HELP! Meal prepping newbie!

savalex0808

I need prepping ideas. The worst for me is prepping 4 or 5 days and then deciding on day 3, I REALLY don't want to eat "this" again today. Ideas?

janejellyroll

Have you considered freezing meals? I am not a huge fan of traditional meal prep, but I love to make a big batch of freezer-friendly food, eat some of it right away and then freeze the rest in individual servings. At any given time, I'll have 4-5 frozen meals in my freezer and I can grab the one that appeals to me without feeling like I have to eat the same thing over and over.

everher

I don't meal prep for this reason. Meal prepping isn't for everyone.

I do meal plan on Sundays which is basically me deciding what I want to eat for the week and making sure everything fits into my calories then going out and buying the stuff.

kommodevaran

I just meal plan, too, and the necessary "pre-prep" - portioning, freezing, cutting, boxing, and then thawing and soaking overnight and cooking from fresh. It doesn't take long to cook one portion. This works for me because I want what I have planned (because I only plan meals I like), and the plan is flexible enough so I can move things around a bit whenever necessary.

Oh, I forgot, every Monday (usually) I make a soup or casserole that is enough for two days, so I don't cook on Wednesdays (usually). And most of my meals are "lazy cooking" (protein, starch, veg, nothing fancy).

toxikon

Here are my favourite things to meal-prep:

- Quiche, chicken pot pie, shepherd's pie
- Lasagna
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
- Curry chicken (Thai or Indian - so many options)
- Meat + Steamed Broccoli (pork-chops, chicken thighs, whatever you want)
- Soups, stews, chili
- Pulled pork with pureed cauliflower mash (or mashed potatoes)
- Breakfast burritos

I usually prep a meal or two every Sunday. I divide them into serving-size tupperwares and freeze 75% of them and the rest go into the fridge. My fiancee and I will eat them throughout the week for lunch and dinner. Then pull more from the freezer as needed. After a while you have a nice variety to choose from in the freezer, and they keep a long time if they're sealed well.

lorrpb

Prep for 4-5 days, then freeze half the portions. Do this weekly and soon you'll have a nice selection of frozen portions to choose from for variety. Prep your protein, such as chicken, then add different flavors & accompaniments, etc daily, asian, mexican, Italian, etc, whatever appeals to you.

RodaRose

Maybe instead of the big prep for five days out, trying cooking every other day --- cook a big meal to eat one night and eat the other half of the meal the second day.

MrsMcLaughlin2013

I usually only prep breakfast and lunch for the week...and I make sure I have a variety. So Ill do 2 proteins, and then vary the veggies (or make 3-4 different salad dressings) then use the excess of all of it for dinners and just try to mix up the combinations.

savalex0808

Jalapeño popper chicken casserole sounds awesome! I may need that recipe.
Sounds like I have to make room in the freezer and start freezing more of my meals. Thanks

WendyLeigh1119

There's no need to prep, honestly and I've never done it. I don't use a food scale, either despite having one right on the counter. There are no rules to this and the less you alter your normal life with tedious rules, the easier it is to follow it, IMO.

The only prep I do is fill my water bottles the night before the gym so they're super-cold all day.

Just eat normally. Stock the house with healthy, organic stuff as well as enough stuff to make sure you have variety. We have an apartment size fridge (super small) and can't really store frozen or prepped stuff. So we grow herbs and mint in pits on our steps and cook on the charcoal grill a lot.

When you have fresh herbs outside your door, it's so much easier to "season" and flavor everything from meats to homemade pizzas to fresh fruits and smoothies without adding oils, rubs, dressings (ie: calories) etc.

I find cooking on the grill on the weekends in huge portions is both fun and effective as "prep" for non cooking nights or fast meals.

Saving the veggie medley, meat leftovers, etc means I get to eat grilled carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, chicken and fish whenever I please with nothing added but herbs (meaning I get to eat more volume and not worry about added calories). If I had to eat plain chicken and veggies off the stove? Blahhh. It makes a huge difference.

The grill flavor of charcoal is plenty (and you just lay wet herbs over the coals and close the lid for amazing flavor). Then save it and it's good hot or cold out of the fridge (I prefer meat cold)! Then you have easy lunches to pack or eat and can use some sides with a tuna steak you make or the veggies in a stir fry or whatever later in the week.

toxikon

WendyLeigh1119 wrote: »

There's no need to prep, honestly and I've never done it.

Just eat normally.

I find cooking on the grill on the weekends in huge portions is both fun and effective as "prep" for non cooking nights or fast meals.

Saving the veggie medley, meat leftovers, etc means I get to eat grilled carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, chicken and fish whenever I please with nothing added but herbs (meaning I get to eat more volume and not worry about added calories). If I had to eat plain chicken and veggies off the stove? Blahhh. It makes a huge difference.

At first you say you never meal-prep, but then you go on to say that you make huge portions of grilled food to enjoy in the future? That's meal-prepping, lol!

Meal-prep is just a word used to describe cooking in bulk. It doesn't have to be sad, unseasoned chicken breasts. There's no reason to think that grilling and fresh foods are not compatible with meal prep.

savalex0808

Yeah! Meal prepping bland chicken sucks! Make lunch so fun to look forward too.

jgnatca

I'm a variety girl. At the same time, home cooking is cheap and convenient. Prepping is the best defence against fast food.

What I do is when I make a big meal, I pack up the extra. Make one big meal a week in five weeks you've got a different meal every night.

