Weekly Newsletter:

March 25, 2026

Meal Prepping and Nutrition

If there’s one thing almost everyone can agree on, it’s that there are not enough hours in the day. We are constantly having to make decisions on how to use our time. Unfortunately, it often feels like these decisions are not born out of choice, but instead, necessity. We may find ourselves sacrificing the things we want to do for things we have to do because, of course, they have to be done. Even if the things that have to be done are enjoyable or done out of care and love for others, they are still things that have to be chosen over things you may also want to do.

As a caregiver, you have all the things you have to do in your life in addition to caregiving duties. The list of things you have to do is much longer, making it more likely the things you want to do are pushed off the list. This can even mean some things you have to do may get pushed off because caregiving duties may be a higher priority than some other have to do’s in your life. These often end up being things that support your life and well-being. Maybe it’s skipping breakfast so you can stop at your loved one’s house to care for them before heading to work. Maybe it’s cancelling plans with friends because an emergency happened. Maybe it’s taking on more work hours to afford caregiving costs and missing out on family dinner a few nights a week. Whatever your sacrifices look like, they often end up impacting you negatively in the name of caring for others.

We all know it’s easier to care for others when we can care for ourselves, but how do we find the time to do that when our have to do list is so long? Well, that’s when we have to get creative and find ways to address our wants and needs in a way that feels feasible and fits into a busy schedule. In this article series, I am going to offer a few ideas that you might be able to adopt into your life or even get some inspiration from to create a personalized idea. For today’s article, I will be focusing on nutrition, particularly meal prepping.

I know I know, we have all thought about this, saved YouTube videos with meal ideas, bought the containers, and even tried it out a few times. So why does it feel so hard to maintain? Meal prepping is not a one size fits all solution. Meal prepping can be one day of cooking that preps all three meals and snacks for a whole week, but a whole day of cooking can be hard to find the energy or time for. Meal prepping can be as simple as finding accessible meals to have available when you need them or just prepping a few ingredients that cut cooking time in half throughout the week.

A few ideas:

• Yogurt parfaits for breakfast or snacks - purchasing yogurt parfait cups or creating your own by separating a container of yogurt into small containers for each day with a baggie of granola or other toppings available to grab and go when you need. Maybe even purchase disposable spoons so you can truly have breakfast ready to go anywhere and any time. If you have dietary restrictions, explore other types of non-dairy yogurt like almond or coconut!
• Protein, nut, or granola bars - having a few bars in your bag at all times allows you to have a quick and simple filling snack that you can have at any time. Find one that you enjoy! If it doesn't taste good, you may not reach for it.
• Cheese sticks - there are so many types of cheese sticks, from string mozzarella cheese to sharp cheddar. They last forever in the fridge, are a quick and energetic protein option, and can be fun to snack on!
• PB&J’s - you might be catching on to the fact that many of these recommendations are kid friendly, but it makes sense if you think about it! Kids are often on-the-go; these food types are also perfect for an on-the-go adult. PB&J’s are delicious, easy to make, and can be brought anywhere. If you don’t like peanut butter, try almond or sunflower butter!
• Microwave meals (frozen, canned, etc.) - it may feel counterintuitive to reach for a microwave meal when talking about self-care. We’ve been told that they aren’t good for us and we should have homemade, nutrient dense meals to best support our bodies. But take a moment and think, is a meal that may not be perfect for our health better than no meal at all? Always. Our bodies need fuel and it’s nearly impossible for that fuel to always be the cleanest it could be. There are also so many options for meals now, including healthier options with cleaner ingredients. But regardless of the “healthiness” of the meal, food is fuel and having what you can is better than nothing at all or not enough.
• Water - it can be so hard to get in the water we need every day, but it is so essential. Proper water intake allows our physical and mental processes to function as intended, helping every aspect of our well-being. Find a large water bottle (about 40 oz or so) that you can carry around with you. Find one with a cool pattern or one that’s your favorite color! Make it enjoyable to drink from and it will be easier to meet your water intake. If you struggle with plain water, find fun flavor packs! Drink at least one full bottle in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening, having a large bottle minimizes the times you need to actively get water so you can spend less time thinking about it and more time drinking.
• Ingredient prepping - while it may not be feasible to cook entire meals to last the week, prepping high-prep time ingredients can save time during the week and make cooking feel more manageable. Some ingredient prep ideas can be washing and cutting up fruits and veggies, precooking proteins like beans or chicken, precooking rice or pasta, making a sauce that can be used for a variety of meals, and much more. Ingredient prep is particularly helpful if you are either making the same meal consistently or different meals that use similar ingredients. Meals like this can save time and energy and allow your ingredient prep to have a larger time-saving impact.

I hope one of these tips resonates with you or sparks an idea. Fueling your body will make your have to do list easier by giving you the gas to get where you’re going with less problems along the way. You may find that caring for yourself in this way frees up even just a bit of time to get to your want to do’s. It can seem daunting to change routine, and maybe even more time-consuming to figure out what works for you, but spending what time you can to think about ways to support yourself during your busy days will ultimately save you time and support your overall well-being. And, when you are your best self, you are best at caring for those around you too.

— Jayde Hart, BA

MCC Program Coordinator at DayBreak

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