How To Prep Your Meal- A Beginner’s Guide

What is Meal Prep?

In simple terms, food preparation is the act of preparing food or portions of food in advance, and keeping it in the freezer or refrigerator for future use.

By making an effort in advance, this makes finding food at the table easier and more effective later when you may have small amount of time.

Some ways you can meal prep:

Heat up your ready make-food – you need to warm up food that has already been prepared.

Mix food in advance – make sure all the ingredients are mixed already (do not cook), then store in the freeze for later.

Ingredient prep / portioning things out – no need to cook simply chop and separate items.

Buffet style – prepares the ingredients in advance and mix and match to create a different blend.

Batch prep- cooks one ingredient in advance and support several meals next to it.

What are the advantages of prepping meals?

Put money aside for the future – because you’re not using too much ingredients or buying your lunch

Save time – prepping components or whole meals in advance means not spending much time cooking during the week. 

Reduce stress – one small thing you can worry about all week.

Eat healthy – it’s difficult to have an argument with simplicity. Food preparation really takes energy out of the equation!

Containers for meals prep

Here are some of my favourite containers:

Considering a certain amount of nutritious food preparation containers is very important, as it can help keep your food fresh and warm it evenly.

Snapware 2 cup holder containers – durable, refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher, and ready for pre-cooked meals

6 cups for storing glass containers – suitable for snacks or vegetables that are chopped already.

Pint size mason jars- can be use for storing vegetables, night oats, parfaits etc.

Stasher sandwiches bags – suitable for chicken marinades, refrigerator meals that are smaller and energy bites.

Gallon-sized refrigerator bags – ideal for refrigerated food.

Keeping It simple to begin

Trying to do everything at once in the kitchen is without a doubt too much to handle, therefore we suggest that going for one meal to start is enough.

Choose food that gives you the most grief. The meal you pick is the one you should focus on. You will even get the advantage of meal prepping by prepping just one meal in advance.

The first meal I like to prep myself is breakfasts. I always prepare my breakfast for the week at first, and then snacks and lunches come after that.

Four tips for meal prepping as a beginner:

Keep it simple– as we mentioned above, go for one single meal that pains you and focus on it that will keep you from getting frustrated, and you will still experience the benefits of preparing food!

Schedule it – Make sure you have it noted on your calendar. Block off time. The harder it is the better, therefore make it as difficult as possible to make excuses.

Use dependable recipes – Trying a new recipe that seems difficult may not be a good idea. Keeping it simple by using recipes you already have experience in using and which you know are tasty, is a good base to start off of.

Enjoy and reward yourself  – It’s always seem fun when your prepping and enjoying yourself, like most people out there, I like prepping with some music on the side. And bribing yourself with some coffee or a bit of snack wouldn’t hurt, right?

First step: plan your meal

The best way to plan your meal is by writing it down, whether it’s through a notepad, a piece of paper or any sort of software.

The advantages of planning are that you get to save time and become less worried, even if you don’t prepare your meal in advance.

If you have different type of meal every night, than the best way to start is by writing out your dinners.

And if you have the same breakfast and lunch almost every day, you should add breakfast and lunch next after dinner on your meal plan, to make it easy to fill in.

And for the last part of your plan, you should consider adding some healthy snacks.

Step Two: Make a shopping list and buy your groceries

The best thing to do first is take a look at your meal plan and write down everything you will need beside the menu item. You should then note down a shopping list with whatever type of notepad works best for you, I like to use the notes app on my iphone.

Do your shopping – Instead of going to the store to do you’re shopping, I highly recommend buying your groceries online. This is good because, you get to save some time and you are less likely to impulse buy, and will have everything from your cooking list.

Step three: Begin with your prepping!

Now that you have everything in place, you are ready to start with your prepping! Don’t forget to start with one meal which you should put all your focus on. Preparing your meal comes with so many different methods.

Strategies

If you thought prepping meant full meals, than you are absolutely wrong. Taking small steps such as preparing a batch of rice, cutting some veggies, or  putting some meats in the slow cooker are going to help you out a lot during the work week.

Let’s go through a list of some meal prep techniques. You can choose one or two that of your preference and go with it. If you don’t’ want to then you don’t have to use every one of these techniques, these are just ideas.

1. Prep your meal using the buffet style

 Many people like prepping their protein, veggies and carbs in advance, then using them for easy meals. Food such as salad, tacos and similar type of food would be good for this. I highly recommend to also prep a big portion of protein and use that as a base for multiple meals during the week.

Suggestions:

Chop your veggies or cut them long or in curling pieces. Use some seasoning to roast up your potatoes or vegetables. You should consider cooking up rice, pasta, quinoa and similar type of food. Shake vinaigrettes all at once, sauces etc.