Whilst there are many different reasons that people start to meal prep, from fitness goals to improving nutrition, a lot of it comes down to time, or specifically a lack of it.
Meal prepping condenses the amount of time needed to cook and prepare meals so that they are available when you need them and do not have the time.
However, as people are working harder and longer hours, the notion of three square meals has given way to a concept known as snackification, where snacks replace meals and people eat when they have a spare minute.
This does not necessarily have to spell disaster for health goals, but if you are going to snack, you need to be much more careful about what you are eating and prep nutritious snacks in advance to resist the temptation of sugary, salty or fatty alternatives.
Here are some top tips for nutritious and healthy snack prep.
Combine Nuts And Fruit
One of the best ways to get rid of hunger pangs quickly is to combine protein and fibre, and the easiest way to do this is to combine nuts with fruit.
An easy and delicious option here is banana slices and peanut butter, but the latter works well with other fruits as well, such as apples. Greek yoghurt is also an excellent alternative to peanut butter for getting protein into your diet.
Make Energy Balls
Perfect for getting past the midday slump, energy balls are super easy to make, are rich in oats, fruit and protein and can be made in large batches to eat over the course of two weeks.
There are countless different recipes too, so it may be worth picking up a food processor just so you can try a handful of these flavour experiments out for yourself.
Make Snack Swaps
If you have a favourite snack that you tend to graze on, look for a healthy alternative you can prep instead.
For example, if you like to have a bag of crisps at hand, try baking a tray of kale chips instead for that welcoming crunch but without the huge amounts of salt and fat.