Twenty-nine percent of Americans prep their meals weekly. So, you’ve probably tried your hands at dinner prepping to save money or improve your health by keeping track of your diet.

However, we can all relate to the many hassles involved. Newbies, on the other hand, may struggle with the following challenges:

1. There’s nothing in the fridge

One of the biggest mistakes is not stocking up your fridge with foods that you like. It’s not uncommon for people to try cooking meals that require some ingredients they don’t have at home.

Deciding what to eat at the grocery store may limit your options or trick you into purchasing unhealthy food. And although we’ve all had our fair share of visits to the grocery store without a list, improving your meal prep strategy requires creating a grocery list from the recipe of meals you plan to eat.

2. You don’t have all five servings of veggies

Many people use meal prepping to stay on top of their caloric consumption, and it can be modified to meet daily nutritional requirements.

However, overlooking the five required servings of vegetables is another mistake you can make while meal prepping. Combine a variety of vegetables; mix colors if you can. Do your best to incorporate starchy and non-starchy vegetables into each day’s meals. There should also be cruciferous veggies in your diet.

3. Practicing restriction

Restricting yourself helps when you’re looking to start eating healthy. Otherwise, you may get burnt out sooner than expected or go through a disordered eating pattern.

One or two treats during the week won’t hurt. For instance, you can enjoy your favorite meal or snack when you know you’ll be too tired from working overtime.

Creating a healthy eating habit cannot happen at once, especially when used to eating junk food. It’s better to balance organic food with decadent treats; for instance, pair that slice of pizza with some salad.

4. Not balancing your meals

Vegetables are important, but you must also eat enough of the other food groups for a balanced diet. You need your daily requirement of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats.

Half of your plate can consist of non-starchy vegetables, while a quarter should be lean protein, like chicken, beef, lentils, and salmon.

And the final portion can be starchy vegetables like sweet potato, and corn.

You can also stay on top of things by paying attention to your diet. If your plate is imbalanced, if one food group seems to overly dominate the others, you can balance it with veggies.

5. You’re making the wrong proportion

When you’re prepping for some days or weeks, one of the mistakes you can make is cooking the wrong quantity – it’s either too much or not enough.

If you can relate to wasting food or not having enough, the solution is increasing your organizational skills. You can improve it by calculating how many dishes and servings before preparing anything.

Consider the ideal method of apportioning a healthy diet discussed earlier for a more accurate projection of your meals.