Meal prep newbie

rachael726

This is going to sound like a silly question to some of you, but I honestly don't know, which is crazy! I will be starting graduate school in a few weeks and am looking to plan my meals ahead of time. I will be working FT, going to school FT, doing an internship, hw/papers and somewhere in there ..sleep LOL. I won't have the time or luxury of making dinner nightly like I do now. I see a lot of people on my FL talking about meal preparation. Some do it on a weekly basis, but what does that really consist of? Is it just cutting up veggies and fruits..or is it actually cooking all the food for a week at a shot on 1 day and then freezing some (I guess like chili and stews). HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP--I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing lol

Please feel free to share how you meal prep, how frequently, and any crockpot recipes (I imagine this will become my new BFF while in school). Thanks well in advance for any feedback.

Booda101

I use an indoor grill and will grill several chicken breasts at once. Make some rice and steam some veggies. Meals for several days. You can also bake sweet potatoes ahead of time then reheat.

Amandatkm

I've been trying to follow a coworker's advice, of cooking on the weekends, or in the week when there is time, portioning out the recipes into individual containers and freezing them. Then pulling out a selection of containers for the cooler for the day, including snacks, lunch and breakfast. By the time lunch rolls around, the frozen things are well into defrosting and can be microwaved.

Keep replenishing the stash, eating new things every day.

Crock pot recipes!! Awesome!

There is a website called Emeals, too that will help plan for the week, with grocery lists and price estimates. So you'll have beef for this recipe and that one... super neat to look at.

777Gemma888

This is going to sound like a silly question to some of you, but I honestly don't know, which is crazy! I will be starting graduate school in a few weeks and am looking to plan my meals ahead of time. I will be working FT, going to school FT, doing an internship, hw/papers and somewhere in there ..sleep LOL. I won't have the time or luxury of making dinner nightly like I do now. I see a lot of people on my FL talking about meal preparation. Some do it on a weekly basis, but what does that really consist of? Is it just cutting up veggies and fruits..or is it actually cooking all the food for a week at a shot on 1 day and then freezing some (I guess like chili and stews). HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP--I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing lol

Please feel free to share how you meal prep, how frequently, and any crockpot recipes (I imagine this will become my new BFF while in school). Thanks well in advance for any feedback.

You might find this blog helpful, I did: http://www.jamimclaren.blogspot.com/2013/02/freezer-cook.html

rachael726

thank you so much to all that have posted so far. I am definitely going to check out those 2 sites when I get home. I think my biggest confusion comes with no knowing what to do with my leftover chicken for example. Am I able to freeze it? I'm gonna comb through those sites and see what works best for me. I really do appreciate the feedback. I'm trying to be a little proactive LOL I start school in 4 weeks. :noway: :noway:

WalkingAlong

Yes, you can freeze leftover chicken. It might taste better to just eat it in the following days instead. Slice it up onto salads, add it to soups, Mexican food, whatever.

I often batch cook but don't use the crockpot. I don't like boiled/stewed meat and don't want to think about dinner in the morning. Mostly I'll do a Sunday cooking session. I'll make a pot of soup on the stove, for example. That's good for many meals across the week. Bagged salads help. Batch grill some meat on the weekend. Bake a pan of bacon in the oven. Bake some potatoes and sweet potatoes. Boil some eggs. I do it all at once while I'm in the kitchen. In a couple hours on Sunday, you can pretty much do all your cooking for the week.

Can you grill outdoors? That's another quick dinner. Grill some meat or fish and eat with salad or frozen vegetables.

rachael726

Can you grill outdoors? That's another quick dinner. Grill some meat or fish and eat with salad or frozen vegetables.

I do have a grill outdoors. I live in Southern NJ and it will be warm usually until mid October, end of Oct if we are lucky. I wont have time to do that though when I start school. I will be going right from work to an internship. Thanks for the input though!

I was thinking that if I cook a lot on Sunday and then freeze it, I can throw things in the crock pot in the morning on days I won't be interning and then have dinner when I come home. It's gonna be a long few months from Sept-May...but it'll be worth it!!

lisalsd1

You can really freeze anything. I buy a couple of loaves of bread at a time and even freeze those.

