Meal prep is a term used to describe the act of preparing your meals, such as lunches and dinners, ahead of time. By meal prepping, you can use your time more effectively, save money, and have more time to relax after a long day at work. It is also a great habit to get into if you are trying to eat healthier. By preparing your meals in advance, it is easier to stay on track with your healthy meals, and you have good food to reach for when you are hungry.
Here are some top tips to help you get started with meal prep.
#1 Make a plan
You should start by making yourself a meal plan. This will include what meals you are going to prepare along with the ingredients and instructions (for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks), when you can go food shopping, and when you can make time to prepare the food. You’ll need to set aside a couple of hours for prepping. Making a plan will ensure you only spend money on the ingredients that you need, you can easily stay on track, you have all the cooking utensils at home that you need, and the right amount of Tupperware to safely and securely store your food to last.
#2 Start simple
If you are new to meal prepping, it is important that you start small and simple. Cooking a large quantity of food can be overwhelming at first, and if you overdo it, then you may not cook the meals correctly, miss out on important steps, or give up. It can be a good idea to start with one meal for the week, or just prepare food for a couple of days. The food that you choose to prepare should be easy to make, and meals that you enjoy. This will make it much easier to stick with throughout the week. It is up to you whether you choose to eat the same meal for dinner for a few days or cook different ones. If you cook different ones, keep in mind it will make the process a little more timely.
#3 Experiment with different food
Once you have prepared some basic meals for yourself and start to get the hang of meal prep, you can pick up the pace. Start to experiment with different food and different types of meal prep. You can choose to prep your entire week of meals in advance, or you can prep parts of your meals, for example, the vegetables, and then cook your meat fresh in an easy and convenient Farberware Air Fryer. This is a great way to mix up your meals or create buffet-style food that you can mix and match throughout the week. Alternatively, you can cook full meals to reheat in advance or prepare the ingredients, such as the sauces, to make cooking on the day more efficient.
Putting in the effort ahead of time to plan, cook and prepare your meals for the week is a great way to stay on track with healthy eating habits, save yourself a lot of money, make your life easier, and have more time to relax after a long day at work.