Question for Meal Preppers

searsvls

I find meal preppers facinating. I do well to make my breakfast and lunch the night before. I really would like to start doing it for several days in advance. I am just curious if preppers ever eat frozen meals and/or sandwiches in addition to their own meals. I love seeing the pictures that many of you post with the neat containers and the food measured out but I never see sandwich stuff. I understand about the bread setting soggy but do you ever make the filling and take bread on the side. I would like to hear your reasons for the way that you do things.

Queenmunchy

I make my own frozen meals and eat them later. I don't eat sandwiches, but if I were going to make a sandwich, it takes a few minutes, so there is not any need to prep that ahead of time (except for lunch the next day which I do for the little one).

Freezer meals help me save money so I'm not wasting time/energy (cooking once for many, many servings), not wasting food (cooking it before it goes bad), and I feel good knowing I'm serving my family healthy, veggie-packed food that I made with my own hands.

Why would I want to cook eggs everyday if I can make a frittata that will serve me 6 times? Similarly, I wouldn't make a cup of chili or one burrito or 3 meatballs or nuggets. If I'm going to put the effort in, I'd rather it be once!

And I've done this for 7 years now and can't IMAGINE having to cook and clean everyday between work, child activities, late meetings, etc. I can have a healthy meal on the table in under 10 minutes with virtually no cleanup.

BigLifter10

I do it strictly for convenience and health. I am one of those who will readily grab anything in a package because I hate to cook. When I finally get ready to prep ( I do it twice a week - typically Sun and Wed, but that sometimes changes depending on what's going on) I am so glad to get it over with. I want to be healthy and stay healthy. My choices to eat pre-packaged stuff will not enhance my health. It's to the point now, that I just FEEL so much better that I can't even imagine having fast food or boxed cake. And I LOVED triple coconut cake from Pepp. Farm (eat it all in one sitting). If I ever need a piece, I'll have it, but so far, that hasn't happened.

In a nutshell, it's inconvenient while shopping/prepping (two hours or so), but it's way more convenient to eat throughout the week without having to do a lot of cooking!

preaser

When I was a kid we would make all our sandwiches for the week and freeze them. (i grew up in a large family)Now, I make mine the night before and refrigerate and it's always fine the next day. I freeze leftover pasta and rice/chicken dishes. Most meals freeze well.

dawnmcneil10

I use mason jars to make up a few days of fruit and greek yogurt parfaits for a daily snack. I either dump the granola in before I leave home or keep some granola in my desk for when the mood hits.

Most of my lunches consist of leftovers and are either fresh or something I've made up and tossed in the freezer for grab and go.

Breakfast I have at home, I specifically set aside the time to cook in the am. It never takes me more than a few minutes and sometimes I'll make a breakfast casserole or french toast bake and cook it while I shower and dress.

DedRepublic

searsvls wrote: »

I find meal preppers facinating. I do well to make my breakfast and lunch the night before. I really would like to start doing it for several days in advance. I am just curious if preppers ever eat frozen meals and/or sandwiches in addition to their own meals. I love seeing the pictures that many of you post with the neat containers and the food measured out but I never see sandwich stuff. I understand about the bread setting soggy but do you ever make the filling and take bread on the side. I would like to hear your reasons for the way that you do things.

Bread is not in my meal plan. It is not that I do not like bread. I love bread, but I prefer to get my carbs from sweet potatos, white rice, carbohydrate powders, and veggies, and time them in a way to best suit my goals.

I have all the food I need in my house on Saturday, and cook on Sundays. I have a large freezer in my garage. If I am running the oven I fill it. Clean up time is about the same for 5 or 30 meals. So I'll load up fish and chicken in the oven with Sweet Potatoes all while browning ground turkey on the stove top while the rice cooker is going. It is about being efficient with your time. Once complete I am usually good for two weeks.

Some of my meals are powder meals so I have purchased many Shaker Cups and just preload supplements into them...that way I can just grab and go in the morning. This also helps me plan my supplement purchases.

mdt07

I use to do weekly prep but I found that I like variety too much. So there are times I prep all meals for a day the night before. If I decide to do a sandwich I just keep the bread and filling separate. I do freeze pasta or rice casseroles in small containers so they are easy to thaw and cook quickly. Meal Prep over a few days saves quite a bit of time because you have less daily clean up and you are not waiting for meals to cook.

miriamtob

I do cooksmarts. It gives me the menu, shopping list and meal prep instructions each week, so I never had to learn how to do a cook up; I just follow their instructions.

searsvls

DedRepublic, I am fascinated by the picture with your meals. Talk about organization!! Do you freeze some of them? How long does it take you on Sundays? You are inspiring!!!

searsvls

Miriamtob, Thanks for the Cooksmarts idea. I looked at the website. Looks great!

as9823

I go by the grocery store Sunday after church. Buy all my supplies for three different entres (whatever I decide to eat that week) I compile each entre with a lean protein source and a complex carb source. I make five servings of each meal. So I prep fifteen meals a week as soon as I get home from the grocery store. That's three solid meals a day Monday-friday that are prepped. My snacks are all veggie and or cashews/almonds, so I don't include those into the prepped meals. I usually will just cook single meals on Saturday or grill for the family. And start over on Sunday.

softblondechick

When I prep veggies for week, I make egg salad. Or cut up a chicken, ie, tear down rotisserie chicken, so it is ready for salads.

