If you are someone who aims to save time, money or just eat a healthier diet, meal prepping can help you achieve your goals. Meal prepping is setting aside a block of time once a week to prepare your meals for the coming week. Meal planning is different, where you find recipes that suit your schedule best. Meal prepping is actually preparing meals or ingredients ahead of time, storing them for when it’s time to use them. Some like making and freezing entire meals ahead of time. Some like preparing meals in individual containers for quick on-the-go lunches, or chopping and storing ingredients ahead of time. Regardless of your preferred method, meal prepping can help you reduce food waste, save money, and eat a healthier diet. Ready to get started? Here are some ways you can make your first meal prep a success.
Start small If you are a beginner– just starting with meal prep— it can be overwhelming to plan an entire week’s meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) in one go. You could consider starting off with just a few meals a week, or even just dinners, lunches, or snacks. You can begin to make positive changes to your meal planning habits immediately!
Make a checklist It also helps to write down everything you’ll need to do during your weekly meal prepping session. Collect all of your recipes and make a shopping list of all that you will be needing. This assures you that you will have the right ingredients on hand once prep day comes.
Invest in containers Meal prepping means you will be making meals or preparing ingredients for several days of meals at once. Because of this, it is important to invest in a set of quality food storage containers that are sturdy and reusable. 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 prep day, gather 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. Rotating the food in your pantry regularly is also a good way to avoid wasting money on expired food 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. It is best to schedule your meal prepping on the same day of the week and, at the same time, make it a consistent part of your meal planning system.
Prep smart While you might really love to prep everything fresh or from scratch, feel free to take some shortcuts when you need to. If chopping vegetables is too time-consuming (or is just not your thing), go ahead and buy pre-cut vegetables instead. Also, avoid elaborate meals in the meantime. While you want to include all the basic food groups into your meal plan if it becomes too challenging to keep up, scale back your meal prepping a bit. When you make your meal prepping sessions more efficient, you will most likely do it consistently.
Finally, keep in mind that meal prepping is different for everyone. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches until you find the system that suits your lifestyle best.
Are you in the market for a Waltham rental home with a kitchen where you can comfortably meal prep? Contact Real Property Management Commonwealth to view listings near you, or check out our available rentals online!
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