What is meal prepping? How do you meal prep? Is a meal even as good as people say? How do you keep your food fresh when you meal prep? Today is your lucky day, all your unanswered meal-prepping questions, are being answered all in one place. Here’s a complete beginner’s guide to making meal prepping easier, and can hopefully help you save more time instead of feeling like you constantly cooking a meal every evening after a busy day at work.
What is meal prepping?
This is when you spend a chunk of time preparing ingredients and/or cooking separate full meals for the upcoming week, making your daily life that little bit easier. You don’t need to make meals prepping hard on yourself, instead, it could be as simple as cooking meat and chopping veggies that you can just throw together a quick salad. If you are feeling a little braver and committed then your meal prepping could involve preparing and portion-sizing each meal and snack you plan to eat that week.
Don’t feel put off just because you find yourself not having a spare 6 hours to meal prep. There is no right or wrong way to meal prepping – it’s meant to help to make your life easier. So you can prep as much or as little as you want/have time to do.
Meal prepping types
Ingredients Preparation – Wash and cut your veggies, as well as your carbs and proteins, so then you can use these prepared items for upcoming meals.
Pre-portioned Meals – Prepping food into single-serving containers, can usually be enough for a few das to a week. This can end up making it super easy to grab food on the go.
Batch Cooking/Freezing – This approach is a useful way to reduce food waste. You can typically cook in large amounts for things such as; a large batch of soup, and bolognese sauce.
The benefits of meal prepping?
There are many benefits of meal prepping, but the few main ones include- saving money, saving time, helping you to stick to your goals and reducing waste.
The disadvantages of meal prepping?
For some meal prepping is extermely helpfu in their day-to-day life, but for other it can seem boring and unmanagabke to keep up with week in, week out. So here is some of the main downsides to meal prepping.
- Meal prepping may involve eating the same meals for a few days in a row. If you are put off because you aren’t a fan of having the same meal twice, then use different spices, dressing and condiments to change up the flavour of each meal.
Meal planning Vs Meal prepping
Don’t know what the difference is between meal planning and meal prepping? Well, let me first tell you that both are equally great strategies to make your life easier. However, they are still not the same, as meal planning is where your plan recipes for the week or month, whereas meal prep is planning a specific time to prepare and cook either a full meal and/or ingredients to make a meal at a later date.
Who is meal prepping better for?
The simple answer is, if you’re wanting to save money, waste less and save on time, then go ahead. It’s a great option for anyone – whether you live on your own or have a small to large family.
Meal prepping isn’t for everyone, but many people do find that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
What are the best foods to meal prep with?
This is very varied, as it does depend on who you are asking the question to, but the main rule of thumb that I go by is;
- Cooked meat (Turkey, Beef, Chicken, etc.)
- Veggies (Cooked or Raw)
- Cheese
- Cooked grains (Rice, Pasta, Quinoa)
Foods that have been fried aren’t the best to meal prep with as the can’t be reheated.
Steps to get started with meal prepping?
Are you ready to start meal prepping then if your answer is yes, here are s few steps that your can follow to help you.
- Plan your recipes – It helps you to gather together all the necessary ingredients ahead of time.
- Purchase reusable, airtight containers – No need to spend loads of money, as you can use either ziplock containers, foil containers or glass containers. Just keep in mind what types of meals you’ll be prepping.
- Shop for ingredients – Like i previously mentioned, when you already know what you are planning to eat makes it so much easier to shop for the necessar ingredients a head of time.
- Plan time to meal prep – The most important step is choosing a dedicated time to cook your meals. Set aside time to prep and/or start cooking.
How long does food last or stay good for when meal prepping?
Prepared foods can typically be stored in the fridge for 2-5 days or frozen for 3-4 months.
Round up: Meal prepping can save you money and can help to reduce waste. While prepping food isn’t food for everyone, there are a few serious benefits if you choose to prep.
