Do you want to save time, money or simply eat a healthier diet? Meal planning can help you achieve your goals! Meal planning is taking time once a week to prepare for all of your upcoming meals. Compared to meal planning, where you find recipes that fit your schedule, meal prepping is actually preparing meals or ingredients ahead of time and then storing them until it’s time to use them. Meal prepping, making and freezing entire meals ahead of time, preparing meals in individual containers for quick on-the-go lunches, or chopping and storing ingredients ahead of time can help you reduce food waste, save money, and have a healthier diet. Ready to get started? Here are some tips for a successful first meal prep.
Start small It can seem overwhelming to plan out an entire week’s worth of meals all at once, especially if you are just starting with meal prep. You can start with just a few meals a week, choosing maybe just dinners, lunches, or snacks. You can immediately start making positive changes to your meal planning habits wherever you begin!
Make a checklist Writing down everything you need to do during your weekly meal prepping session is a good idea. Get all your recipes and make a shopping list of the things you need. Doing this will ensure that you will have the right ingredients available when the prep day arrives.
Invest in containers During meal prep, you will be making meals or preparing ingredients for several days of meals at one time. This is why investing in a set of quality food storage containers that you can reuse multiple times is important. Since it may take some weeks before you figure out just how many containers you will need, you can start with a medium-size set and just add more containers as you go, if needed. You will find that glass containers are more eco-friendly and often last longer than plastic!
Gather ingredients A few days before your planned prep day, start gathering the ingredients on your shopping list. Make it a habit to start shopping in your pantry. Take stock of what you already have or what you can use and what you actually need to buy. If you regularly rotate the food in your pantry, you can avoid wasting money on expired items. In fact, if you can find recipes that use ingredients you already have, your meal prep will be more efficient.
Schedule enough time Meal prepping can take several hours, depending on how many and what type of meals you are preparing. Make sure to allot a good chunk of your time for your meal prepping session. To help make it a consistent part of your new meal planning system, it is good to do your meal prepping on the same day of the week and at the same time.
Prep smart Even if your ultimate goal is to prep everything fresh or from scratch, be at liberty to take a few shortcuts as the need arises. If chopping vegetables is not your thing, or it just takes up too much time, then go ahead and buy pre-cut lettuce instead. Also, don’t go for elaborate meals just yet. As much as you want to include all the basic food groups into your meal plan, if you find yourself struggling, scale back your meal prepping a bit. The more efficient and enjoyable you can make your meal prepping sessions, the higher the likelihood that you will do it consistently.
Finally, keep in mind that meal prepping is different for everyone. Go ahead and experiment with different approaches until you find the one that works best for you.
Are you in the market for a Locust Grove rental home with a kitchen where you can comfortably meal prep? Contact Real Property Management Anchor to view listings near you, or check out our available rentals online!
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