I just did my first meal prepping day. I don’t like having the same thing too often or I will get sick of it so I made different things but it took two days for me. Is there anyway I can condense the timing or if maybe there are things I can make that quicker? Any advice is appreciated. I made beef picadillo with rice, chicken teriyaki with rice, beef and potato bowls(not pictured), potato hash (not pictured), sausage egg and cheese sandwiches (not pictured), and protein beef pasta.
by No_Grand3256
8 Comments
If you dislike eating the same thing for multiple days, try preparing the individual ingredients like chicken, pre-cut some veggies and pre cook and freeze some rice (or other grain/carb source of your choice) and mix them on the day you are eating it. This way you can vary the sauce and some of the ingredients spontaneously while only having to batch cook once.
I make everything in an air fryer or on the stovetop, and depending on the size, it never takes more than 30 minutes.
Chicken, rice, beans, quinoa, lentils, corn, and Mac and Cheese all take 15 minutes or less to make, and just with these ingredients alone you can make a ton of different dishes
It takes alot to start this, but what i do is i have like 4-5 different meals in my freezer at a time. I work 3rd shift so im never home for dinner, so when the weekend comes i make a meal on saturday and add it to the freezer to replace one of the other meals, then i’ll make one meal during the weekdays as well. Ie: i have meatballs, goulash, chicken alfredo, and taco bowls in my freezer. And one of each in my fridge. Tomorrow i’ll make 4 portions of something, freeze 3 and use one this week.
Impressive!
Practice practice, you will get quicker and more efficient! This was probably the hardest and slowest you will ever do.
To a meal like yours I would add greens so you get a more interesting and more nutritious meal.
I make 6 meals the same, and put four in the freezer, so I will only eat two this week.
Keep doing that and it gradually builds up until you have a freezer full of great meals you can rotate.
Good luck!
1. Get bowls/trays with more than one compartment- Amazon sells 50 pack of 2 compartment plastic trays for less than $20. Most people on here are gonna tell you to get glassware, but that can be pricey. I had to use a coupon to get a decent deal on an 8 pack of glass containers,
2. Add a vegetables- Your meal should contain 1 protein, 1 starch, and one vegetables. They are nutritious, a great palate cleanser, and they brighten up the plate. If money is tight you can buy canned vegetables (I recommend ones without too many ingredients just the vegetables and water, salt is okay I guess), frozen vegetables (can be found cheap at places like Walmart or even some Dollar Tree locations) or even some fresh vegetables that are in season or on sale at your local store. You can steam them, boil them, sauté them, the possibilities are endless.
3. Make smaller and varied meals- you seem to have gotten this point. But for me instead of making like 12 servings for chicken and rice I’ll make like 4 servings of chicken and rice, 4 servings of homemade hamburger helper and steamed vegetables, and 4 servings of eggplant parmigiana.
4. Use appliances if you can- I don’t know if your finances are tight or if you have a lot of space or items for convenience, but look into appliances that can make meal prep more convenient for you. I love to use my slow cooker/crock pot for recipes. I’ll take the meat out and let it thaw in the day time then clean and season it at night and let it marinate in the fridge. The next morning I’ll put it in the slow cooker and turn it on low. By the time I get home the item is done and all I gotta do is make a pot of rice or some other starch. Usually there’s vegetables in the crockpot with the meat. If you want to look into it r/slowcooking has some great stuff.
I damaged two colanders trying to steam vegetables on the stove, so I splurged and spent $23 on a steamer. It can steam meats, vegetables, fruits, eggs, dumplings and bao buns. I use it to steam my vegetables and thanks to some of the tips from people on here they’re usually very vibrant green and delicious when I eat them.
5.Dont be afraid to branch out- There are tons of great meal ideas out there. I have a Pinterest that I browse on occasion when I want to look up copycat recipes or find cool stuff. There are apps that are great as well. Tasty is my favorite recipe app right now. I’m sure you’ve seen the videos on social media but the recipes are so delicious and the instructional videos are very quick; there’s a step breakdown that shows you how to make the item, there’s reviews, tips, and pics from other people who have made the recipe.
Gusteau had become my second favorite because it’s a really easy step by step interface and a lot of “common comfort” recipes.
Allrecipes.com is old school. They used to have an app but it’s no longer available. I still have some old recipes saved on there that I occasionally go back to.
6. Have fun! – feel free to experiment, try new things! Is there a certain fast food you like that you would like to replicate. Look for a copy cat recipe and make that for meal prep. A few weeks ago I made pork fried rice and twice fried chicken wings because I was craving Chinese food. I’ve also learned to make my own waffle breakfast sandwich for way less than it cost to keep buying Jimmy Dean Breakfast foods.
7. Look for the sales – Again, don’t know your financial situation, but If you’re tight on funds try shopping for foods that are on sale or low priced at your grocery store. Also If you want to splurge on take out there’s a. App called Too Good To Go where you can rescue food waste by buying a bag of food from a store that they would normally throw away at a very reduced rate(stores usually won’t allow you to pick the items) . I go to bagel shops that normally would charge nearly $20/bakers dozen in my area and get them for $5, place in a bag with a packet of cream cheese and butter and I have breakfast for like three workweeks ( I usually freeze the excess.
8. Look at other Subreddits for tips/ ideas – There r/eatcheapandhealthy r/budgetfood r/tonightsdinner
Here’s on of my favorite recent meal preps, kind of simple to make to be honest I got the recipes from Gusteau and Tasty. It’s a honey Turkey wing with Dominican rice, air fryer Maduros, and green beans. The other meal is Eggplant Parmigiana with steamed carrots and green beans. Those are the breakfast sandwiches I made with my waffle maker for work.
https://preview.redd.it/fzdmaecy2n4f1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=baba3641f656c0ff65648e1f76cea80b505d7ee7
I hope this helps someone, and I wish you the best of luck, your chicken looks good!
Why no vegetables?
Is that adobo?
Please post your recipe(s)!
We recently added a rule (#6) requiring either a recipe or list of ingredients, since it is so often requested. If you wouldn’t mind adding that we’d appreciate it!