Meal prep

sarahseeto

Hello!

I thought it would be fun for everyone to share their meal preps!

How long does it take you to meal prep?

Do you meal prep once a week for the week?

What do you meal prep on an average week and how many calories do you eat?

yirara

I usually cook my dinners for two days, every now and then for 3-4 if I make a stew or curry. do you mean with 'prepping' the cutting or actual cooking?

I guess my meals take about 15-25 minutes on average, including cutting and cooking. If I cook for more days then it's either microwave warmup or just a portion of rice or pasta to go with the existing leftovers. Thus about 3 minutes to 12 minutes.

rheddmobile

I meal prep about two hours a week, in two sessions. I prep two different ways: whole meals which are complicated and meant to be eaten over several days, such as chili and Indian food; and components for meals which take a long time to cook, but can be easily turned into meals with the addition of quick cooking vegetables or added sauces.

To be specific, my breakfast right now is steel cut oats made with milk, chopped Granny Smith apples, and chopped walnuts, with cinnamon. It takes about 45 minutes to cook and I make four servings ahead. I add peanut butter and a side of cottage cheese in the mornings. This ends up being about 500 calories total and 36g carbs, which is just right to keep my blood sugar in line during the mornings. (I'm a diabetic so being consistent with my carb choices is helpful.)

Whole meals I like to prep include black bean pumpkin turkey tacos and turkey chili - both use ground turkey with chili and other seasoning, so I make the chili and the meat for the tacos at the same time. Both come out to four servings, which is two meals for me and my husband of each. I also make Chicken Saag, Raitha, and Aloo Gobi in big batches, along with basmati rice for my husband - that makes about three meals for both of us. When the weather is colder I also cook soup in large batches. Usually whatever we eat, I make enough for dinner and then lunch the next day.

Meal components I like to prep include whole grains such as quinoa, roasted vegetables, and proteins such as roast chicken and pork tenderloin. Since I eat red meat and my husband doesn't I often cook a 1 lb rare steak for myself, and eat it in salads, stir fry, etc., over the course of several days. When the grains and meat are ready to go, I can quickly add vegetables for a whole meal.

I don't like to prep sliced raw vegetables ahead, because the quality of vegetables deteriorates after they are cut, and I can slice them so quickly after years of practice that prepping them isn't necessary.

As far as calories, I usually aim for two 500 calorie meals, a lower calorie meal, and a 100-200 calorie snack, but it varies depending on my exercise. In general a full meal at my house is 400 - 600 calories.

4legsRbetterthan2

I only meal prep breakfast. Takes 20-30 minutes of actual hands on time, I typically do this on sundays while I am cooking dinner.

deannalfisher

it varies...i'll typically make one dish a week for like Monday/Tuesday dinner that I eat for several days (although this week, I made it last night)

I prep most of my food each day while cooking dinner the night before (so while my barley/sweet potato was cooking; I cooked by potatos and farro for my lunch and snack)

Joanna2012B

I meal prep breakfast for 5 servings( steel cut oats, whatever fruit I fancy, cinnamon and honey). I heat it up in the morning and then add a tbsp of greek yogurt.

I also meal prep a source of protein, such as chicken breast, pork tenderloin...etc., a big batch of basmati rice and whatever veg I want. I can then quickly dish up lunches and dinners easily. It takes me and the hubby a few hours on Sunday. I run early mornings before work so meal prep is essential for me.

I also don't like cutting up veg too far in advance. It is easy enough done on the fly.

VeronicaA76

I meal prep for the week. Every meal except dinner (still cook once a day for myself & my daughter). I generally plan my meals on Saturday & go grocery shopping that evening. It usually takes me about 6 hours on Sunday to weight, prepare and package everything for the following week. I also eat 6 times a day, 6 small meals. I also snack prep: carrot sticks, bell peppers, goldfish crackers, cereal. Yep, I cook and organize 35 meals every Sunday plus snacks. It's what works best for me

LeanJL

I meal prep also so much easier

SLCasey78

I meal prep for 5 days. I usually sit down on Sunday mornings and decide what I want to eat for every meal Monday through Friday. I then go to the store and come home and cook. Total time from planning to being completely done is usually 3 - 4 hours. I'm single so I try to cook meals that last me all week. So I essentially eat the same thing every day Mon-Fri. Saturday and Sunday are the days that I make meals that only have 1 or 2 servings. Plus I usually go out to eat at least once on the weekend. I'm so busy during the week that if I didn't meal prep, I would make horrible but convenient choices.

msnialewilson

I meal prep for work. Once a month I make 30 snack bags with 8oz bottle of water , flavored singles packets, granola bar,pretzels or cheese it and a treat ( 2 cookies, teddy grams, or frosted animal crackers). This can all fit in a quart size bag. Then I make myself uncrustable PB and J sandwiches to freeze for the month. So when I leave out for work I grab a snack bag and sandwich and go. This saves me a lot of money during the week.

EHollander89

I meal prep pretty much every Sunday. I'll decide what I want to make for the week, compile a grocery list, and then start prepping after grocery shopping. The MFP recipe builder is really helpful, too. Sometimes I'll use the crockpot to make a meal while I work on other prep like veggies and fruit. I usually weigh out snacks - berries, wheat thins, hummus, etc. I keep a variety of sizes of tupperware so that I have plenty of containers to portion out my meals. I also prep items that can be used in a variety of dishes - veggies, lean ground beef or turkey. It usually does not take very long, and now it's part of my routine.

