Meal Prepping for dummies

dnmoehring
dnmoehring Posts: 64 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have come to the conclusion that I must go back on a meal plan. I have been grappling with it for a long time (my last experience was kind of awful), but I have printed one out and will be going to the store tomorrow so I can begin prepping. Does anyone have any tips? I've never done extensive prepping so any help is appreciated.

Replies

  • Zx14chick
    Zx14chick Posts: 255 Member
    I am interested in hearing tips as well.
  • Cardio4Cupcakes
    Cardio4Cupcakes Posts: 289 Member
    The crock pot will become your best friend.

    My favorite easiest meal is 4-5 frozen chicken breasts (these are usually pretty small), just throw them in and cook for 5-6 hours on slow. Shred the chicken. During the week, add stuff like buffalo sauce, salsa and cheese, bbq, etc. I like making the chicken plain because personally if I make 5 shredded marinaded breasts, I get tired of them around day 3 and temptation to hit up Wendys kicks in. I usually buy a giant family size bag of veggies and steam that also, and just divide the food into 5 tupperware containers. I have my own fridge at work so I bring them all into work on Monday morning. I also buy a head of lettuce, cut it up and store it into smaller containers for a salad option if I'm really hungry.

    Basically the trick is to find something you won't get sick off. That's my biggest problem. I made a bunch of stuffed meatballs last week and by Thursday I was like UGH AGAIN.

    Just find a time during the week that you can allot to cooking and cook!
  • dnmoehring
    dnmoehring Posts: 64 Member
    This is going to show clearly how good of a cook I am, but do you just put the chicken in the crock pot? do you add water or anything else? I've always just used a skilled or the grill to make chicken, so I want to make sure I don't mess it up lol.

    But that's a great idea. That was my issue with my original meal plan, was getting so sick to death of everything being the same.
    How many days out do you prep?
  • Amitysk
    Amitysk Posts: 705 Member
    There was a good blog about this yesterday on MFP...


    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/09/your-meal-planning-playbook/
  • Cardio4Cupcakes
    Cardio4Cupcakes Posts: 289 Member
    This is going to show clearly how good of a cook I am, but do you just put the chicken in the crock pot? do you add water or anything else? I've always just used a skilled or the grill to make chicken, so I want to make sure I don't mess it up lol.

    But that's a great idea. That was my issue with my original meal plan, was getting so sick to death of everything being the same.
    How many days out do you prep?

    No worries! Since I used frozen chicken breasts (i'm cheap lol) I just thrown them frozen in there, no water or anything added. As they cook, the water cooks out so there is some liquid in there. Sometimes after I shred them, I'll put them back in there with salt and pepper just to get a little juicier :)

    Also, I prep on Sundays or Mondays, and I have meals until Friday. So 4-5 days.
  • CrunchyDad
    CrunchyDad Posts: 66 Member
    I bake almost everything, or grill on nice days but it's not as easy or efficient, so I'd recommend baking.

    Every weekend I prep at least 12 chicken breasts for the week, and throw in any variety of veggies I want to go with them. Everything can bake at 350-375° for varying times, so I just add the pans of veggies later if needed.

    I also prep everything the same practically, just drizzle with olive oil, and add seasonings. This is where you can get some variety, because I will use 2 or 3 different seasoning combos on the chicken and veggies so they aren't all the same. My main vegetables are broccoli and cauliflower, but potatoes, green beans, squash or anything you can think of would also come out great this way. I line the pans with foil so you don't even have dishes to do after cooking.

    I also make tilapia the same way once a week but it doesn't keep or reheat very well, but you can throw in any kind of meat. Used to do pork chops until we stopped eating pork.

    For breakfast, I make 3lbs of ground turkey sausage with about 18-20 eggs in two skillets with veggies and put it away for the week.

    I basically eat the same thing every day though, for breakfast and lunch most of the time. It doesn't get old for me, because I like the food and it makes it way easier than trying to make new things all the time. For dinner we have some more variety and try new recipes occasionally.

    We tried the crockpot before, but the smell in the house was sickening enough that by dinner time, no one wanted to eat what we had been cooking all day! Maybe it will work better for you.
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  • dnmoehring
    dnmoehring Posts: 64 Member
    Thank you guys so much! You've made it seem doable. It actually seems exciting now, instead of strenuous.

    Sadly I didn't even think about baking the chicken, lol. My husband is actually a way better cook than I.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I just cook stuff in bulk. I don't meal plan in the sense of eating the same meal every day for a week. That's just... ugh.

