Personal Trainer in Dubai: 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before

A Complete Guide To Grocery Shopping & Meal Prepping

Have A Plan & Keep It Simple

When planning your meals for the week, try not to overcomplicate things and stay away from recipes that require too many ingredients and attention. To keep meals simple and easy, think of each meal as a combination of a protein and a veggie + a starch or a fat (or both, depending on your goals and daily activity level).

I here to help you with a perfect diet plan for food prepping, guaranteeing that you’ll reach your physique goals! (read more)

I am currently following a weight loss plan that looks like this:

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Low carb (1500 cal) Low carb (1500 cal) High carb (2000 cal) Low carb (1500 cal) Low carb (1500 cal) Free day Low carb (1500 cal)

I eat a mainly plant-based, pescetarian diet. An example of my low carb day is:

Breakfast 3 whole eggs

150 g. spinach

25 g. peanut butter

Lunch 300 g. pumpkin

150 g. shrimp

1/2 avocado

Snack 1 scoop vegan protein powder

300 ml. water

Dinner 300 g. mixed veggies

2 whole eggs

Post workout 30 g. oats

20 g. vegan protein powder

1 banana

10 g. almonds

I’m eating almost the same on high carb days, and just add a few extra carbs and removing some fats to hit my macro’s. The base of the meals (the protein and the veggies) stay almost the same throughout the week, so I can cook in bulk. However, I do alter my proteins a little over the week, as I tend to get bored with my food otherwise.

This week I’m having shrimps, white fish, Quorn and eggs as my choice of protein.

Write A List And Go Grocery Shopping

After planning your meals for the week, it’s time to calculate how much you need of each ingredient and write your shopping list. Going shopping once a week will save you much time and money. It can seem like a big investment to spend 3-4 hours of your weekend grocery shopping and cooking for the week ahead, but it will make the following week a breeze and you won’t struggle with sticking to your diet! If you wait to do it until next week has started, it’s very likely that you will get caught up in your usual weekly routine and the meal prep just won’t happen. To save time, stress and money every week, make meal prepping on the last day of the weekend a habit!

Shopping List

Eggs & dairy:

Organic eggs – 30 pieces

Organic almond milk (unsweetened) – 2 l.

Protein:

Whitefish – 150 g.

Quorn – 200 g.

Shrimp – 450 g.

Veggies & fruit:

Spinach – 750 g.

Pumpkin – 1,5 kg.

Mixed greens –  2,1 kg.

Avocado – 3 pieces

Bananas – 4 pieces

Nuts:

Almonds – 150 g.

Organic peanut butter – 1 container

In addition to the items on my shopping list, I’m using rolled oats, whole wheat pasta, vegan protein powder, more bananas, garlic, and spices, in my food prep. Those are ingredients I already had in the pantry.

My shopping trip for this food prep came out to just 306 AED ($83) for a WEEKS worth of healthy groceries! (On this day I also bought food containers and household essentials, but I didn’t count those in the total costs as they’re not food items.)
When I don’t prep and just buy food on the go, I easily end up paying 150 AED ($41) per DAY. An added bonus is that this way, I know exactly what’s in the food I’m eating and I have full control over how its made. No hidden oils or sugars!

When I buy vegetables, I like to buy frozen ones so I won’t have to rinse and chop everything myself. Frozen vegetables are just as healthy as fresh ones, as they keep their vitamins even if you freeze them down.

Time To Cook & Prep

Depending on the week ahead, I like to cook for 3-6 days at a time. And don’t worry about cooking for multiple days!
Even fish or meat can stay fresh in the fridge for up it 3-4 days after cooking.

When I have a very busy week I’ll cook for 6 days at a time. I’ll prep and measure everything the same way, and then I freeze the last 2-3 days worth of food. Then all I have to do for day 4-5-6 is to take the food out of the freezer and voilá.

Usually, I prep my fish and veggies in the oven. I cook my rice and pasta on the stove and, if I’m having shrimp, I like to sautée them in a bit of water and fresh garlic.
With my eggs, I usually make a scramble of eggs (I use whole, organic eggs) and almond milk, salt, and pepper.

I measure out my food when it’s raw and uncooked and then I just divide the cooked food equally into the number of meals that I want. I’ve found this to be the easiest and most precise approach, as cooked food changes weight depending on the water content.

Looking at my food all cooked, measured and ready for the week ahead is the most satisfying feeling! When it’s done I just know I’m going to have a great, stress-free week where I’ll still be able to reach my goals and have enough energy for the gym and my work.

2 Kommentarer

  • What a great meal prep article. Like! – Though I am no fan of diets, this is interesting and well illustrated; great pix. Thanks.

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    • Amanda Louise

      Hiya Marina

      Thanks for your input! I’m really glad you liked the blog :) <3

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Personal Trainer in Dubai: 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before