A crucial step of adulthood is balancing work, life and health. Unlike buying pre-made meals, which inevitably drains your bank account faster than you might expect, meal prepping is a life skill that can save you time and money.
The first and most crucial step is strategizing how you’ll get into your meal prep game plan. Some of the most basic and useful packaging includes Ziploc bags, reusable silverware, plastic wrap, a lunch box and an ice pack or thermos container.
Knowing what’s in your cabinet is crucial to saving time and money, especially when dealing with foods that can potentially expire quickly after purchase.
A common strategy is having a few staple items in your cabinet or to consistently purchase. Green onions are a great, inexpensive and versatile vegetable to have on hand. Whether you use them as a garnish or bite right into them as a snack, they’re a healthy option for a variety of dishes.
Couponing and looking through sales ads are also ways to find fresh ingredients in bulk at their cheapest.
Finally, look at your schedule to fit in time for meal prepping. If you have a large quantity of fresh ingredients, try to use them as soon as possible to prevent rotting. If you have frozen ingredients, make sure you have ample time to let them defrost.
Bulk prep and cooking is the most common style associated with meal prepping. This requires doing most if not all of your meal cooking at once, then packing it into containers. If you have absolutely no time on weeknights, this is a great strategy. If you have time to cook but not prep, packing your ingredients into containers and then using the pre-packed ingredients when you are needing to cook and eat is also effective.
Your other option is to cook all of your ingredients, store them in freezable containers and put them into the freezer. This is handy if you like to reheat more complicated dishes like lasagna or certain soups.
Dedicating time in your schedule is also a common practice for maintaining consistent meal prepping. You need to know your resources and time management to make meal prep a possibility.
The hardest part is starting, then it’s about adapting to suit your lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle isn’t achieved overnight, but working it in through small practices like meal prep can make adulting a lot less stressful.