I boil a dozen + eggs on Sunday and eat those for b'fast during the week. I bake chicken breasts in the oven on Sun/Mon night...and have those for a couple of days. We eat chicken with spagetti/spagetti squash; I'll chop up the left over chicken and reheat in soup/stew or something like a curry simmer sauce from Trader Joes. Usually by Wed/Thurs, I brown lean ground beef. I'll use that in tacos one night; and the following night, we'll have tacos or some other incarnation of the beef.

I've found that if I cook chicken, beef, even beans and use the leftovers...all I need to do on most night is reheat, steam some veggies, and I'm done.

WalkingAlong

Can you grill outdoors? That's another quick dinner. Grill some meat or fish and eat with salad or frozen vegetables.

I do have a grill outdoors. I live in Southern NJ and it will be warm usually until mid October, end of Oct if we are lucky. I wont have time to do that though when I start school. I will be going right from work to an internship. Thanks for the input though!

I was thinking that if I cook a lot on Sunday and then freeze it, I can throw things in the crock pot in the morning on days I won't be interning and then have dinner when I come home. It's gonna be a long few months from Sept-May...but it'll be worth it!!

I personally wouldn't put cooked food in a crockpot in the morning. Depending on what it is, I think it's most likely going to be overcooked glop if it cooks all day and is already cooked. I would instead just put the cooked food in the frig and nuke a dish to rewarm it when I got home. I'd rather eat 5-day frig leftovers than freezer ones, though. If you prefer frozen leftovers, you could also nuke those. But from Sunday-Friday, I think the frig is ok for most cooked foods (probably not fish).

Good luck!

JoRocka

"proper" meal preperations will depend a lot on what you want to eat through the week.

I eat a lot of sauteed chopped veggies in my scrambled eggs- so once a week- I chop up my "veggie blend" for my eggs- makes time for cooking scrambled eggs about 5 minutes- little over 10 if I include bacon.

I hard boil at least a dozen eggs- I eat 2-4 a day.

I batch cook at least 2 meals a week- or one big vat of something in the crock pot or on the stove.

I have the SAME exact tupperware- why? because I put on on the scale- tare it out- and then I just motor through seperating out the food into my desired portion servings- that way when I need food I grab and go.

This fits how I eat weekly- so this is what I do- if you like a lot of fruit and veggies- you may want to make baggies up of the veggies you like.

Figure out what you regularly eat- and how to simplify/streamline the process so it's ready for you to eat the next day.

lamps1303

A lot of people who prep their meals will have a mass cooking day at the weekend (usually Sunday) and make a loads of meals which will keep for the week/freeze. These can be anything you want - stew, chicken and rice (you obviously need to be careful with cooked rice in terms of storage and reheating), bolognese, chilli - you can then just heat them up in the microwave, or eat cold depending on the food. Wack your food in the microwave when you get home, get changed/make a drink/go for a wee, and your meal will be done by the time you get back to the kitchen.

I prep all my meals for the week, except dinner. Luckily I am able to cook in the evening but I prepare all my breakfasts, lunches and snacks for the week - this stops me venturing to the shops each day for naughty treats and just stick to what I have prepared myself. I also find preparing meals helps with prelogging each day. I am much more comfortable knowing in advance what my calories/macros look like. That way I am able to fit in unplanned snacks if I need to.

edit to correct spelling!

rachael726

I've been searching a ton of sites with how to freeze meals and what not. I am currently in the process of finding recipes to try this Sunday for breakfast and lunch/dinner. I'm gonna do a trial run this Sunday to see how it works well before I even start school. Thanks to all the suggestions and feedback :happy:

llstjohn

I am a professional dieter. That means I have joined about every group and tried every diet in the universe known to man and some I made up myself. The one I have had the most success with is one of my own which has 2 rules. Eat only when you are TRULY hungry and stop eating when you feel full. Every diet or group I ever joined functions on three basic rules--Eat right, exercise moderately and drink the water. why pay some group x dollars a month to tell you to eat Lean Cuisine? One thing I have found is that if you cook prepared meals the recommended length of time, the meat becomes very tough. So I take out what I am going to have for dinner, let it thaw on the counter all day so less cooking time is required. All you're really doing is heating those things up any way. Maybe you could try that if you use prepared meals. Clip coupons and watch flyers for sales and it cuts the cost. I love this site for the calorie counter. And logging in what you eat really helps.

WalkingAlong

Be careful letting food get into the danger zone for bacterial growth. It should be kept below 40 degrees or above 140.

http://1.usa.gov/V1WC98