Tornatore - HEALTHY MEAL PREP: time-saving strategies to plan, prep, and portion your weekly meals

With their YouTube channel, Fit Couple Cooks, Stephanie and Adam show fans how easyand deliciousmeal prep can be.

We started our YouTube channel Fit Couple Cooks because were passionate about eating well, and weve seen first-hand the positive results of planning and preparing healthy meals in advance. After going through significant health transformations and losing a collective 100 pounds, we wanted to help others do the same. In less than two years, weve attracted over 400,000 people to join our Fit Couple Cooks YouTube family, and weve received thousands of comments from fans all over the world who have shed pounds and gained confidence just by switching to our meals. This book is an extension of that family, with complete meal plans and recipes to help you establish your own healthy meal prep habits.

With Adams classically trained chef skills and Stephanies creativity, we make simple, delicious recipes that are quick to prepare and provide a great balance of macronutrients. Meal prep doesnt mean giving up your favorite foods, and it doesnt mean eating chicken, broccoli, and rice three times a day. With our recipes, you can enjoy chicken nuggets, pad thai, and even lasagna!

In todays fast-paced world, we all make sacrifices to fit everything into tight schedules. But there is one thing you can never afford to sacrificeyour health. Meal prepping is the best way for busy people to eat good food and stick to health and wellness goals. To make it as simple as possible, we take care to develop our recipes using easy-to-find ingredients, basic kitchen equipment, and a minimum of pots and pans.

Our goals are to educate, inspire, and empower people to take control of their healthand it all starts with whats on your plate. Cooking for a whole week may seem overwhelming, but we promise, if you simply start meal prepping with these plans and recipes, youll see just how easy it can be.

Welcome to the Fit Couple Cooks family.
We are excited to have you join us!

Preparing meals ahead is the best way to stay on top of your health goals and make the most of your time and money. Youll buy and eat food with intention instead of grabbing unhealthy meals on the go.

Save Time Instead of preparing dinner from scratch each evening or scambling to make lunches in the morning, you can get your meals for the week ready in just a few hours on the weekend. Meal prepping for the week will take 2 to 3 hours, depending on the recipes. As with anything, the more you meal prep, the faster you will become.

Save Money Meal prepping means no more expensive lunches out or last-minute takeout orders. With all of your meals prepared in advance, youll have no reason to stop and buy something unhealthy on your way home. Customized shopping lists for each plan mean you wont overbuy food, and you wont throw away unused ingredients.

Eat Well Having meals ready to go makes it more likely that youll eat what you intend to eat, not what sounds good in the moment. This doesnt mean youll only eat diet food. It does mean that youll have meals in reasonable portions, made with whole-food ingredients and balanced macronutrients.

How to Use This Book

Choose a meal plan. There are 12 weeks of meal plans, and each week has recipes for four meals. These recipes make enough to feed one person for six days, leaving one day to eat out or cook something fresh.

Check the shopping list and buy ingredients. Each meal plan has a shopping list to make your trip to the store easier.

Follow the Prep Day Action Plan. A Prep Day Action Plan for each week guides you through preparing your meals.

Wont I get bored eating the same thing every day for a week?

To keep things interesting, each plan in this book has one breakfast and three main meals, so you will be rotating your lunch and dinner every day.

What if I cook for more than one person?

You can either scale up the recipes as needed, or meal prep more frequently, every few days instead of once a week. You can also choose to use meal prep for only one or two meals per day.

What if I want to eat out?

You can! Meal prep will help you eat out when you want to, not because you have no other choice. Most recipes freeze well, so you can freeze a meal you didnt eat and enjoy it later.

What Makes a Healthy Meal?

Eating healthy doesnt mean having a salad for every meal. The recipes in this book focus on good-for-you ingredients and balanced macronutrients to help you achieve your goals.

Balanced Macronutrients

Macronutrients, or macros are the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that make up the food we eat. All three macros play an important role in bodily function and are essential for good health. Every person has different macronutrient needs, depending on individual physique, activity level, and fitness goals. However, too often people shortchange themselves on protein and fat, and eat too many carbohydrates, especially those that hide in processed foods in the form of added sugar. The recipes in this book were developed with the goal of balancing the three macros, which is a healthy starting point for most adults. You can adjust the macro balance of your meals if needed.

Protein

Protein is made up of amino acids, which are essential for building and maintaining tissue. Good protein sources include meat, dairy, beans, nuts, and seeds.

Carbohydrates

The sugars, starches, and fiber in food are carbohydrates, and they are the bodys primary energy source. Good sources include whole grains, vegetables, and legumes.