Meal prepping isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. It looks different for everyone depending on their goals, schedule and meal preferences.
Preparing meals ahead of time can help to reduce impulsive supermarket shopping and buying food you don’t need. It can also lead to less food waste. This is great for the environment and your wallet.
1. Plan Your Meals
Meal prep can seem intimidating, especially if you don’t know where to start. But the best way to approach meal prepping is to start small and work your way up, adapting your strategies as you learn.
The first step is to plan out your meals. This helps ensure that you have enough food for the week and avoids wasting any ingredients. It also allows you to take into account arrangements like parties or sports events that may mean you’ll be eating out some nights of the week.
A lot of food is wasted because it’s not eaten or goes bad before the next meal – so planning can help reduce this waste. It can also save you money as you reduce impulse buying in the supermarket.
2. Shop
Meal prep is a smart way to save time, money and achieve your eating goals. It’s easy to get started, but you need a meal plan, food containers to store your meals and some dedicated time each week to cook and prep.
When shopping, aim to buy ingredients that can be used for multiple recipes – this will cut down on cooking and shopping time. Try to shop in bulk and look for deals on items that you use regularly, like rice, pulses and nuts. It’s also a good idea to label all your storage containers and rotate them, so you don’t end up with forgotten produce or stew at the back of your fridge! You’ll also reduce food waste, which is bad for your budget and the environment.
3. Prep
There are many ways to meal prep, so everyone can find a method that works for them. Some meal prep methods involve making whole meals that can be refrigerated and reheated at dinnertime. Others involve preparing components that can be used to make multiple different meals (e.g., grains like quinoa or rice; vegetables; protein sources such as chicken, fish or eggs; and sauces).
Still other meal prepping methods focus on preparing snacks and meals that are best eaten fresh. For example, you can prepare a batch of roasted veggies to be eaten over the week or grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches such as quiche, cottage pie, or Bolognese-style pasta (only partially cooked). Using grocery list-sharing apps is another way for two people to shop together while avoiding duplicate ingredients.
4. Cook
Many meals can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer. This can be a great option for people who like to try different recipes and don’t want to cook the same meal over and over again or for those who have dietary restrictions or allergies.
When deciding which meals to prepare, consider your schedule and nutrition goals. This can help you choose which meals to make and whether or not to batch cook full meals to keep refrigerated, or simply prep ingredients to use in different ways in a week’s worth of recipes.
Once you’ve decided on the meals to make, plan out a schedule to shop for ingredients and complete your prepping. Setting aside time each week for these tasks will help you get into a routine and become more efficient.
5. Store
Meal prepping can be as simple as washing and chopping veggies, mixing spices or marinating meat, or it can include cooking and portioning whole meals to keep in the fridge or freezer. Some meal prep methods involve batch cooking and can be quite time-consuming.
Refrigerated meal prep foods should be labeled and stored in airtight containers. This will help avoid food waste, as forgotten produce or stews stored on the back shelf can spoil and lead to food waste. It is also important to store highly perishable foods on the front of the refrigerator where they are easy to reach.
Meal prepping is a convenient and helpful way to make home-cooked meals on a regular basis. However, the process can be overwhelming to many people who are not used to spending an entire day in the kitchen.
