How to Meal Prep for Less Than $15 a Week!

Meal prepping is such a great tool for keeping your diet on track during an inevitably busy week. Whether you are busy at work, school, or taking care of a brand new baby, meal prepping can keep you healty without giving it much thought. It only takes one day per week to get everything together!

However, most people tend to shy away from the idea of meal prepping because they believe it can cost an arm and a leg... and sometimes, it can! However, it will only cost as much as YOU make it cost. Say, you went out to eat or grabbed a fast food meal everyday of the week that you work, usually 5 days weekly-that would cost around $20 or more!

Here's how I meal prep for less than $15 per week:

1. Make a list and check for coupons. Make a list so that you have a visual plan in your hands to take with you to grocery shop. I am not sure where you grocery shop, but you can always look at online ads and deals before you go to see what market will give you the best bang for your buck.

2. Stick with the basics. Sure, you can go fancy, but that will cost more. However, if you keep eating a bland meal, you are less likely to keep up with it. Here's what I normally get and what it costs at my grocery shopping facility:

• 1 bag frozen chicken breasts- ~$6
• 2 lbs. green beans- ~$4
• 1 bag sweet potatoes- ~$5

*To make the above even cheaper, you can always switch sweet potatoes for a bulk of brown rice, depending on where you are at. Personally, I just love sweet potatoes!*

3. Prepare and spice it up. Now, that you have gotten your basics, it is time to cook them for the week! To make things more interesting, try new spices from the grocery store spice aisle. This will make things a little more expensive and is only an option. My favorite spices for chicken are lemon pepper, chipotle, Montreal Chicken, and Fiery 5 Pepper dry seasonings by McCormick. Cook your goodies all at once and place one breast, one sweet potato, and 1 cup of green beans in a tupperware or some other form of reusable container. I usually bake my chickenand potatoes and steam my green beans. ***If you are worried about keeping your meals fresh all week, freeze the last 3 meals to keep them fresh***