The trouble with PCOS Meal Prep
You’ve seen the people with the fancy little glass containers- they’re fit, they’re disciplined, they make chicken and broccoli look glamorous. You want to meal prep for your PCOS like them so you buy all the little accessories to get started.
But then you try to meal prep and realize that the veggies taste soggy after a few days, the meals don’t make you feel good (not filling enough, make you tired, give you headaches and cravings) and so you end up with a bunch of fancy, empty glass containers, a takeout bag and a feeling of failure.
How to do PCOS meal prep right
Meal prepping for PCOS is not something out of reach for you and it’s not something that requires you to sacrifice taste in pursuit of a fitness or health goal.
It IS something that will help you stick to a lower grocery budget, reduce PCOS symptoms, and save you a TON of time- you just have to know how to do it right!
Here’s a few tips for how I meal prep and make it work for me.
How to: PCOS meal prep
PS. In PCOS Foundations there is a whole bonus video on meal prepping for PCOS that even comes with recipes and shows you my exact step by step process and help you with all the portioning math! You can find more info here.
If you’re not sure how you should be eating for PCOS in the first place, you might want to read a few of my articles on PCOS nutrition. I’ll add a couple here that might help:
How to Plan Your PCOS Diet like a Nutritionist
PCOS meal prep: Step One- Pick a day
Start by picking a day to prep. I like to do Sunday afternoons.
I wake up Sunday morning and write down a few dishes I think sound good for the week, make a quick grocery list, and go out to a fun lunch that I walk off at the grocery store!
Go to the store with a plan
If you’re hungry or don’t know what you want, you’ll end up spending a ton on things you won’t ever eat, so ensure you go to the grocery store with a plan. In the next few sections, I’ll talk about how I make my PCOS meal prep plans.
Center Meals Around Protein
With PCOS, we need a palm sized amount of protein with each meal (or about 30g or 4 oz).
Some simple math and we can figure out how many servings of meat we will need for the week. We can then divide this up any number of ways.
I usually do a few servings of fish and then equally divide the rest between two other meats.
For example: If I eat about 4 oz each at lunch and dinner, I will need 8 oz per day multiplied by the number of day.
8 oz x 7 days = 56 oz
There are 16 oz in a pound: 56 oz / 16 = 3.5 lbs.
Since I’ll need 3.5 lbs of meat, I might do 1 lb of fish, 1 lb of beef and 1.5 pounds of chicken or the like. I always add a bit extra for padding as well.
Choosing side dishes for PCOS meal prepping
Choose sides that are separate but coordinate. Typically, you’ll want a starch or a grain- beans, rice, corn, bread, or potatoes and you’ll want a non-starchy veggie- broccoli, greens, cabbage, zucchini.
Potatoes are an excellent choice for your starchy side- you can make a big batch of mashed potatoes and portion it out for the week and it goes great with everything!
Cook frozen and fresh veggies the day of
There’s nothing more gross than a soggy vegetable and prepping for a whole week tends to result in lots of them. Instead, get bags of frozen veggies. You can coat these in olive oil and throw under the broiler for 20 minutes with some salt- it makes a great side that gets your fiber in. You can do this with individual rice cups too.
PCOS Meal Prepping: Avoid Diet Perfectionism
Don’t get too perfect- you want to make food that actually sounds good and that you’ll actually WANT to eat.
I tend to choose a comfort dish like pot roast along with super healthy dishes like salmon. I always prioritize flavor- that means roasting my veggies in an oil, using sauces, salt, and herbs.
Avoid baking and steaming everything or you probably won’t actually want to eat it. The best prepped meals are the ones that ACTUALLY stop you from hitting the drive through.
Add foods that satisfy
Don’t forget to add things that satisfy.
A small serving of pasta, potatoes, bread or another starch at each meal will be far more sustainable than making super low carb meals that leave you with tons of cravings two hours later.
PCOS Meal Prep Help
There’s a lot more to this, of course, including some math that can get complicated.
If you struggle to know what to eat, how much to eat, and how to prep it for PCOS, you’ll love my PCOS Foundations course! It’s currently $49 and includes video modules, meal plans, grocery lists and recipes to help you make PCOS eating simple.
There’s also an included video guide to meal prepping for PCOS where I go in depth on my exact strategy to help you!
Good luck with your prepping!
PCOS thoughts & Tips, every friday.
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MEdical Disclaimer
The information contained on amberfischernutrition.com is for informational and education purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. As a nutrition professional, I draw upon evidence based practices and personal experience with myself and clients to form recommendations like the ones made in this guide. You are an individual with your own unique set of health goals and concerns. Ensure you discuss any changes to your diet with a qualified healthcare professional, like your doctor, to ensure these changes are right for you. This is especially important if you have any other underlying medical conditions. Do not consume foods you are allergic to. Results will be individual and will vary.
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