Between soccer practice, work, and school, it may seem as though there is little time to accomplish the tasks at hand for any given day, let alone eat and prepare a healthy and nutritious meal. The following meal suggestion will help to prepare in advance necessary quick meal staples.

Stock the Pantry: A well stocked pantry is the key to being able to prepare a quick and nutritious meal in a matter of seconds. A well stocked pantry should have staples such as canned vegetables, olive oil, broth, brown rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, beets, and beans such as black beans, kidney beans. These are inexpensive and nutritional meal staples.

Shop and Chop: After a trip to the grocery store or market, preparing fruits and vegetables for quick use later is a great idea to promote healthy snacking as well as easy meal preparation. Preparation such as chopping carrots, celery, and onions will greatly reduce the amount of time that is required at meal preparation. These also make quick snacks for those watching the diet.

Pre-cook and freeze: Cooking large amounts of ground beef or chicken when time is available and then refreezing for use at a later time is a great idea to have available when you need to prepare a meal fast. Since it is important to have a protein at each meal, have available cooked meats on hand are very beneficial, this will also eliminate the need to have a whey protein shake at each meal to get in the required protein. Also, it is wise to cook double portions of meals and freezing the leftovers. Dividing the extra portions up into individual containers so that they are available at anytime make eating on the run a healthy option.

Finally, preparing multiple meals in advance is a great idea for those who want to lose weight, as it prevents grazing in the kitchen and consuming unhealthy snacks.