to get out the measuring cup and wash it each time and then put it away later. I didn't even time that.

Not a huge difference, but I know I would rather have 7 meals prepped in 2 minutes, 15 seconds than in 8 minutes 45 seconds (again, not counting the clean-up time).

What would happen if you applied this to a situation where you were retrieving and putting away more items, or washing more things?

What would happen if you made a double-batch of something and froze the rest, or had leftovers later in the week, or the following week when you knew you'd be really busy?

Today I made soup - it made 8 servings.  But I only chopped, measured, and cooked once. And I only have to get the instant pot out once and clean it once.

Tonight I will do salad dressing.  The dry ingredients are already in the jar (because I previously made 3 jars of dry ingredients for my favorite salad dressing, a gift from my past self to my future self, who is here with me today).

All I need to do is toss that in the Vitamix with the wet ingredients, blend for a minute, and pour back into the jar that the dry ingredients were in. Which, by the way, is already labeled with a dry erase marker.

And I will prep 5 servings of salad.  

I estimate that will save me 10 minutes a day compared to having to set up a salad bar with jars of chopped veggies, getting all my jars out of the fridge and setting up the salad, and putting the jars away.

But compared to starting from scratch each day, thinking about what should go in the salad, getting out all the veggies for the salad, washing and chopping every day and putting things away, it probably saves 20 minutes a day.

Not to mention the clean-up.

So I can make 5 salads in probably 20-25 minutes, compared to 100 minutes. 

What would you do with an extra 75 minutes every 5 days?

And here's the thing. 

If I'm tired or busy, and I need to start from scratch, I might not even do it.

I might opt for something easier or faster. That might be okay.

For me that would most likely be something else relatively safe (say a microwaved sweet potato on greens with some salsa with some pumpkin seeds sprinkled on it. 

But for some of us,  that might look like something else. Like a takeout pizza or other fast food. Unhealthy for your body and your wallet.

But if I'm tired or busy, and the salad is there looking all pretty in my fridge, and all I need to do is grab the greens and dump the salad veggies on top, and toss with the dressing, that's actually easier and faster than anything else I could possibly do. 

When you are tired or busy, you are going to take the path of least resistance.

Do you want that to be what you want to be eating and said you'd eat? Or do you want it to be some random meal that might not be what you really wanted to be eating?

And let's face it, in the morning when you're in a hurry, even the 75 seconds might feel like too much.

Because it's not just about the amount of time.

It's about what you think about that time. And how that thought makes you feel.

So whether or not you want to lose weight, eat healthier, or just save yourself some time and some mental energy, doing some simple meal prep can be a wonderful gift you can give to your future self.

You get to choose!

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