Tried30UserNames

I only halfheartedly meal prep. I'm cooking for one. If I make a casserole or a larger main dish like a pot roast, it usually lasts me several days or all week. If I just grill some fish, I don't prep ahead. If I'm having rice or beans, I usually make extra for other meals that week. If I'm baking a sweet potato, I bake a few.

Once a week or so, I'll stock up on vegetables, wash and prepare them. For example, last week I went to the 99 Cent Store for broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, carrots, organic (!) grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and kabocha squash (yes, only $7 for all of that). When I got home from the store, I put a big pot of water on to boil while I washed and cut up the veggies. I blanched the first 3 veg, and put all the cleaned veg into the refrigerator. I saved half the cauliflower to steam and made mashed cauliflower. I sliced up the squash and roasted it, along with a large sweet potato, then refrigerated. I made a quick easy dip in the food processor for the veg. All told, it took me maybe 1 1/2 hours including washing dishes. I didn't time it.

Now, all week, I can easily make myself a vegetable platter for a snack. I have mashed cauliflower and squash to add to dinner. Some weeks, I also dice onions, carrots mushrooms and celery to use throughout the week in stir fries, casseroles, scrambled eggs, etc.

It does seem to be beneficial to me to wash/trim my fresh vegetables as soon as I get home from the store. I'm more likely to eat them and less likely to think there's nothing in the house to eat. If I have prepped vegetables, I always have dinner that can be made with almost no effort - at a minimum, I can throw a few handfuls of vegetables to cook in a pan, add an egg (or leftover chicken) and some soy sauce and maybe some rice with the same ease of ordering a pizza and in less time. Or I can throw everything into a pot with some chicken broth and call it soup.

slinke2014

On Sunday morning I prep lunches for my husband and me for the whole week. Sometimes its just one huge meal portioned out like the teriyaki chicken with stir fry veggie this week and sometimes I might change it up and make two meals to portion out like like last week I made diet friendly butter chicken with cauliflower and marinated pork chops with brussel sprouts. I usually make some rice and pack it separately for my husband since he can have more calories than me. I spend anywhere from 1- 2.5 hours in the kitchen. I don't mind though. I love leisurely cooking while blasting the tunes. I usually try to get my lunches to be about 300-400 a piece. right now I eat about 1800 a day but I am pretty active.

Gisel2015

I don't meal prep.

sdolan91

I prep my dinners.
I drink a protein shake for breakfast, salads for lunch with eggs or chicken, and I prep 4 dinners on Sunday night.
I work bankers hours. When I get home I DO NOT want to cook, so I always want to pick up food. Prepping has helped fight that. Only Friday's will I cheat for dinner. (but of course try to stay in my calories)
This works for me just because of my working hours.

HeidiCooksSupper

I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. I'm retired and cooking is a hobby to me so how much time I spend prepping is totally up to me. Most of the time, I like to spend less than an hour, including oven time, making supper. I can't stand for long times at the counter (back issues) so I like preps I can do sitting.

For example, the other night we had freshly made spinach pasta which sounds really impressive until you realize it takes less than 5 minutes to make the dough using the microwave to cook the spinach, the potato ricer to wring it out, and the food processor to assemble the dough. I then sat on the sofa in front of the TV streaming a British documentary on the history of romance novels while I shaped the orecchiette. I similarly grated the parm and chopped the shallots and garlic for the sauce while learning how Richardson's Pamela gained popularity. Cooking can be combined with sofa time. Another 10 minutes or so standing at the stove assembling the sauce and boiling the fresh pasta and supper was on the table.

Last night, I spent about 1/2 an hour (and a subsequent 1/2 hour oven time) assembling spanakopita. Tonight, I will spend no time prepping as we eat the other half of that. Sometime this weekend there will probably be a homemade pizza which will take "hours" but most of that time will just be the dough sitting on the counter and doing its thing. I don't knead, I have time.

Retirement rocks!

mybigfat

Was try to share a pic but guess idk how lol

Lounmoun

I don't meal prep for the week. I do plan dinners but prepare them each day.
I typically eat like this:
Breakfast- low prep stuff like Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese (about 200-300 calories)
Lunch- things like sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers (about 300-500 calories)
Dinner- something different every night of the month. (about 500-600 calories) I have soup once a week usually.
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese (about 100-300 calories)

rainbow198

I plan ahead most of my meals for the week and grocery shop on Saturday and I meal prep every Sunday.

I don't do the meal in the container thing, but I make things like protein bars, fat bombs, boil eggs, make veggie burger patties and freeze, make a few batches of steel cut oatmeal, clean, slice up some veggies etc. The time usually takes me about 2 hours.

Yesterday I made homemade veggie spring rolls to go with my stir-fry tonight. All I have to do it cook them!

I eat around 2500 calories a day. Some days more others days less (I look at my calories weekly, not daily).

Meal prepping and planning saves me a lot of time!

ldwatene

I'll meal prep is if I'm not going to be home for a day or more otherwise love my food prepped fresh

Sharon_C

My meal prepping consists of throwing a bag of chicken breasts in the Crockpot then shredding them when its done. We eat off that for about 4-5 days. I'll make sandwiches out of the shredded chicken or chicken salad or sometimes (mostly in the winter) a casserole. I bought myself a handy-dandy egg boiler and I'll hard boil 6 eggs. I'll eat them plain, put them on my chicken sandwich or make tuna salad or chicken salad with them.

I eat a lot of Greek yogurt, prepackaged and easy to grab. Baby Bell cheese is my other go-to for grabbing a quick snack. I'll also weigh out almonds too.

I'm all about spending the least amount of time in the kitchen and I get bored quickly eating the same thing over and over. If I get bored then my eating veers off in the wrong direction.