Mastering Meal Prep – 6 Tips For Making Meal Prep A Breeze

Are you an “anything easy will do” type of person when it comes to mealtimes? Then you’ll benefit from a bit of meal prepping every now and then, especially if your goal is to lead a healthier lifestyle. 

Meal preparation brings the fun back into cooking and makes it less of a chore. It’ll also save you time while allowing you to enjoy a stress-free week. Here are some tips to ensure that your meal prepping is a breeze: 

1. Never Over Do It 

If you plan on preparing a whole week or month’s worth of food in a day, you are bound to feel tired at the end of it. That’s why it’s a good idea to break up the tasks and wash your produce ahead of time. Then, prepare a few sauces you can freeze and defrost when you need them. 

By using the best induction cookware, you can get every cooking job done quicker because these stovetops heat food quickly and evenly. Since there’s no residual heat from induction cooking, you’ll also avoid that unpleasant stereotype of “slaving over a hot stove.”   

2. Stock Your Pantry 

Stock your pantry once a month or weekly with the food items that you will need for the meals you’ll be preparing. Keep extra cans of tinned food, rice, and pasta as they won’t expire if you don’t use them immediately. To save extra time, consider ordering your groceries online and having them delivered. 

3. Store Recipes 

Trying new recipes is central to expert meal prepping. Store these recipes on a phone or tablet where you can find them and read through them with ease. If a recipe fails to impress, delete it right away so your device is home to only the best.  

4. Batch Cook 

Make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen by making large batches of every dish you prepare. For instance, if you’re preparing a hot batch of butternut soup, make extra. That way, you can freeze the extras and then warm them up when you’re ready to have butternut soup on a cold night.

5. Storage Containers 

Having a neat pantry and a clean fridge is important when meal prepping, making it easier to find your food items. Since you cannot freeze your veggies while they’re in your induction cookware, you should invest in high-quality storage containers. 

Glass containers are easy to put in a microwave and a good storage option for your foods. Once labeled, stack them up in your fridge in the order you intend on using them. 

6. Baby Steps 

For someone who has never sat down to plan their meals, it can seem like an awfully daunting task. The good news is that you don’t need to plan everything months in advance. Instead, start by planning your week’s main meals on a Sunday night, and gradually incorporate this weekly meal planning into your schedule. 

As you get used to the idea of planning a week’s worth of meals in advance, you can include plans for daily snacks, and eventually, take one Sunday a month to plan meals and snacks for the whole month. Eventually, you will reach a stage where you’re able to meal plan in as little as 15 minutes. 

While these tips are helpful, don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works for you and what doesn’t. Also don’t feel guilty if you deviate from the plan – one night of ordering takeout or repurposing leftovers from the previous night never hurts.