Everyone’s had that feeling. You know, when you get home from a day of classes and work and need to eat dinner. There’s the temptation to get into the car and get fast food because you’re too lazy to cook. Taco Bell runs anyone?
If this sounds like you, then meal prep could be your perfect option. Meal prepping is exactly what it sounds like; preparing food ahead of time to eat for the week. It can save a lot of time and money. Here are some of my beginner meal prep tips that’ll make you a master in no time!
- Grab some containers
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So, you’re staring at this article wondering where to start. Maybe you’ve looked through all of Pinterest saving lots of recipes you want to make. Or maybe you’ve tried meal prepping before and it didn’t work out.
One of the first things you need to do when meal prepping is to get a set of containers. After all, you need something to store your amazing meal prep in! There are plenty of options that can fit any budget. I recommend starting off with a cheaper option, and if you know you want to continue, splurge on the better containers.
- Plan recipes
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Once you’ve got your containers, you have to plan what you want to cook. When you’re a beginner, I recommend starting small. You might want to make three different meal prep options, but you don’t want to overwhelm yourself. Start with one recipe, and when you master that, you can continue! Some easy recipes I like to prepare are chicken stir fry and burrito bowls.
- Frozen is okay
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In the beginning, it’s okay to get frozen foods. Don’t have time to make a homemade sauce? Buy some at the store. Don’t want to chop a bunch of veggies? They have great frozen vegetables at the grocery store. When starting out, you don’t want to stress yourself out in the kitchen trying to make bread from scratch. Getting frozen food makes cooking any meal prep much easier.
- Create a plan
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When you go to the grocery store, make sure you know what you want to get for your meal prep. You don’t want to get random groceries and realize you don’t have enough food for what you planned to make.
Planning out what you’re going to make is essential! I like to plan what I am going to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I go to the store, I know exactly what I need to get for each meal.
- Pick a day and prep
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The best thing you can do is cook all of your meal prep on the same day. I recommend meal prepping everything on Sunday. That way, it’s all done and you don’t have to worry about it. You have everything ready for the upcoming week and you don’t have to cook during the week.
See? Meal prepping isn’t that hard. Grab your containers, set aside some time and get to prepping!