The bonus of veggies prep is at end of week you throw stuff in a crockpot and decide what it looks like, soup, chili, and you make a batch of that for eating, freezing.

G33K_G1RL

Since I started meal prep, I haven't gone to the cafeteria except once (I forgot my lunch on the counter )

It's a lot less trouble to weigh and track food. I track once while I prep, the make an MFP recipe with the correct number of servings. Doesn't really matter if the servings aren't exact since at the end of the week I've eaten them all.

I change recipes every week, and alternate meats. So it never gets boring! Also I can take advantage of whatever meat is less expensive that particular week.

So it saves time, saves money and means I waste so much less food than before.

livingleanlivingclean

I don't buy frozen meals (bleh), and I don't often eat sandwiches. Recently I've been having wraps for lunch though - i take my pre prepared salad/meatballs/HB egg/mayo in a container, the wraps in their package, and make them up as I eat.

We prep food for dinners in a Sunday and freeze it raw (vegies and meat) to cook fresh each night, and salads and breakfast are made on Sunday.

DedRepublic

searsvls wrote: »

DedRepublic, I am fascinated by the picture with your meals. Talk about organization!! Do you freeze some of them? How long does it take you on Sundays? You are inspiring!!!

Takes about an hour on Sunday's...sometimes 1/2 hour depending on which meal I need prepped for he week. I try to stay ahead.

Oh yeah...about that freezer...

Queenmunchy

Haha @DedRepublic, your freezer looks like mine! I've done this for 7 years but never splurged on a standup freezer (single mom and bought a house 3 years ago). My parents bought one for me as a christmas present last year and I think I went nuts prepping 8 weeks worth at a time for weeks!
I honestly can't imagine how some parents can cook everyday while we need to do homework, bring the kids to extracurriculars, bathe them, etc. I make my time work for me!

DedRepublic

Queenmunchy wrote: »

Haha @DedRepublic, your freezer looks like mine! I've done this for 7 years but never splurged on a standup freezer (single mom and bought a house 3 years ago). My parents bought one for me as a christmas present last year and I think I went nuts prepping 8 weeks worth at a time for weeks!
I honestly can't imagine how some parents can cook everyday while we need to do homework, bring the kids to extracurriculars, bathe them, etc. I make my time work for me!

Yes, Yes, and yes...you ROCK!!! Honestly people think I'm nuts...but if they only knew how lazy I am!!! Ha ha...I prep on Sundays...like even my powder meals and preworkouts in color coded shaker...so I can just grab and go. I spend ZERO time during Monday-Friday cooking. I also spend ZERO dollars buying food Mon through Friday

BigLifter10

DedRepublic wrote: »

Queenmunchy wrote: »

Haha @DedRepublic, your freezer looks like mine! I've done this for 7 years but never splurged on a standup freezer (single mom and bought a house 3 years ago). My parents bought one for me as a christmas present last year and I think I went nuts prepping 8 weeks worth at a time for weeks!
I honestly can't imagine how some parents can cook everyday while we need to do homework, bring the kids to extracurriculars, bathe them, etc. I make my time work for me!

Yes, Yes, and yes...you ROCK!!! Honestly people think I'm nuts...but if they only knew how lazy I am!!! Ha ha...I prep on Sundays...like even my powder meals and preworkouts in color coded shaker...so I can just grab and go. I spend ZERO time during Monday-Friday cooking. I also spend ZERO dollars buying food.

Okay, I have been trying to tell myself it's okay to buy more Blender Bottles because I use them up so fast and get so tired of washing them out all the time (and it does feel like ALL the time). But, now that I see this ......hmmm, I may have to consider getting another 10 to add to my collection of SIX.

DedRepublic

BigLifter10 wrote: »

DedRepublic wrote: »

Queenmunchy wrote: »

Haha @DedRepublic, your freezer looks like mine! I've done this for 7 years but never splurged on a standup freezer (single mom and bought a house 3 years ago). My parents bought one for me as a christmas present last year and I think I went nuts prepping 8 weeks worth at a time for weeks!
I honestly can't imagine how some parents can cook everyday while we need to do homework, bring the kids to extracurriculars, bathe them, etc. I make my time work for me!

