Scrambling to find something to pack for lunch from day to day is a common occurrence for students who bring their lunches to school. As a solution, several students have taken on meal prepping, which consists of making a large portion of a meal at once for the weeks ahead.

“Meal prepping has simplified my lunches a lot and allows me to plan for my nutrition needs,” senior Bella Tederman said.

For senior Maura Tichota, packing healthy and fulfilling meals for lunch has been a struggle since the seventh grade. 

“I would literally bring a granola bar to school every day and that was it,” Maura said. “I didn’t eat breakfast, I had a granola bar for lunch and barely ate dinner.”

Bella also went through the same struggle in the seventh grade.

“I felt like I didn’t have the right tools to prepare food for lunch,” Bella said. “On top of that, I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be eating in order to be thinner.”

Although she began to pack more fulfilling lunches through the next three years of school, Bella was still not satisfied with the lack of nutrition she had each day. So when her junior year began, she and her sister Gabi decided to take on the nutrition aspect while working out at Crossfit Kinesis.

“We actually started meal prepping when I started going to Kinesis,” Bella said. “The coaches there really inspired me to make healthy eating a priority, so prepping food allowed me to make better choices when it came to my nutrition.”

After Bella introduced CrossFit to Maura and her sister, Mylee, they also learned the importance of having healthy eating habits.

“When I did CrossFit this summer, they talked a lot about getting enough protein, the right food and getting enough calories as an athlete,” sophomore Mylee Tichota said. “So meal prepping allowed me to know what I’m putting in my body.”

When the time came to give meal prepping a try, Maura and Mylee created a routine that they would stick with throughout the school year. This consisted of making a trip to the grocery store on the weekend, cooking each ingredient and then putting all of the meals together for the next couple of weeks.

“When it comes time to cook the food, Mylee usually cooks the main course and I do the side dishes,” Maura said. “After we’re done, it usually makes around 30 meals altogether.”

However, the Tederman sisters have a different approach when it comes to meal prepping.

These meals typically consist of chicken and rice with fruit or vegetables on the side.

“Personally, I don’t really mind eating chicken and rice every day of the week,” Gabi said, “but I know some people might get tired of it.”

Although having meals ready for the rest of the week is convenient, Maura agrees the lack of variety can be challenging to eat every day if she doesn’t like what she prepped.

“If you don’t like what you meal prep, then you’re kind of stuck with the meals that you have,” Maura said. “So it’s just like a learning curve over time.”

In the end, though, the four students found many benefits of meal prepping lunches each week for school.

“I don’t find myself being hungry during the day like last year because I wasn’t getting enough food during lunch,” Mylee said. “Now that I’m meal prepping, I’m getting more food and I’m not as hungry all the time.”

Not only does meal prepping supply the students with fulfilling meals to eat, but it also takes stress away from packing a lunch every morning of the week.

“I can be a lot more prepared for my eating situations,” Bella said. “I know that I’m gonna get my protein and my carbs and my fats each day.”