Happy New Year, friends! I hope you all had an amazing holiday season and are rested and recharged for getting back into the swing of things for the new year. I’m definitely not ready to go back to the grind of work, but at least I know my fridge is stocked and ready to go with healthy meals to help me get back to feeling like myself after all the holiday indulgence.

Of course, it’s also that time of year when you’re sure to be bombarded with “new year, new you” and fad diet messaging at every turn. And while those “lose weight quick” schemes can be tempting, nourishing your body with healthy, well-balanced meals is where it’s at for me. I’ve been meal prepping for 10 years now (can’t believe it’s been that long!!!!) and although the type of meal prep I do may not work for everyone, it’s my favorite healthy habit. So if you’re interested in meal prep, you’ve come to the right place! 

This post is dedicated to my favorite meal plans and meal preps of 2023, but before we jump in, I just want to point out a couple of meal prep resources for anyone who is new to my blog! First, WELCOME!! My Meal Prep 101 page includes tips for getting started, how to tailor meal prep to fit your life, as well as container and gear recommendations. I also have 3 eBooks all about meal prep! The 3rd book is also available in hard copy form. In them you’ll find even more meal prep tips, recipes, sample meal plans, grocery lists, and prep day guides. Click on the image below to check out book previews and links to purchase them!

2023 was an exceptionally busy year here at PBF and in my personal life. Here are a few highlights!

• Hiking Trip: At the end of February, I went on my 2nd ever solo hiking trip! This one was to Utah and Arizona, including stops at Arches National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, and Zion National Park. Sadly I missed out on Bryce Canyon partly because of snow, but also because of a busted photography tour that was cancelled at the last minute because my guide had the flu (and didn’t find out until I drove 70 miles past Bryce!). I’m fairly certain I broke my middle toe in my hotel room on day 2 of the trip, but I stuffed it right back in my boot and carried on. Zion in the snow was absolutely magical – I highly recommend it! Although I did skip out on the narrowest parts of the Angels Landing hike (chains section) because it was covered in about a foot of snow…I just couldn’t stomach the 1,000 foot drop on either side when I couldn’t see where I was stepping. The bottom/middle picture below is as far as I got!
• New Job: In June, I moved and started a new job in Baltimore. After spending 6 years in healthcare administration, it’s been quite the adjustment getting back to my “normal” Coast Guard operational duties. This move was a bummer for me since I absolutely loved my last neighborhood in Virginia, but such is the nature of a military PCS…as are the moving boxes, new relationships, and headaches!
• New Website: If you’ve been here before, you may have noticed the major changes to my website as of early December! This project to redesign, simplify, and modernize the site is many, many months in the making. I’m really proud of how it looks and how much more user friendly it is – I hope you love it too!

It’s always hard to narrow down my favorites, but here are a few that stood out to me this year! It seems like I did a whole lot of warmer weather recipes this year. Maybe I was just defrosting after all the snow in Zion 😉

Without further ado, here we go – let’s dive in to the 10 best meal preps of 2023! Just click on the photos or links to head over to that specific weekly meal plan. I’ve also included a breakdown of the individual meals for each meal plan so you can easily pick out and find the recipe that catches your eye.

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