Meal prepping is a useful tool in managing your diabetes. When you prepare your meals in advance, you will be far less tempted to give in to unhealthy snacking and temptations. In this guide, we’ll go over the benefits of meal prepping for diabetes and how to begin meal prepping diabetic-friendly meals.
What is Meal Prepping?
Meal prepping is scheduling and preparing your meals ahead of time. Whether you cook the food yourself or use a meal prep delivery service, you can prepare meals first thing in the morning, a week, or even 30 days in advance.
What are the Benefits of Meal Prep for Diabetes?
There is a lot to juggle when you have diabetes. Between managing your portions, tracking your sugars and carbs, and eating at the right times for your medications, it can be challenging to keep track of everything.
Meal prep can make your life easier in a variety of ways:
- Save Time. Save hours every week in shopping, cooking, and deliberating each meal.
- Save Money. When you meal prep, you buy what you need for each meal. As a result, you reduce the extra costs of wasted ingredients, eating out, and spontaneous purchases.
- Make Healthier Choices. You have the convenience of fast food while sticking to diabetic-friendly foods you enjoy.
- Fewer Temptations. With pre-portioned meals, you control both the amount and the type of food you eat in a meal or snack. This is especially useful if your schedule is disrupted. You can grab a pre-made snack or meal instead of that quick trip to the drive-thru.
How Can I Begin Prepping Diabetic-Friendly Meals?
Meal prepping is very beginner-friendly. Here is how to start:
- Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about the best foods and portions for your diabetes and medical situation.
- Talk to your family about foods they like. Think of ways to adapt them for diabetic meals or weave them into a well-balanced meal.
- Find recipes that fit your family's tastes and health goals. Try adding a new recipe every week to avoid getting into a rut. Research how to prep healthy meals for a week to get used to the process.
- Use a diabetic meal planner or a meal prep company for people with diabetes to track what you will eat and when.
- Start small. Try prepping a day or a week ahead of time to get used to the process. Once you are comfortable, look at 30-day preps for more time and money savings.
- Know the best meal prep services for people with diabetes in your area just in case life gets too chaotic to do it yourself.
How Do I Find Diabetic Meal Prep Services Near Me?
A local search for “meal prep delivery for people with diabetes” followed by your city and state will help narrow down your search. You can also seek out online groups on neighborhood sites like Nextdoor and Meetup to find their recommendations.
If you live in the San Diego or Orange County area, we offer diabetic-friendly meal preps for people with diabetes. Get started on a custom meal plan tailored to your needs!