In the instance that you are looking to save time, money or to just simply eat a healthier diet, meal prepping can help you to attain your goals. Meal prepping is spending a block of time one day a week to produce for all of your coming meals. In contrast with meal planning, where you identify recipes to fit your schedule best, meal prepping is the actual preparation of meals or ingredients ahead of time and then storing them until it’s time to make use of them. Whether you wish to make and freeze entire meals ahead of time, prepare meals in individual containers for rapid on-the-go lunches, or chop and store ingredients ahead of time, meal prepping can help you decrease food waste, save money, and eat a healthier diet. Ready to actually start? Here are some tips to help enable your first meal prep to turn out favorably.
Start small. If you are really just starting with meal prep, it can become truly overwhelming to plan an entire week’s worth of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) altogether. Take into consideration getting started with only a few meals a week, or maybe just dinners, lunches, or snacks. You can embark on making positive changes to your meal planning habits speedily wherever you start!
Make a checklist. It’s an actually great idea to spend some time writing down everything you’ll need to do during your weekly meal prepping session. Collate your recipes and prep up a shopping list of various things you’ll need. This helps you make sure you have the ideal ingredients on hand when the prep day arrives.
Invest in containers. When finally start meal prep, you’ll be making meals or preparing ingredients for several days of meals at once. So, it’s relevant to invest in a set of quality food storage containers that you can reuse each week. It may take a few weeks to figure out just how many containers you will actually need, so just start with a medium-size set and then adding more containers as you go, if necessary. Don’t forget that glass containers are more eco-friendly and tend to last longer than plastic!
Gather ingredients. Just before your planned prep day transpires, start collecting the ingredients on your shopping list. The ideal place to commence doing this is by shopping in your pantry. Take stock of what you already have or can use and what you really need to buy. Try to rotate the food in your pantry repeatedly to prevent wasting money on expired food items. As a matter of fact, it’s a brilliant plan to actually find recipes that will allow you to use things you already have to maximize your meal prep efficiency.
Schedule enough time. Meal prepping can take several hours, contingent on how many and what type of meals you are preparing. Make it a point to set aside a good chunk of time for your weekly meal prepping session. It’s good to try and fulfill your meal prepping on the same day of the week and, beside that, to help make it a consistent part of your effective new meal planning system.
Prep smart. Although admittedly your utmost goal may be to prep everything fresh or from scratch, don’t be afraid to take a few shortcuts once you need to. By way of illustration, if chopping vegetables takes up too much time (or you just don’t like doing it), go ahead and secure pre-cut vegetables instead. Likewise, don’t try to go too big or very elaborate with your meals. Despite that, you have to include all of the basic food groups into your meal plan if you find yourself trying very hard and struggling to keep up, scale back your meal prepping to a slight extent. The more efficient you can make your meal prepping sessions, the greater the likelihood you will do it consistently every week.
One last thing, call to mind that meal prepping is different for everyone. You may consider experimenting with different approaches till you find a system that works best for you.
Are you in the market for a Bar Harbor rental home with a kitchen where you can comfortably meal prep? Contact Real Property Management Acadia to view listings near you, or visit and check out our available rentals online!
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