Food Prepping

katiequeen33 · October 2014

Key to success is planning. I'm starting to food prep, and I would like to know what are good dishes to make to last throughout the week. I am a very plain person so salads are out of the question because I do not like salad dressing.

Chief_Rocka · October 2014

Plain salad without dressing

paulawatkins1974 · October 2014

I'm interested in ideas too

marlovs78 · October 2014

This is an introduction?

paulawatkins1974 · October 2014

__drmerc__ wrote: »

Stuff that is easy to store in large tubs is what I do. Rice, beans, freeze dried chicken. Also don't forget to keep water storage.

Water storage?

EMTFreakGirl · October 2014

I cook only a couple days a month, but on those days I have 3 crockpots and my NuWave oven going. Pork tenderloin and Chicken Breasts and usually a diet friendly soup; one each for the crockpots, and a nice big lean roast (usually Eye of Round) in the NuWave. Then I portion into individual servings and freeze. So easy to pull out of the freezer and add to whatever "freshness" is in my fridge from the Weekly sales at the market.

kendalslimmer · October 2014

Soups are always good!

Chief_Rocka · October 2014

paulawatkins1974 wrote: »

__drmerc__ wrote: »

Stuff that is easy to store in large tubs is what I do. Rice, beans, freeze dried chicken. Also don't forget to keep water storage.

Water storage?

I think he's one of those right-wing survivalist gun nuts

LeonCX · October 2014

Chief_Rocka wrote: »

Plain salad without dressing

good one!

justcat206 · October 2014

I like to do things like slow cooking a bag of chicken, then chopping up several types of veggies and freezing them in serving-size baggies. I'll also cook up some brown rice or quinoa and put it in the fridge. Then I'm pretty flexible - can make a chicken topped salad, a stir-fry with chicken and some rice, a chicken and veggie and rice casserole, chicken noodle (or rice) soup. The same can be done with any kind of meat and then you've got options. Just add a spice or can of soup/broth, etc.

I also used to do things like making 5 dishes on a weekend (say meatloaf, lasagna, casserole, stir fry and stew) in 4-6 serving batches. I'd freeze them in single servings, then thaw one from each meal every night for a week (plus adding some fresh veggies or sides), and start over again the next monday. That way I didn't get sick of eating the same thing all week, and I'd essentially done all the cooking for 4 whole weeks in one afternoon.

DeWoSa · October 2014

katiequeen33 wrote: »

Key to success is planning. I'm starting to food prep, and I would like to know what are good dishes to make to last throughout the week. I am a very plain person so salads are out of the question because I do not like salad dressing.

I buy large quantities of chicken, pork, and beef then freeze them in 1 pound pieces using my Food Saver. On Sundays I thaw one or two and make food for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday lunch. On Thursday evening I thaw and make food for Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Or sometimes on Thursday I say "ef it" and plan on eating Roly Poly for the rest of the week.

I too don't eat salad because of the dressing. So I pile lettuce on sandwiches and burgers. But mostly I buy Bird's Eye Steamables and eat an entire bag each day. Walmart sells 5 pound bags of Bird's Eye Normandy Mix which is awesome. I don't eat an entire bag of that in one day, however.

I buy a lot of McCormick spice packets. They help a lot in prep. I buy frozen corn and peas for starch.

I also get beets, turnips, and sweet potatoes and roast them, but that's about it for fresh produce. I found a long time ago that preparing fresh produce was a huge time sink, and frozen produce is just as fresh and already cut.

Canned produce is supes gross, though. The no-salt canned stuff is fresher looking.

xcalygrl · October 2014

My meals:
Breakfast: spinach, kale, tofu, mushroom scrambled with eggs, a side of old-fashioned oats on the side.
Lunch: grilled chicken (seasonings change day to day, week to week), frozen veggies of my liking with a little oil and salt/pepper, and either rice or sweet potato.

I cook everything on Sunday or Monday (depending on if I have to work Monday or not) and take it to work all week.

Acg67 · October 2014

katiequeen33 wrote: »

Key to success is planning. I'm starting to food prep, and I would like to know what are good dishes to make to last throughout the week. I am a very plain person so salads are out of the question because I do not like salad dressing.

Box of pasta cooked in unsalted water, divide into however many meals you need. If you're feeling adventurous you could add parm or a sauce or butter

TJR88 · October 2014

I think simple meals work best with meal prep. I usually cook a protein with a mix of herbs/spices e.g. chicken thighs marinated in a peri peri rub and add a starchy carb e.g. sweet potato mash with butter and chives plus some raw veg e.g. brocolli and asparagus (no need to cook as they'll get tender when I reheat the meal during the week).

I avoid prepping meals that combine wet and dry ingredients or at least prepare them separately and then combine when i want to reheat them to. Things like soup with rice added or stews with carrots can have a mushy weird texture (that i personally can't stand) when frozen and then reheated.

Check out fitmencook, he has some food prep recipes that are simple and tasty -the coconut curry chicken one is really nice.

I agree the key to success is planning, I love to meal prep.

kt_simms · October 2014

What I've started doing is making two casseroles (on Sunday), portioning them up, and freezing half the portions of each casserole. That way, I'm building up some of my "Plan B" meals in the freezer for those times when I forget to cook or didn't have time. Plus, because I have two casseroles to choose from, I don't get too bored with the food during the week. I also like casseroles because I can plug the recipe into MFP and tinker with the ingredients to make sure I'm getting enough protein per meal and not going overboard on calories per serving.

Depending on the week, I will also grill up some chicken or make a roast or make some meatballs (the point being to have easy, cooked protein on hand to offset non-mealtime hunger), saute or steam some veggies, fix some oatmeal in the slower cooker or boil some eggs, bake some sweet potatoes or roast a spaghetti squash, etc.

Soup, stew, and/or chili are also good options if you're into those.

I'm a big fan of Eating Well for recipes. Here are some of their casserole recipes. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_casserole_recipes.

Hope that helps.