The Ultimate Guide to Meal Prepping!

It seems like meal prepping is always on my Pinterest feed, so over the summer I decided to try my hand at it… I think meal preps are the perfect way to ensure that you are eating healthy foods regardless of how much time you have to cook lunch/dinner, so I would definitely recommend trying it out sometime! 🍽 If you have any questions about anything regarding meal prepping, look no further because I have the Meal Prep 101 guide in store for you all today. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Figure out a day and time that you will do your meal prepping – I personally liked to do it on Sundays after lunch, as it allowed me to get everything cooked and ready before dinner (thus, giving me the whole night off to enjoy before work the next morning).

Step 2: Find the containers you will be using – Before you start cooking, I suggest finding all the containers you will need. There are many options:

Bento boxes – These containers are perfect for meal prepping and come in plastic (try to be sustainable and avoid!), wood, and metal/stainless steel.
Stainless steel tupperware – As part of my journey towards zero waste, I bought a set of stainless steel tupperware to use for meal prepping, takeout, and storing leftover food.
Mason jars – Easy for one dish meals (like stir fry, fried rice, etc.), salads, and yogurt.
Reusable sandwich bags – I mentioned trying to replace Ziploc bags in my post about plastic alternatives, and I love my reusable sandwich bags!
Plastic tupperware – While these aren’t the sustainable choice, most people have them already in their kitchens… Do what is easiest for you!

Step 3: Plan out what foods you will want to make – This depends totally on what you want to eat for the days you are meal prepping! If you don’t have any good recipes in mind, I would recommend looking through Pinterest… But, make sure you remember that meal prep doesn’t need to be fancy – prepare the foods you would usually cook! Here is my formula for the perfectly prepped meal:

Protein (meat, tofu, beans, etc.) + Carbs (grains, rice, bread, etc.) + Vegetable + Something sweet (try fruit instead of baked goods!)

= The meal prep of perfection

If you think you will be hungry, try adding some sort of snacky food as well (nuts, pretzels, anything else from bulk bins)!

Step 4: Actually cook the food – This will take however long each component of your meal takes to cook. 😃

Step 5: Put the food into your containers and put into fridge/freezer until needed – After packaging up everything nicely, let cool for a bit before closing the lids (this will prevent steam from making anything soggy). I put half of my meals into the fridge for the upcoming days, and the other in the freezer to take out mid-week… Do what works best for you (which also depends on how many days you meal prepped)!

Step 6: When ready to eat, heat up in microwave/over the stove. Enjoy! – I hope your meal prepping has allowed you to enjoy healthier meals without the stress of trying to cook right after getting home from work. 👍

What are your tips and tricks for meal prepping?

Feel free to pin this to save it for later!

Love,
Jenna ♥

Share this post!

You may also like...

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

lifeofanearthmuffin