We all have those days where we just don’t feel up to meal prep. We know it’s important, but sometimes you just want to grab a Chipotle burrito and call it a day.
But what if you could make your meal prep easier? What if you could save yourself time, money, and stress?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about in today’sepisode! So let’s get started!
Meal prepping is a great way to save time and money. It’s also a healthy and easy way to keep yourself on track with your diet goals. However, if you don’t know how or where to start, meal prep can quickly turn into a tedious chore that takes away from your life instead of adding value! In this post we’ll cover some key tips for making meal prepping easier so that you can save time and money while still enjoying delicious food:
Decide what to prep.
As with any meal prep, you want to make sure you have all the ingredients on hand. Here’s what we’ve got so far:
- Your food
- How often you’ll be eating it (a few times a week, every day)
- How much of each ingredient you’ll need (a little or a lot)
Shop for the food you need.
When you shop for ingredients to make your meals, make sure that you have everything you need. Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry and don’t buy more food than you need.
If possible, take a list of the ingredients that are needed for the recipes. This will help to ensure that there won’t be any costly mistakes or gaps in your meal plan. Always check the expiration date on any perishable foods before purchasing them so they don’t go bad before they can be used!
Don’t buy food that isn’t going to be eaten by anyone else in your household! You would hate it if someone else wasted money on something they didn’t like either…so why would anyone else want it?
Prep your food ahead of time.
By shopping for your ingredients, you can make sure that you have exactly what you need. This is especially helpful if there are certain foods that don’t usually last as long when they’re not refrigerated.
Prepare the containers in advance, so that all you have to do is fill them with food when it comes time for your meal prep session. Make sure that each container has an airtight lid, so that moisture doesn’t escape and your food will stay fresh longer!
If possible, store some of your prepared meals in your freezer until they’re ready to eat (or just keep them all there). When it comes time for a new batch of meals, wash out any dirty containers and then replace them with new ones filled with ice packs or frozen water bottles—this will keep everything fresh longer than plastic bags alone would allow!
Store your prepped food in a safe place.
Now that you’ve made your delicious, nutritious and beautiful meals, it’s time to store them. The last thing you want to do is have a bag of food go bad or get eaten by pests when you need to eat it in the next few days!
Follow these tips for storing food safely:
- Keep it cool: Store your prepped food in a cool, dry place away from heat sources like stoves and ovens. If you don’t have space for this at home, consider investing in an extra fridge or freezer just for your meal prep items (this is what I do!). This can be especially helpful if there are several people living together who are meal prepping at the same time—you might end up with more food than one standard-sized refrigerator can hold!
- Keep it sealed: Make sure any plastic containers or bags that contain prepped ingredients have secure lids on them so moisture doesn’t get inside when stored in the fridge/freezer. If any air does get inside of these containers/bags though then make sure everything gets coated with avocado oil before storing so it doesn’t turn brown due to oxidation!
- Use containers with labels: You want all those containers lined up neatly on their shelves looking pretty? Then label them like crazy! It’s amazing how much easier things become once they’re organized properly.”
Keep track of what you prep and when it expires.
- Use a calendar or calendar app. If you’re new to meal prep and don’t have a system in place, there are plenty of options for keeping track of what you cooked, when it was cooked and when it expires. You could use your phone or computer calendar, but there are also several apps that were designed specifically for this purpose.
- Use a food storage app. There are dozens of apps available for tracking what foods you’ve got on hand and how long they need to be stored (or eaten). We like MyPlate by MyFitnessPal because it lets us add items from our pantry or freezer as well as things we eat out at restaurants so that we can plan meals around ingredients we already have at home instead of having to shop every time we want something new.
- Write it down on paper with pen and pencil: Another option is simply writing down what you made in the kitchen or when you took something out of the fridge as soon as possible after making it so that if someone asks where they went last night (or last week), they don’t have much trouble finding them again!
Make prepping fun!
- Make prepping fun!
Prepping meals can be a drag, particularly if you’re tired and hungry. But it doesn’t have to be that way! When you’re in the kitchen, try playing fun music or singing along with your kids. If you have little helpers around, make them feel like they have an important role by asking them to stir something or cut up vegetables for you. You might even find yourself having a good time together with the whole family!
Think about what you need ahead of time, use the right storage containers, and have fun!
- Think about what you need ahead of time.
- Use the right storage containers.
- Have fun!
Final words
Meal prepping can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be. With the right tips and tricks, you can make meal prep much easier and more enjoyable. Whether your goal is to save time or money on food expenses or just eat healthier meals, meal prep is a great way to accomplish those goals!
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