How to Get Started Meal Prepping
Meal prepping can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. You can make meal prepping a breeze with some planning and prep work. Together, we'll walk you through everything you need to know to get started with meal prepping, including why you should start meal prepping, how to get started, and some tips and tricks for making meal prepping easier.
Why You Should Start Meal Prepping
There are plenty of reasons to start meal prepping, but here are a few of the most compelling ones:
MEAL PREPPING CAN HELP YOU SAVE TIME
If you're short on time during the week, meal prepping can help you get dinners on the table quickly and easily. Simply cook a double batch of your favorite recipes on the weekends and portion them into individual servings. Then, when you're ready to eat, all you have to do is heat and eat.
MEAL PREPPING CAN HELP YOU SAVE MONEY
Cooking at home is almost always cheaper than eating out, and meal prepping can help you take advantage of that by cooking in bulk and portioning out individual servings. This way, you can avoid those takeout menus and take control by cooking your meals at home.
MEAL PREPPING CAN HELP YOU EAT HEALTHIER
If you're trying to eat healthier, meal prepping is a great way to ensure you get the nutrients your body needs. When you cook at home, you have complete control over what goes into your food. This means you can avoid processed foods, unhealthy fats, and excess sugar that you may be unaware of while eating out.
How to Get Started Meal Prepping
Now that we've gone over some of the reasons you should start meal prepping, let's talk about how to get started. Here are a few tips:
1) CHOOSE YOUR MEALS IN ADVANCE
Part of why people dread meal prepping is that they don't know what they'll make ahead of time. To make things easier on yourself, choose your meals for the week in advance. This way, when it comes time to start cooking, you'll know exactly what ingredients you need to buy and won't waste any time debating what to make.
2) MAKE A GROCERY LIST
Once you know what meals you'll make, make a list of all the ingredients you'll need so that you don't forget anything at the store. It's also helpful to group similar items on your list so that you can easily find them when shopping.
2) PREP YOUR INGREDIENTS AHEAD OF TIME
One of the most time-consuming parts of cooking is prep work, like chopping vegetables or marinating proteins. To save time, prep your ingredients by chopping vegetables or portioning items on the weekends. Then when it's time to cook during the week, all you'll have to do is throw everything in a pan and heat it.
Meal prepping doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. With some planning and prep work, anyone can become a master meal prepper. Whether you're pre-cooking all of your meals for the week ahead or just pre-portioning things and pre-cooking some of your meals, you'll save a tremendous amount of time while freeing up a lot of mental space.
