The thought of meal prepping can feel overwhelming and daunting. In an effort to make the task of meal prepping easier, I’ve written this blog post to help break down the burden of meal prepping into 3 simple parts. Get ready to feel organized, prepared, and successful at meal planning and prepping after bariatric surgery. Let’s get started!

Get Organized & Prepared with Meal Planning

In this first step, we are going to save money and time by exploring the foods you already have on hand in your kitchen and pantry. It’s time to open that freezer and finally use up what’s been sitting there fore months (or years??).

You’re going to need 5 minutes to get organized and prepared for meal planning.

ACTION STEP #1: Explore your kitchen and look for protein and vegetables you have.

What vegetables do you need to use up in your fridge?
What protein and vegetables are in your freezer?
What nutrient dense whole foods are in your pantry?

ACTION STEP #2: Write down the main protein source(s) and vegetables you need to use up.

Research Bariatric Friendly Meal Ideas

When exploring recipes, ensure you are always including a source of protein as a core component of your meal. As a reminder, you should be aiming for upwards of 80 grams of protein daily to hit your bariatric protein goals.

I personally search for recipes on Pinterest and Yummly (both free search databases). Searching for “high protein low carb meals” is an easy way to get started exploring healthy protein recipes that are out there. Whenever possible, look for recipes that use nutrient dense whole foods in the ingredient list.

You’re going to need 20 minutes to look up recipes and build your shopping list.

ACTION STEP #1: Look up 2 recipes that use the protein and vegetables you have on hand. My advice- keep the recipes SIMPLE and easy to make! Feel free to modify recipes you find in order to make them healthier.

ACTION STEP #2: Build a shopping list full of the remaining ingredients you need for these recipes.

Grocery Shopping & Prepping Your Food

Often, the hardest part is seeing what food you have on hand and discovering how to repurpose them into healthy recipes by searching online. The next part just requires purchasing your remaining ingredients and chopping/prepping your sides and vegetables.

You’re going to need 2 hours to go grocery shopping and start prepping some of your recipes.

ACTION STEP #1: Find one date and time that you’re going to go to the grocery store this week. Or- delegate someone in your family to go on your behalf!

ACTION STEP #1.5: Go shopping! When you get home, challenge yourself to chop up your vegetables and/or prep and marinade your protein sources. This will help get some of the meal prep work done ahead of time.

ACTION STEP #2: Pick 2 days this week to make your new recipes!

In Summary

Overall, the process of meal planning and prep after bariatric surgery will take around 2.5 hours of your time. The good news is that you don’t have to do this in one sitting. By breaking meal prep into 3 parts, it can be a helpful way to reduce the feeling of overwhelm that prevents you from getting started in the beginning. When you’ve finished all 3 of these steps and have plated your food, share a picture with our group to show us what you’re eating!