How to Meal Prep Like a PRO

Working from home has turned into the new normal for many of us. When I initially began working from home, I believed cooking nutritious meals would be easy. But I was wrong. And I am not alone, right? If we make our meals from scratch every day, it will take up a lot of time and it is easy to lose momentum in our work. If we don’t have time to prepare our meals, we will find ourselves scrounging in your pantry whenever we are hungry. This led me to research meal prepping. Then I realized it is a planning method that simplifies cooking and saves time, money, and my family’s health. Here, I will share with you the most important principles and a few simple steps to meal prep.

What is meal prepping?

Meal preparation, to put it simply, is the practice of making meals or meal ingredients in advance and keeping them in the refrigerator or freezer.

There are various ways to meal prep; below are the most popular ways:

• Make-ahead meals: Whole meals that may be prepared in advance and warmed at mealtimes. This is especially appropriate for evening meals.
• Batch cooking: Cooking numerous meals at once, then portioning and storing them. For meals that you can readily prepare in large quantities, this method is helpful.
• Individually portioned meals: Prepare fresh meals, divide them into single-serving containers, and store them in the refrigerator for later use.
• Ready-to-cook ingredients: preparing the items needed in advance for a particular meal. You may reduce the amount of time you spend in the kitchen cooking this way.

How to start meal prepping?

Step 1: Get high-quality food storage containers

Before you do anything, you’re going to want to buy some reusable, airtight food storage containers that will make your prepared ingredients or meals stay fresh longer and taste better by locking bacteria and odors out. There are a lot of food container types on Amazon; here are my most commonly used ones.

• Reusable silicone food storage bags: They will be perfect for sliced fruit and veggies, and salty treats like popcorn, crackers, and chips
• Airtight containers: You can use them to store my big batch of prepared chicken breasts and salad ingredients. Glass or stainless storage containers are your friends. And avoid storing food in plastic whenever you can.
• BPA-free microwavable containers: They are more beneficial to your health and more convenient. Some excellent choices are collapsible silicone containers or Pyrex glassware.
• Freezer-safe containers: This will reduce nutritional losses and freezer burn. Mason jars with a wide opening are good, provided that there is at least 2.5 cm of headspace to allow for expansion of the food after freezing.

Step 2: Plan your meals

First of all, select your meal prep method based on your lifestyle and nutrition goals. This can involve combining several approaches. To get started, you can choose a meal you’d like to prepare for — breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Keep it simple by starting with one you usually eat out or skip altogether.

Choose a day each week to plan your meals, go grocery shopping, and prepare. Wednesday and Sunday are often selected days. Choose how many meals you wish to prepare. Try out two or three days of preparation before trying five. You may not like eating the same thing every day of the week.

Read over your menu plan and note any necessary items next to each menu item. Next, create a shopping list. I strongly advise getting groceries online. You’ll not only save time, but you’ll also avoid impulsive purchases and finish up with everything you need for cooking.

The best food for meal prepping

Here’s the list of the best food for meal prepping. I think it’ll give you more ideas when planning your meals.

• Frozen vegetables: peas, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, green beans, veggie pastas, cauliflower pizza crust, riced veggies, veggie-based tater tots
• Starchy vegetables: parsnip, cassava, potato, yuca, taro, parsnip, sweet potato, canned pumpkin
• Stiff fresh vegetables: celery, carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, radish
• Sturdy greens: romaine, green leaf (dress just before serving)
• Whole grains: oats, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, sorghum
• Whole fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, clementines, plums, peaches, pears
• Pulses: chickpeas, lentils, beans, peas
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, chia, flax
• Lean protein: frozen or canned seafood, eggs, unsweetened Greek yogurt, skyr, reduced-sodium cottage cheese, shredded cheese, tofu, lean cuts of chicken, turkey, beef, pork

Step 3: Start prepping

You are prepared for this with your grocery list and meal plan. Plan one or two days per week for meal preparation. To begin with, choose one meal and concentrate on it. I guarantee that doing even little actions throughout the work week, like making a pot of rice, cutting some vegetables, or putting some chicken in the slow cooker, will help you out HUGELY. Moreover, kitchen gadgets like the Instant Pot and Air Fryer might be useful.

You may improve and prepare numerous meals at once after you’ve mastered preparing one or a few.

Remember

Prepared foods can remain refrigerated for 2–5 days or frozen for 3–4 months, depending on the ingredients. Make sure your freezer is maintained at 0°F (-18°C) or below and your refrigerator is kept at 40°F (5°C) or below to be safe and prevent food poisoning. Sealing food in airtight packaging or storage containers will not only keep bacteria out but also protect the flavor and lock moisture in.

As you can see, meal prep can be an easy way to encourage healthy eating habits, make a busy life easier, balance your work and life, and give you more time for yourself. Simply keep this in mind when you experience resistance.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have in a comment. I’m here to assist and I enjoy spreading the meal prep love!