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I used to loathe meal prep day. It would literally take me hours in the kitchen to accomplish such a simple task. I recently switched up my approach to meal prepping and it helped me cut down the process to just under an hour! I always have people asking me how I meal prep, what I cook, how much I cook etc., so I wanted to take some time to share this information with you all….read on and enjoy!
Step 1: Have a plan
Before you go to the food store and aimlessly walk around (I’ve done this too many times) take a minute and think about what you want to eat for the week. Once you know what you want to eat, start to figure out how much you want to eat. I used to just go with a food list thinking I’d be good to go, but I often found that I never came home with the right quantities of food. For example, I know that I need exactly 1.5 pounds of ground turkey to make all my lunches for the week. The more you meal prep, the better you’ll get at planning out your shopping trip.
Step 2: Stick to the basics
I highly suggest sticking to the basics when bulk cooking for the week. I always aim to have some form of meat, with a vegetable and carbohydrate source. For example, think chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli (See image below: chicken, sweet potato and broccoli is one of my favorite lunch combinations – especially when seasoned with Mrs. Dash or Kernel Seasons. See link at the bottom of the page to check them out!). Sticking to the basics, especially if you’re new to meal prepping will help from feeling completely overwhelmed with the process.
Step 3: Plan out cook times
When I meal prep, I like to see how much food I can cook at once. If I plan on baking chicken, I make sure to bake my sweet potatoes at the same time. Same thing with stove top cooking, if I’m cooking quinoa, I’m cooking my ground turkey at the same time. Lining up your cooking to overlap, can really help you cut down on overall time.
Step 4: Maximize your cook times
I like to make the most of my cook times by starting to clean up the prep areas. I also like to get all of my Tupperware and food scale ready to go for when all of my food is done.
Step 5: Weigh out and portion your food
Once your food is ready, it’s time to weigh it out. If this is your first time weighing and portioning out food it may seem a little tedious, but I promise with practice it gets easier.
Step 6: Clean up any remaining cooking supplies
You made it through your meal prep, don’t get lazy (like me) and leave all the dishes for later because I promise you won’t want to do them. Once your dishes are done, you’re meal prep is done.
All in all, your meal prep should take less than one hour. Follow these steps and don’t overthink it! What’s your favorite go to meal prep strategy? Comment below and let us know!
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awesome! thanks for the feedback!
This post is perfect! I have lost 20lbs ever since meal prepping but it still is hard to do with a busy schedule. This lays out a nice checklist and makes it easier! Thanks for the post!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it! I used to have the craziest schedule and didn’t want to waste all of my time at home in the kitchen prepping my food for the week. Congratulations on the weight loss!
Just had a baby, so this will be super helpful when it comes to getting my body back.
I just had a baby too! At 7 months postpartum I am currently sitting at 6 pounds less than my pre-baby weight. Our site will soon have a section dedicated to pregnant/postpartum women 🙂
I really need to start meal prepping. I’ve never tried it before, but it would make my life easier!
Definitely start meal prepping – have my lunches planned for the week is just one less thing to worry about.
I cook on my off-days and most of the days it takes me around an hour to plan and sort out things… To be very honest I really liked the way you presented each and every steps in this article… Thanks for sharing..!! 🙂
Thank you! I use this checklist myself when I cook – I find it much easier when I can just follow steps.
I believe meal prepping should be the first thing you should do when you want to lose weight. That’s if you don’t have time for the gym. Eating out is nice and all that but it’s hard to track macros since the person who is making the food is not consistent with the portion of the ingredients. Thank you for the awesome tips. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thank you so much for your feedback. I agree – what you are eating is way more important than the work you’re doing in the gym. I’m glad you liked our post 🙂
Thank you so much for this – I have to admit that I am only just trying to cook more and I suck at prep so all the tips I can get are well worth having.
Glad you liked the tips, the more you meal prep the easier it becomes to do!
I love how meal prepping takes the guesswork over what to eat, allows you to eat healthier, and is more cost efficient. Your tips will hopefully help me cut down the amount of time I spend on it so thank you!
One question I do have: How far ahead do you prep refrigerated meals? I always worry about prepping too many and it not being within safe food guidelines, so I’ve primarily stuck to prepping frozen dinners I can dump in the crockpot.
Ground turkey and quinoa typically keep in the fridge for a 5 day period – which would be perfect for the 5 day workweek. I usually do my large meal prep on Sunday and if necessary I will do a small one on Wednesday-Thursday to make sure my food stays fresh for the rest of the week. We normally cook our dinners every night and just use our meal prep for lunches while we are out of the house.
My teen is into meal prep. He has discovered that healthy eating is helping him run faster.
Eating a healthy balanced diet always does help us perform better during exercise 🙂
Meal planning has always been in one of my top to do list. I seriously need to purchase some Tupperwares!
Do it! Start today 🙂
I really needed to read this post, because I too struggle with “timing” and how long it takes me to make a simple meal. Thanks for the info 🙂
You’re welcome! We are glad that you liked our post 🙂
Meal prep is the best way to eat healthy when I’m super busy. I think stick to the plan when shopping is the most important! Always remind myself buy apple don’t buy an apple pie.
lol! it definitely is the best way to stay on track 🙂
This is such a great idea. It looks like you are meal prepping for only one person. Maybe I could use this when I am dieting and still trying to cook for the rest of the family at the same time.
I normally meal prep for my fiance and myself. I usually do the math of how much protein we each need for the week and bulk cook then I’ll divide the portions later. 🙂
I like to meal prep too..as a working woman, it helps me save a lot of time and give time for other things such as writing. Also, I am in love with instant pot, makes cooking a lot easier.
Love the instant pot as well!
Thank You for making this so easy! I love your your by step process and inspired to do this too! Looking forward to saving some time ☺️
Awesome, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Such a great easy meal preparation! Something I am looking for!
Awesome 🙂
I definitely need to meal prep more. I want to buy a bunch of the containers that will help a lot!
That will definitely help !
Step 4 is a skill I learned early in life – it’s so nice to have everything cleaned up by the time a meal is done. I just wish I could get my kids to embrace the idea!
I agree, it really is relieving to know that you’ll be all cleaned up by the time your food is done!
I love your ideas! I totally do best staying on track when I meal prep.
Meal prep really does help us stay on track throughout the week.
These were some amazing ideas! I clean as I cook as well. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks for checking us out 🙂
Meal planning is something I should have started a long time ago. With out busy schedules this will make things so much easier.
Meal planning really does help keep us on track 🙂