Do you want to save time, money or simply eat a healthier diet? Meal planning can help you achieve your goals! Meal prepping is scheduling a certain block of time on one day a week to prepare for all of your upcoming meals. Unlike meal planning, which entails finding recipes to fit your schedule best, meal prepping is the actual preparation of meals or ingredients ahead of time and then storing them until they will be used. 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 a few ways you can be successful when it comes to your first meal prep.
Start small Preparing an entire week’s worth of meals can be overwhelming for someone just starting with meal prep. You might want to start with just a few meals a week or maybe just dinners, lunches, or snacks. You can immediately begin the positive changes to your meal planning habits!
Make a checklist Writing down everything you need to do during your weekly meal prepping session is a good idea. Collect all your recipes and make a shopping list of all that you will be needing. Doing this will ensure that you will have the right ingredients available when the prep day arrives.
Invest in containers During meal prep, you will be making meals or preparing ingredients for several days of meals at one time. This is why investing in a set of quality food storage containers that you can reuse multiple times is important. 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. Keep in mind that glass containers are more eco-friendly and usually last longer than plastic.
Gather ingredients A few days before your planned prep day, start gathering the ingredients on your shopping list. Your pantry is the best place to start shopping. Take stock of what you already have 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 the quantity and type of meal you are preparing. Make sure to allot a good chunk of your time for your meal prepping session. As much as possible, do your meal prepping on the same day of the week and, at the same time, make it a consistent part of your new meal planning system.
Prep smart Even if your ultimate goal is to prep everything fresh or from scratch, be at liberty to take a few shortcuts as the need arises. For example, you can buy pre-cut vegetables if chopping vegetables takes up too much of your time (or you just don’t like doing it). Also, do not attempt elaborate meals at this time. As much as you want to include all the basic food groups into your meal plan, if you find yourself struggling, scale back your meal prepping a bit. When you are more efficient in your meal prepping session, you are more likely to do it consistently every week.
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 Taunton rental home with a kitchen where you can comfortably meal prep? Contact Real Property Management Success to view listings near you, or check out our available rentals online!
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