Making healthy meals at home can sometimes be a challenge. By taking a little time each week we can meal plan to save time, money and stress. Learn how to meal prep effectively and all the amazing benefits that come from taking just a few extra minutes to plan your meals!
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Does this scenario sound familiar? You get out of work late. You’re starving and have no plans for dinner. You’re kicking yourself because you want to cook at home but going through the drive-thru and getting fast food sounds like the easiest choice. You want your family to eat healthier but you are so short on time during the week!
Trust me I’ve been in this position. I know how busy everyone’s schedule is. There are days we juggle work, getting kids to and from school, sports or music practice and still need to put a nutritious meal on the table!
After dealing with this situation too many times I made the decision to put in place a meal plan and prep our meals. This has been a life saver in my house and I can teach you a few simple steps to get started.
What Is Meal Prep?
Meal prepping is a system to plan and make your meals in advance. There are different ways to meal plan. It’s best to pick a method that works best for you and your family’s schedule. Here are three of the best ways to meal prep.
- Prepare Full Meals Ahead- You can spend a day cooking all of your meals for a week. Either freeze them for later or keep them in the refrigerator for a few days.
- Prepare Ingredients - wash and chop all vegetables in preparation for cooking. This is still a time saver because you have all of your ingredients ready to cook.
- Batch Cooking- making a larger quantity of a meal to portion into individual portions or divide into several meals to freeze.
You may use all of these types of meal preparation. It’s a great way for anyone that has a busy schedule and wants to cook their own meals in an effort to save time and money while developing healthy eating habits.
What Are The Benefits Of Meal Prep?
There are many benefits of meal planning. You may make the decision to start this with only one goal in mind but you will find that it helps in so many other areas of your life!
- budget friendly- by planning ahead it cuts down on trips to restaurants.
- portion control- you can find recipes with the calorie count making it easier to portion into appropriate size servings.
- family involvement- cooking at home can teach your kids necessary skills they will need to fix themselves healthy meals
- healthier ingredients- you are in control of the ingredients that you add to your meals which can be far healthier than restaurant food.
- less food waste- According to recent studies the average American household wastes approximately $1866 dollars of food a year. By planning your meals every week you are more likely to buy only what is needed and not impulse buys resulting in less waste.
How To Get Started
- Plan your meals for the week on a calendar.
- Look at the ingredient list and check your refrigerator and pantry making note of what you have and what you need and make a grocery list.
- Look at your grocery stores weekly adds and plan meals according to what is on sale. This will help with your grocery budget.
- Plan a day to go grocery shopping and how you will meal prep. Depending on the recipes and if you are completely cooking meals you may need to budget a few hours.
Now that you have a plan in place get the family involved. This can help make the process faster!
What Do I Need To Meal Plan Effectively?
The great thing about meal planning is that you do not need much. You probably already have a few of your favorite go-to easy recipes that you know your family likes. Other than a few containers and plastic bags you are ready to get started.
- weekly meal plan-of the recipes you want to cook. It is a good idea to avoid elaborate meals or recipes you've never tried. Pick recipes you know and trust. When starting meal planning make your favorite recipes and work in new recipes when you get more efficient at meal prep.
- grocery list- I always go through the kitchen and double check the ingredients I need for my recipes. You never know when someone will use the last bit of a key ingredient and forget to jot it down on the shopping list. This will reduce last minute runs to the store!
- containers to store food-to safely store food you will need containers. Here are the best meal prep containers that I like to use.
- plastic freezer bags- these are great for marinating and sectioning meat and freezing for later. Remember to always label things with the name and date before storing in the freezer or you will have a mystery meal!
Expert Tips
It’s very easy to want to start a new approach to something and get overwhelmed and give up. Here are a few tips to consider.
- If you are new to cooking start with a few simple recipes.
- When you batch cook for the week make foods that can be frozen and that reheat well.
- If fixing meals with fresh vegetables make those in the beginning of the week and meals with canned ingredients towards the end of the week.
- Remember what you are working towards. Is your goal to have less stress, save money, weight loss or eat healthier? Then, plan meals with that in mind.
How Many Days In Advance Can I Cook?
Meal prep is a great tool but we need to make sure we are following food safety rules as well. If you are buying meat for many days in advance, freeze it. By freezing meat properly in plastic freezer bags it will be safe to eat for several months.
When you make several days worth of food, remember that leftovers are typically at their freshest for 3-4 days. After that the food may not be safe to eat.
Looking For Easy Meal Prep Recipes? Here Are Some A Few Of My Favorites!
Breakfast Ideas:
Mini Egg Bites (Muffin Tin- these take 10 minutes to prep and can be reheated for a quick breakfast. Make a double batch and freeze them for up to 3 months!
Strawberry Shortcake Overnight Oats- this meal prep breakfast takes only 10 minutes to prep. It makes 3 servings and can easily be doubled if you have a large family.
Sheet Pan Eggs-this quick and easy recipe makes 15 servings! This is perfect for a large family or you can freeze for up to 3 months.
Check out these 26 High Protein Breakfast Recipes!
Lunch Ideas:
Healthy California Chicken Salad- easy to make with leftover rotisserie chicken for a quick and delicious lunch.
Salmon Quinoa Salad With Lemon Dressing-make a batch of this for a lunch for a couple days. You can reheat or eat this cold.
Dinner ideas:
Healthy Turkey Chili-chili is always better the next day! Make a double batch and freeze the leftovers.
Easy Skillet Caprese Chicken-here's a 20 minute easy dinner for those hectic nights!
Roasted Red Pepper Soup-this uses jarred and canned vegetables so you can save this recipe for later in the week.
There are many amazing benefits to meal planning. By planning your meals in advance you can save time, money and eat healthier! Not to mention cutting down on all of those countless trips to the grocery store will help reduce your grocery bill.
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and a 5- star rating. I would love to hear from you! Subscribe Here to get new recipes sent straight to your inbox!
nancy
great guide to meal prepping - it always seems so onerous when starting out!