    So I will cook up lots of chicken and have it in the fridge to grab. Cook up rice, maybe cook up pasta (usually in that case I will already portion it out into x portions in separate tupperwears). Cutting up veggies and fruits makes cooking easy as well. And then I just eat whatever I'm craving that day or whatever is easiest when I'm being lazy. The most I do for meal planning is the night before I Will pre-log. That's it.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I bake almost everything, or grill on nice days but it's not as easy or efficient, so I'd recommend baking.

    Every weekend I prep at least 12 chicken breasts for the week, and throw in any variety of veggies I want to go with them. Everything can bake at 350-375° for varying times, so I just add the pans of veggies later if needed.

    I also prep everything the same practically, just drizzle with olive oil, and add seasonings. This is where you can get some variety, because I will use 2 or 3 different seasoning combos on the chicken and veggies so they aren't all the same. My main vegetables are broccoli and cauliflower, but potatoes, green beans, squash or anything you can think of would also come out great this way. I line the pans with foil so you don't even have dishes to do after cooking.

    I also make tilapia the same way once a week but it doesn't keep or reheat very well, but you can throw in any kind of meat. Used to do pork chops until we stopped eating pork.

    For breakfast, I make 3lbs of ground turkey sausage with about 18-20 eggs in two skillets with veggies and put it away for the week.

    I basically eat the same thing every day though, for breakfast and lunch most of the time. It doesn't get old for me, because I like the food and it makes it way easier than trying to make new things all the time. For dinner we have some more variety and try new recipes occasionally.

    We tried the crockpot before, but the smell in the house was sickening enough that by dinner time, no one wanted to eat what we had been cooking all day! Maybe it will work better for you.

    I eat the same breakfast most days (or at least part of it is usually the same) but I don't cook it in bulk. Meats are fine for bulking, but how do cooked eggs last over the week? Unless you are hardboiling them. I like making omelets or scrambled eggs when in a rush. I feel like I would not enjoy leftover eggs.
  • CrunchyDad
    CrunchyDad Posts: 66 Member
    I eat the same breakfast most days (or at least part of it is usually the same) but I don't cook it in bulk. Meats are fine for bulking, but how do cooked eggs last over the week? Unless you are hardboiling them. I like making omelets or scrambled eggs when in a rush. I feel like I would not enjoy leftover eggs.

    I don't notice any difference in the leftover eggs, but I actually just beat all the eggs together and pour them over the browned sausage, and cook them together. This is because, I really don't like eggs by themselves.

    But when I make this stuff, it's like crack for me. I've eaten this even up to 7 days after I made it sometimes and it's still fine. Even my toddler loves it.

    We also make bulk spaghetti squash, chili, and batches of banana paleo pancakes that all keep really well.
  • sarajenivieve
    sarajenivieve Posts: 303 Member
    i got this book off amazon im starting it in a week (need to get paid to do groceries) its great though a few chapters on nutrition before the meal plan, the plan has 3 meals and snacks includes recipes and a journal page one each day, it makes sure your getting all your needs covered im really excited http://www.amazon.ca/Daily-Vegan-Planner-Complete-Transition/dp/1440529981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409954767&sr=8-1&keywords=12+week+vegan+planner
  • dnmoehring
    dnmoehring Posts: 64 Member
    I like the idea of prepping things, and not having them all be the same meal every day. That was what I hated most. But I might make the same thing, and then just mix up the recipes and sauces. And for breakfast I've been making overnight oats. They are really good!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I bake 10 chicken breast @ 425 for 30 mins, sometimes a little longer. I make a pile of rice, and get some broccoli and steam it. I take a serving of each and put it in a container. When done, I have 10 containers. This is lunch and dinner all week.

    Another method is to make a heap of spaghetti, with sauce and meat. 10 containers. Done.

    I portion it all out when I cook, so i know exactly how much to put in each container and there's none left over.

    It's really super easy. Sunday is my cooking day. Crockpot stuff us ok, but it gets too complicated figuring out portions. Rice, chicken, pasta and things like that are easy to calculate portions.

    You can use beef, pork, lamb, fish, or whatever. It's the same idea. For variety, just add sauces and things later. Sometimes I put BBQ Sauce on the chicken. But, I leave it plain until ready to eat. Or soy sauce on the rice. Or, when cooking the pasta, just keep it plain, and you can add things to it later. One day, maybe a bit of olive oil and garlic. Another day, and chicken and pasta sauce.

    Pretty much how I do it- I just pick a dish and cook a boat load of it it- I have the same size Tupperware- and I tare the scale- then just portion everything out per weight- easy peasy.

    Sometimes- if I have time- I'll make two dishes at the same time- so like- one stove top- one baked- then I can rotate the food- have something different for lunch and dinner.

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