Oftentimes when we hear the words “meal prep” we envision someone’s kitchen counter completely covered in Tupperware. They spent several hours putting together the same meal for the entire week. While this method works for some, for most people it is not as sustainable. Who wants to eat the same thing every day anyway?

However, taking some the work out of cooking an entire meal from scratch during the week can be the deciding factor between a healthy decision and a more convenient unhealthy one. How many times has this happened to you? – You get home late from work  and your exhausted, cooking a healthy meal sounds like a daunting task. So you opt for a quick convenient option by popping something in the microwave or picking up some fast food.

Instead of trying to make all of your complete meals for the week on Saturday or Sunday, just tackle a few simpler tasks ahead of time. This will make cooking a much easier choice later on. It will also give you a lot more options to mix up your meals.

Here’s a few  quick tips:

• Chopping is usually one of the most time consuming parts of cooking. Chop up all your veggies on the weekend so they are ready to throw in dishes or eat raw.

• Cook a pot of brown rice, quinoa, or oats. This way you have a high quality source of complex carbohydrate to combine with your recipes throughout the week.

• Use the crock pot to make a large batch of delicious lean protein. Everything tastes better in the slow cooker! Make a   couple pounds of shredded chicken or ground turkey.

• Buy some small plastic bags or reusable Tupperware and put together some healthy snacks. Things like a handful of almonds or some Greek yogurt and mixed berries.

Remember, the easier and more convenient we can make the good habits the more likely we are to keep them!