Yes, Yes, and yes...you ROCK!!! Honestly people think I'm nuts...but if they only knew how lazy I am!!! Ha ha...I prep on Sundays...like even my powder meals and preworkouts in color coded shaker...so I can just grab and go. I spend ZERO time during Monday-Friday cooking. I also spend ZERO dollars buying food.

Okay, I have been trying to tell myself it's okay to buy more Blender Bottles because I use them up so fast and get so tired of washing them out all the time (and it does feel like ALL the time). But, now that I see this ......hmmm, I may have to consider getting another 10 to add to my collection of SIX.

It was a difficult decision...it's like...who the hell needs so many blender bottles?? And why must I have them color coded?? It simply helps me to be consistent...and...helps me know when to place more supplement orders....I can stay ahead this way...it's like an assembly line putting them together though...really saves time.

TavistockToad

searsvls wrote: »

I find meal preppers facinating. I do well to make my breakfast and lunch the night before. I really would like to start doing it for several days in advance. I am just curious if preppers ever eat frozen meals and/or sandwiches in addition to their own meals. I love seeing the pictures that many of you post with the neat containers and the food measured out but I never see sandwich stuff. I understand about the bread setting soggy but do you ever make the filling and take bread on the side. I would like to hear your reasons for the way that you do things.

Why would you need to prep a sandwich?! It's not like it takes long to make one!

NewMeSM75

@DedRepublic That truly is awesome!!

cindytw

searsvls wrote: »

I find meal preppers facinating. I do well to make my breakfast and lunch the night before. I really would like to start doing it for several days in advance. I am just curious if preppers ever eat frozen meals and/or sandwiches in addition to their own meals. I love seeing the pictures that many of you post with the neat containers and the food measured out but I never see sandwich stuff. I understand about the bread setting soggy but do you ever make the filling and take bread on the side. I would like to hear your reasons for the way that you do things.

I don't eat sandwiches persay but do wraps with non-traditional wraps like Gem wraps (fruit leather-ish) and Coconut wraps. In that case I prep last minute but for real meals I do ahead. Like 10 chicken thighs, 24 Pork Apple poppers, 2 racks of ribs, 8 turkey burgers...you get the idea. Just make more of whatever you have and save the rest for laer.

ThatLadyFromMN

Love these!! I'm seriously considering getting into it more, I'll put salads in mason jars and then deconstruct a rotisserie chicken at the beginning of the week... but I always get so bored! I need better ideas. Maybe this week I'll grill up a bunch of chicken breasts and steam up a bunch of veggies.

wfrazjr

I have tried meal prepping and it really helps me. I am not a sandwich person, but you could make the sandwich meats that you want and place them in the snack size Ziploc bags and place the breads in a normal Ziploc. I normally eat almonds, pecans & cashews for snacks and place those in the little 1/2 cup containers.

DedRepublic

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Katiebear_81

@DedRepublic - I am so incredibly inspired by your organization and dedication! It makes me want to go shopping RIGHT NOW to do all the prepping!

Before I got divorced, my routine would be to go grocery shopping on Sunday at 6 am, then spend the next few hours cooking, chopping and prepping the week's meals. It made my life with my kids and ex run so much more smoothly. Further, if someone needed a snack... BAM! Cut up peppers and hummus (or whatever it was). I could literally just pull food out of the fridge and have it on the table in a minute. I'm apparently just not as dedicated to prepping these days.

mkakids

I freeze sandwiches all the time.

Right now, in my freezer are 20 pbj, 20 balogna and mayo and 20 Turkey, mayo and cheese. Theses are for my kids lunches. I add tomato and spinach in the morning before I toss them in their lunch boxes.

I usually freeze a months worth of lunch sandwiches at a time.

VegasFit

I meal prep on Sundays but just my proteins and whateverfruit I need to cut up. Breakfast is a smoothie I make at home or oats when I get to work. I don't do bread or frozen meals eitther jut cause I'm just not a fan. For the veggie portion I'm pretty lazy. I buy the Costco Spring Mix and take the whole container to work for the week and just make my salads there or I take frozen veggies. Sometimes I will make my own protein bars for snacks.

I use http://www.sixpackbags.com/ to transport my lunches and it helps me stay on track cause when I got my first bag I told myself if it didn't come in the bag with me to work I wouldn't eat it.

@DedRepublic, impressive meal prep and I thought I had a lot of shaker bottles!

DedRepublic

Wow I have been getting meal prep questions today....happy to help...but I made a video for my blog last year when I was prepping for a physique competition that explains what I do and presents some general concepts....and might give you guys a few ideas. This also details my fish prep. Might be a little long...but hopefully can add value to this thread.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TLy_omolyUY

DedRepublic

Steph38878 wrote: »

@DedRepublic That truly is awesome!!

Thanks bud...it really makes your week easier.

Queenmunchy

Love it! I want to make a video too!!