Meal prepping seems overwhelming at first, and to be fair, the only day that can be a bit much is the day you prepare your planned meals. After that day, you’ll save a lot of time and money when you have everything you need to meal prep.
When I first started, I didn’t have anything and certainly didn’t do it right. I was majorly underprepared with one pot and a pan, a bunch of mismatched containers, and cooked way too much in advance. Thankfully I got better, and Sunday quickly became my day to prepare my meals.
Here’s what I learned.
Plant it out:
- Plan your menu ahead of time. Think about the days you’re prepping for and what you’ll need for meals like breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
- Write down your grocery list. Check to see what you don’t have already in the kitchen and start to prepare a list of what you’ll need.
- Pick a day. Decide on the day you have time to make your meals. You’ll want to dedicate 2 to 3 hours to this.
- Prepare 3 to 4 days of meals. I recommend meal prepping only for a few days as the food you prepare will still be fresh in the fridge.
Keep it simple:
- Cook in bulk. Things like rice, meat, and veggies can be cooked in bulk and portioned out once prepared.
- Don’t use a lot of ingredients. Nothing against your great grandmother’s secret recipe for lasagna, but that’s a meal you’ll want to spend a lot of time on and prepare for another night. Meal prepping should be fast, so anything with a lot of ingredients is probably too much for your weekly prep.
- Chicken can be made in many different ways. Recipes show chicken plain, with spices, pulled and soaked in BBQ sauce, boiled in pickle juice, stuffed with cheese, so be versatile with your ingredients. This will help save time and make it feel like you’re not eating the same thing over and over.
- Frozen vegetables are underrated. Actually, anything frozen is because the shelf life is longer and it’s less expensive. If you have the freezer space, go frozen.
Save time and money:
Grocery shopping isn’t my thing, but I also don’t have a lot of time. I use services like Wal-Mart (first-time users get $10 HERE) and Sam’s Club pickup to help me get all the items I need with my schedule. I shop online and pick the hour I want to get my groceries. Wal-Mart pickup is a free service compared to Sam’s Club, where you pay for a membership. I also hear good things about Instacart, but that is a paid service.
To save money, check your local grocery stores as most run weekly deals. I recommend downloading apps that will save you money, and my personal favorite is Ibotta. Anyone can earn cashback through grocery and online shopping by taking a picture of their receipt and bought items.
Everything you need to meal prep:
Don’t be underprepared like me. Have everything you need to meal prep and ready to go to save yourself time and a headache. Below, I’ve linked all the products from my Amazon Affiliate Store and what I use for my meal prep.
Food Storage Containers – 32 containers in this set. The worst part of meal prepping is finishing up and not having enough containers or lids that don’t fit.
Measuring cups and spoons – While cooking and when meals are cooked, measuring utensils are a staple.
Pots, Pans, Utensils – Pretty sure you’re an adult and own more than one pan or pot, but just in case, I got you.
Oven Baking Pans, Sheets, and Muffin Tins – Pans are great for vegetables and meat. Both can be in the oven together while preparing something else.
Plastic Cutting Boards – Deeply in love with these cutting boards as there are different meats, fish, veggies, etc. to cut and you don’t want to cross contaminant. They are also easy to clean.
Food scale – If counting calories/macros, this is a great tool to determine the ounces and grams you need.
Lunch box for work – I loved this lunch box for work. It’s pretty inexpensive compared to many lunch boxes out there, and it held four food containers, plus snacks.
Air Fryer – This changed the meal prep game for me. I love crispy food, and the air fryer gives your food that crunch without deep frying in oil. Big fan of green beans in the air fryer, just sayin’.
Bag Heat Sealer – I used this for all my bags that didn’t have resealable seals like popcorn, veggies, chips, etc.
Silicone Storage Bags – When I had fruit from a can or fresh veggies, this was an excellent storage piece to keep my foods fresh.
Happy meal prepping!