On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we answer a viewer question who asked for healthy meal prep tips for families with kids.
This is another episode from our #WayBackWednesday series, where we highlight the best questions from previous episodes of our #AskLiveLeanTV Q&A show.
This question is from #AskLiveLeanTV Ep. 004.
Carianne on Snapchat says: My husband Lives Lean 365 days a year and I’m just starting my journey. We have 4 children, and overall eat pretty healthy. Any suggestions on how Living Lean can be applied to family life? For example, how to meal prep for 6 people? Thanks in advance.
Before we answer this question, we need to be 100% honest and open when it comes to raising kids and getting them to eat healthy.
When I was a kid growing up, I didn’t eat healthy all the time.
Jessica didn’t either.
Even though our kids, Kyla and Cody, like most of our meat and potato recipes, I wish I could tell you they also liked vegetables.
But they don’t, because they are kids.
However, as they grow up, they are going to eat healthier and eat more vegetables, just like we did.
Don’t be too hard on yourself when trying to get your younger kids to eat healthy.
Do the best you can do.
With that said, here are 6 tips meal prep tips for families with kids.
We get the following question all the time:
“What should the kids eat?”
First step is to feed your kids the same things that you eat.
As parents, you should be setting the example by eating real food.
As parents of two young kids, we also understand kids can sometimes be pickier when it comes to food.
This leads us to our first healthy meal prep tip.
Healthy food can be delicious, when it’s prepared properly.
A lot of the recipes from our Team Live Lean recipes are designed to be kid friendly, because they taste so good.
Now that you have access to delicious, kid friendly recipes, follow these healthy meal prep tips for large families.
Cook your high protein recipes in bulk by making giant batches for every meal.
Not sure how to do this?
The next healthy meal prep tip is for you.
When prepping a large amount meat in bulk, use a slow cooker.
Using a slow cooker is so healthy and simple to do.
Throw in your favorite meat and vegetables and you kids and family will love it too.
This will help you have cooked meat, ready to go, for the next few days.
If you’re cooking for for 6 people, use enough meat for at least 10-12 servings.
Go check out this post called healthy slow cooker recipes that are so tasty and delicious.
You could also invest in some big pans and pots so you can cook more food at one time.
If you’re feeding 6 people and want leftovers, however the recipe only serves 4, double or triple the recipe.
This also includes if you’re following our weekly Team Live Lean meal plans.
If the meal plan says it serves 2 people, double or triple that.
Since you’ll need a lot of food to feed 6 people, this leads us to our next healthy meal prep tip.
If you have access, do your shopping at a bulk grocery store like Costco.
That’s what we do.
Check out this paleo grocery haul from Costco.
This really helps you buy healthy food in bulk, meaning you’ll have a lot of food in your house, that is ready to go.
Having access to all this food will also encourage you to do your meal prep.
If you’re preparing healthy food for 6 people, you’ll need to meal prep more often, with larger quantities of food.
Aim to meal prep every 2-4 days, instead of just once per week.
Hopefully these 6 healthy meal prep tips help you and your family eat better food.
This is a situation where you will just have to get in the kitchen and get dirty.
Pick 2 days of the week to use for meal prepping, and get it done.
By doing this, you will not have to spend your life in the kitchen.
Living Lean is not about being locked in the kitchen, cooking all the time.
Following these healthy meal prep tips will help you get a head start on having access to delicious, kid friendly meals.
Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.