In this post: Meal prepping can make it easier to stick to your meal plan, and even cut hours from your in–the-kitchen time each week. See our 3 tips to meal prep like a pro below and save yourself some serious time!
Are you looking to save time in the kitchen? No matter if you’re a seasoned meal planner or you’re just starting to dip your toe in the meal planning water, a little thing called meal prep is going to be a huge additional time-saver.
Meal prepping can make it easier to stick to your meal plan, and even cut down on your cooking time. And it doesn’t have to be hard!
3 Tips to Meal Prep Like a Pro – Even if You’re Just a Beginner!
While some people have no difficulty coming up with meals they’d love to eat for the week, the execution of making those meals is often what is lacking, because prepping and cooking all that food takes time.
If saving time is something you want to do – and who doesn’t?! – then don’t miss these three tips to help you meal prep like a pro – even if you’re just a meal prep beginner!
1. Choose which method of meal prep will work best for you – or use a combination!
There are a few ways you can reduce the burden of cooking every day with meal prep. You can:
- set aside an afternoon or a day to prepare several freezer meals to thaw and heat later
- cook double or triple batches of things during your regular meal prep, and then eat the leftovers another day
- simply do things like wash and cut up produce for the week ahead of time
Just as you should set aside time every week to plan your meals for the week and go shopping for the ingredients, set aside time to do a little meal prep. I do this at some point on Friday afternoon, Saturday, or Sunday, depending on our weekend schedule. It really helps when it comes time to cook at the end of a long day.
2. Invest in good quality containers
Everyone should have a good set of containers, but if you are going to be meal prepping, you’re going to need them!
Nothing is worse than spending your entire afternoon in the kitchen cooking or cutting up 3 pounds of carrots just to realize you don’t have anything to store all that prepared food in.
I recommend buying a good set of quality containers that will stand the test of time.
Some say glass containers are better than plastic and come in a variety of sizes. Based on what your meals require, make sure you have the containers ready to go before meal prep. You don’t want to get into the kitchen just to realize your containers are all used up!
3. Be mindful of freshness
If you are going to prep food for a week, that means that food is going to be sitting in your fridge for several days.
While prepping can save you time, it is going to do you no good if all your food is bad by the end of the week.
Be aware of food expiration dates, and recipes that can stand the week-long chill time.
When preparing meals, be mindful of dishes you may need to eat first to preserve freshness.
If you are struggling with balancing freshness and recipes, divide your meal prep up over the course of a few days instead of all at once. This can help preserve some of your fresh veggies until they’re ready to be cut, and they’ll last much longer that way.
Meal prepping doesn’t require a lot of work, and these three secrets will take you from amateur to pro in no time. While these may seem like such simple tips, sometimes the best ones are! Follow these three tips, and you’ll be a meal prepping pro before you know it.
Do you meal prep? Have you found a good consistent day to do it? Or does the day change depending on your schedule?
