It’s Thursday morning and you’re already running late because that silly alarm forgot to go off again! As you finish getting dressed, you’re also trying to get the kids breakfast and make sure their backpacks are all set. Finally you’re filing into the car and you realize you didn’t grab anything for your lunch break. “I’ll just go grab something quick during my break,” you tell yourself. Lunch time rolls around and you find yourself scraping up a few dollars to get the same meal you’ve had the past three days.
We’ve all had these weeks before, but it’s time to switch things up! Ever heard of meal prepping? Meal prepping can be done in many different ways but is basically putting together meals for the week ahead of time so that you don’t have to prepare them each day. How is this done? Well, one way is to make a large batch of something like a stir fry, and then divide it into portions that you can pull out of the fridge and in just a few minutes of microwaving have a full meal. Save it in a container so it’s ready to go when you are.
It turns out there are a lot of great benefits to preparing some of your meals ahead of time:
- Control what you eat. By preparing your meals before the chaos, you can choose what you are going to eat later that week. This a perfect chance to try new recipes and make sure you are eating a balanced meal.
- Less trips to the store. If you don’t like the idea of having to go food shopping all the time, meal prepping may be the perfect solution for you. You will only have to go shopping on meal prep days when you put your plan together. Since you already know what you are going to need, your trip to the store will be quicker.
- Save money. If you decide to prep the same lunch for each day, like our stir fry from earlier, you can buy your ingredients in bulk. This often allows you to save a few extra dollars. Plus, you won’t be paying restaurant prices every day, saving you a few more. See The Fours of Food Storage to keep up on how to store your bulk items.
- Save time preparing during the week. Though preparing meals on meal prep day may take up some time, having food prepped can actually save you more time throughout the week. This is great for when times get busy. Rather than cooking a casserole the night of, you can just pull one from the freezer and finish baking it off. And, if you have dinner already prepared, you can spend more time in the evening doing other things like getting in some exercise or squeezing in a fun game with the family.
- Meal prepping allows for the whole family to get involved. Everyone can pick a meal they want during the week, making it easier to put together your shopping list. This time is also a great chance to teach the kids healthy eating habits and cooking skills.
So what are you waiting for? Check out our other post to join us and get started!
I like that you pointed out that although while meal preparation on meal prep day may take some time, having the food prepared might really help you save time during the week. You also mentioned how helpful this is when things become busy. My coworker, who recently shared her wellness and exercise objectives for this year with me, will hear about this from me. A meal prep service might undoubtedly help with that. https://www.atozdinners.com