How To Make Meal Prep Easy!
In keeping with the common theme lately, today I’m sharing a bit about my meal prep and ways to make it easier for you! Think about it, we all have to eat. I remember growing up in a house where my mom cooked three meals a day. Most of my memories are of her in the kitchen! While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I know that it doesn’t work with my current schedule. By planning ahead and meal prepping, I’m able to eat well rounded meals no matter what my days look like. It can seem like such a daunting task but I’m going to share with you how to make meal prep easy!
One thing to remember is that you will need to set aside time to get this ready. Whether you want to prep ALL you meals ahead of time or just create certain staples for your meals throughout the week, you need to have an action plan. Obviously the first step of meal prepping is to go grocery shopping! In doing so, pick items that will not spoil before the end of the week. Also make sure you are using it all or you’re able to freeze and save it for later.
Plan Ahead
I do not suggest beginning your meal prep at 8PM on a Sunday evening when you normally go to bed by 9PM. Not only will you be cutting into your nightly routine, you’ll set yourself up to end the weekend stressed and anxious. That’s not way to end your day! Set aside an hour (or more depending of how intricate your plan is) one day a week to get everything ready. This also includes making sure all your pots, pans, and meal prep containers are cleaned. There’s nothing worse than stopping midway to wash dishes for all the food you’re cooking!
Be Reasonable
When I post pictures on Instagram of my meal prep, I’ll usually get comments about A) how nice it looks or B) how it’s so much food. Most of the time it’s all due to the way I stage the picture. When I chop my veggies, they are not pretty y’all! Honestly my sweet potatoes are the worse. By the time I get to the end I get lazy and just chop it into “bite” size pieces. My culinary skills will definitely not be on the Food Network any time soon. I don’t expect my food to be pretty all the time as long as it tastes good! As long as you prep all the food you wanted to cook, it doesn’t matter how it gets done or how it’s stored. I throw a BUNCH of stuff on sheet pans and pop those in the over. I’ll also throw in some protein in my air fryer and then toss them with veggies. Focusing on getting it done and not so much on making it pretty cuts down on the unnecessary hassle.
Semi-Homemade
I learned this from watching the Food Network too! While it’s great to make all your sauces and all that jazz, I know I don’t have time for it. I find sauces, mixes, and even pre-made meals and add them to my meal prep. My local grocery store has sides already prepared and ready to cook so I’ll buy those and add veggies to them to make them an entree! Another way I like to change up my muffins is to use Kodiak Cakes Pancake Mix! By using a high quality mix like Kodiak Cakes, you remove some of the steps to speed up meal prep! Anything you can do to save time, I say go for it!
Those are just some ways to simplify meal prepping. Feel free to share your thoughts on how to make meal prep easy!