Chilli freezes well.

I slice up a roast and package dinner size portions so I have a bunch of pre cooked meats I mix and match with my sauces and my starches.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

mybigfat

I prep every 3 days with sundays dinner being my cheat meal. That way i keep things mixed up

StealthHealth

janejellyroll wrote: »

Have you considered freezing meals? I am not a huge fan of traditional meal prep, but I love to make a big batch of freezer-friendly food, eat some of it right away and then freeze the rest in individual servings. At any given time, I'll have 4-5 frozen meals in my freezer and I can grab the one that appeals to me without feeling like I have to eat the same thing over and over.

^^same.

Per up a big batch, eat one that night, save one for later in the week, portion up the rest and freeze.

Stews, chillies, curries etc work really well for this type of prepping.

Queenmunchy

StealthHealth wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Have you considered freezing meals? I am not a huge fan of traditional meal prep, but I love to make a big batch of freezer-friendly food, eat some of it right away and then freeze the rest in individual servings. At any given time, I'll have 4-5 frozen meals in my freezer and I can grab the one that appeals to me without feeling like I have to eat the same thing over and over.

^^same.

Per up a big batch, eat one that night, save one for later in the week, portion up the rest and freeze.

Stews, chillies, curries etc work really well for this type of prepping.

Same here. Cook, portion, freeze.

tinkerbellang83

I think it's important to have a little flexibility, I meal plan for the week, but some days my appetite might not suit what I have on the planner, so I switch my days around. I don't stick to one meal for the whole week (Except breakfast) that would just bore the life out of me.

An example week for me would be:

Breakfast
Monday - Friday: Powdered Greens and Weetabix with Blackberries & Raspberries
Saturday & Sunday (brunch): Powdered Greens and Poached Eggs, Asparagus & Pancetta Flatbread

Snacks
Monday - Friday: Mixture of String Cheese/30g Nuts/50g Pickles/Treat size chocolate bar
Saturday & Sunday: Protein Bar

Lunch
Monday: Chicken Salad, Skips and Apple & Grapes pack
Tuesday: Cauliflower Cheese Soup (Frozen from previous meal prep) & Roll, Skips and Treat Size Maltesers
Wednesday: Garlic Chicken, Asparagus, Cauliflower & Salad with Caesar Dressing (2 portions prepped Tues night) and Apple & Grapes pack
Thursday: Falafel (Frozen from previous meal prep) Wrap & Salad and Treat Size Maltesers
Friday: Garlic Chicken, Asparagus, Cauliflower & Salad with Caesar Dressing (2 portions prepped Tues night) and Apple & Grapes pack
Saturday & Sunday: Brunch per breakfast

Dinner
Monday: Falafel (frozen from previous meal prep) & Halloumi with salad
Tuesday: Beef Strogonoff (frozen from previous meal prep) & Rice
Wednesday: Salmon Fishcakes (prepped Mon night) & Steamed Vegetables
Thursday: Saag Tofu (Made Fresh, extra portions frozen) & Rice
Friday: Salmon Fishcakes (frozen from mon meal prep) & Steamed Vegetables
Saturday: Eat out at pub whilst watching rugby with one or two pints
Sunday: Thai Green Chicken Curry (Slowcooker - makes 6 portions - freeze remaining portions)

There are great ideas on pinterest, instagram, etc. There are also free and low cost kindle books on amazon.

Je2RiT

I only meal prep breakfast, because that's the one meal most difficult to make time for during the week. Usually just hash browns(baked), ground turkey(seasoned as you would sausage) & egg whites. When bulking that will transform into a big *kitten* delicious burrito with more ingredients. I prep 5 servings for Mon-Fri. Sunday night.

EDIT: The longer you do it, the more it will just become a natural part of your lifestyle. And you'll get used to identifying portions and finding more efficient ways to get the meals prepped.

cwolfman13

The only meal prep I do is making my pot of pinto beans on Sunday and a big thing of quinoa. I usually take beans with my breakfasts and quinoa with my lunches...other than that my meal prep is me making an extra portion of whatever protein we're having for dinner so I can take it with my lunch the next day.

ksz1104

You can prep more than one meal for the week...like turkey burgers for two days, baked chicken for two days....just depends on what you want to do. No rules for meal prepping.

WendyLeigh1119

toxikon wrote: »

WendyLeigh1119 wrote: »

There's no need to prep, honestly and I've never done it.

Just eat normally.

I find cooking on the grill on the weekends in huge portions is both fun and effective as "prep" for non cooking nights or fast meals.

Saving the veggie medley, meat leftovers, etc means I get to eat grilled carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, chicken and fish whenever I please with nothing added but herbs (meaning I get to eat more volume and not worry about added calories). If I had to eat plain chicken and veggies off the stove? Blahhh. It makes a huge difference.

At first you say you never meal-prep, but then you go on to say that you make huge portions of grilled food to enjoy in the future? That's meal-prepping, lol!

Meal-prep is just a word used to describe cooking in bulk. It doesn't have to be sad, unseasoned chicken breasts. There's no reason to think that grilling and fresh foods are not compatible with meal prep.

Yes, I suppose you're right.

dfwesq

I usually set aside an afternoon to wash and cut up veggies and fruit, and make a few dishes to divide into portions. I put individual portions in plastic bags - though any sealable food container would work. Having vegetables (cooked and raw) that are appetizing and ready to eat is a real help. It also makes packing my lunch very easy.