MEAL PREP IDEAS?!

kherrons

For the past 2 weeks I have gone looking aimlessly through the fridge and cupboards in order to figure out what to cook, not having any idea what I want or should have. So far it's working out but I know old habits die hard and aimlessly looking for food leads to a binge, bored eating, and/or bad choices.

I like cooking but I'm over winging it right now. I'd like to just have some things ready to grab.

I was wondering what you do for you Meal Prep? What are some standard combinations you make ahead of time? I like intense flavor so I guess my biggest concern with meal prep is lack of flavor or getting tired of what I eat.

I'm open to any meals of the day.

bohemian124

I get a CSA box on Fridays and my hubby and I make our weekly dinner menu and shop for any other items we need that weekend. I still wing it for lunch some days, mostly choosing between dinner leftovers and soup/salad/sandwich combo. Whenever possible, I cook up extra and throw leftovers in the freezer. I find planning for the week really helps avoid that "wing it" problem. We still change our minds every so often and cook something off menu, but the menu does help with planning quite a bit. I also like to cut out yummy sounding recipes from magazines and the newspaper, as well as check out food blogs for new ideas. I love the "10 things to do with ___" ingredient list that Real Simple magazine does every month. Helps keep ingredients interesting. Hope this helps! Good luck!

kherrons

Thanks so much for the ideas

bkjk997

I'm not a fan of cooking, but I am a fan of freezing whatever I can. If I make a lasagna or shepperd's pie, I make two and freeze one. You could freeze food in individual containers (which I find helpful for taking to work). Just having the *exact* amount of pasta makes eating well a lot easier (I tend to over do it on the pasta, always wanting 2nds or 3rds!). Just pop it into boiling water for 30 seconds and pour on a sauce.

Our of curiosity, I just did a bit of searching and found this:
http://whoneedsacape.com/2012/11/crockpot-freezer-cooking/

Looks interesting. 4 hours to make 40 freezable meals. Not too shabby.

Looking forward to other replies.

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

I meal prep every week. I start by pulling the grocery store flyers for the week on Friday. I look whats on sale and try to plan my meals around that. I decide on a different dinner for every night for the next week. I eat at least 6x/day. For the meals other than dinner, they tend to stay pretty much the same. I know what I like and I stick to it, plus it makes prep much easier. Example..my post workout meal is always a shake. My breakfast is always egg whites and oatmeal etc.. So on Friday I start to make my grocery list. What will I need for each meal? Do I have it in the house? On Saturday is grocery shopping day. I get all my supplies that i will need for prep on Sunday. I also sit down and make a list of what i need to do for Sunday so that it goes without thought and it goes quickly. As soon as I'm ready on Sunday I pull everything out of the fridge and start prepping. Steaming veggies, grilling chicken, boiling eggs, chopping veggies, pre measuring protein powder, oatmeal, cutting and pounding out chicken depending on what I'm making for the week. Then everything is labelled and put in fridge or freezer. All in total probably takes 2-3hrs but is worth every minute of it. I never have to struggle to come up with a dinner idea. I always have prepped, good food on hand..hth It takes the guess work out of the week and sets you up for success.

Dinners this week...beef stir fry, brown rice, cucumber salad
Roasted pork tenderloin, caramalized cabbage, steamed veggies
Spagetti with meat sauce, green salad
Hearty homemade soup, greek salad
Pan seared chicken breast, roasted cauliflower, salad
Beef roast with carrots and potatoes, salad
Breakfast dinner ( eggs etc..)

SummerIsis

I make a crock pot of pinto beans, a batch of Greek yogurt, and hard boil eggs each week. This means easy-grab snacks (eggs, produce, nuts, raisins), easy breakfast (eggs, yogurt, and fruit), easy lunch (salad with egg), easy dessert (yogurt with fruit) for me and easy bean, rice, cheese dinner variations for the family. We focus on buying grab-and-go produce -- carrots, celery, bell peppers, oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, etc.

And I make a batch of vegetable soup once a week... another easy lunch or dinner for me.