Meal Prep

Options
SamanthaIrving1990
SamanthaIrving1990 Posts: 24 Member
in Recipes
Hey Everyone!
Just wondering how i can get into meal prep and if anyone has any recipes I can snag off them! How much of what should I have and how little of stuff should I have ::) I wanna do week at a time

Replies

  • kenyainez
    kenyainez Posts: 222 Member
    Options
    Well here's how I got started.

    This may take a few hours but it's worth it.

    I wrote down all of my favorite foods. Then, I though of alternative ways to still enjoy them without all the calories.

    For instance, I love lasagna, but instead of regular tomato sauce, ground beef, and white lasagna noodles, I'd use ground turkey, tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes, and whole wheat lasagna noodles. If I was on low carb, I'd switch out the whole wheat noodles and replace that with eggplant or zucchini. This way, I still get to enjoy lasagna without all the extra calories. I still use part skim mozzarella, but I can fit that into my macros so I'm ok. And of course, I plug all of my foods into MFP to ensure I'm still within my caloric and macro range for the day.

    So yeah, that's how I figured out my own meal plan and that's how I taught myself how to meal prep. Hope this helps. :smile:
  • SamanthaIrving1990
    SamanthaIrving1990 Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    kenyainez wrote: »
    Well here's how I got started.

    This may take a few hours but it's worth it.

    I wrote down all of my favorite foods. Then, I though of alternative ways to still enjoy them without all the calories.

    For instance, I love lasagna, but instead of regular tomato sauce, ground beef, and white lasagna noodles, I'd use ground turkey, tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes, and whole wheat lasagna noodles. If I was on low carb, I'd switch out the whole wheat noodles and replace that with eggplant or zucchini. This way, I still get to enjoy lasagna without all the extra calories. I still use part skim mozzarella, but I can fit that into my macros so I'm ok. And of course, I plug all of my foods into MFP to ensure I'm still within my caloric and macro range for the day.

    So yeah, that's how I figured out my own meal plan and that's how I taught myself how to meal prep. Hope this helps. :smile:

    Awesome this is awesome !!!! Thank youuu
  • fattynomore78
    fattynomore78 Posts: 85 Member
    Options
    My husband and I cook all day Sunday and do Portion Control and it has worked for me
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
    Options
    I'm trying to prep lunches ahead of time for my husband who's taken a new job in the city. I do see those Instagram pics of scads of containers laid out for the week and so artfully filled... but that's not gonna be me! (At least, I don't think so.)

    Basically since I cook from scratch for dinner every evening (except Friday pizza nights, yay!) I will save a portion for his lunch the next day and put it in a Ziploc container. I bought some with dividers in them, too.

    Last night we had chickenless & black bean enchiladas. I portioned out 2 enchiladas for his lunch, added a big ol serving of white rice, put some sour cream in a separate small container, and shredded lettuce in a baggie. Voila - a great & filling lunch.

    I'm trying to get ideas outside of sandwiches, though the occasional p,b & j will no doubt be made. For now, so that I'm not overwhelmed, I'm just going to portion out extra servings of our dinners. That *does* mean that he's eating the same meal twice in a row (dinner, then lunch next day), so I will work on a little creativity - prepping some pasta salads and soups and stews to pack to break up the routine.

    I look forward to doing this to provide delicious food for him and save money. Hope things fall into place for you too!
  • SamanthaIrving1990
    SamanthaIrving1990 Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    I'm trying to prep lunches ahead of time for my husband who's taken a new job in the city. I do see those Instagram pics of scads of containers laid out for the week and so artfully filled... but that's not gonna be me! (At least, I don't think so.)

    Basically since I cook from scratch for dinner every evening (except Friday pizza nights, yay!) I will save a portion for his lunch the next day and put it in a Ziploc container. I bought some with dividers in them, too.

    Last night we had chickenless & black bean enchiladas. I portioned out 2 enchiladas for his lunch, added a big ol serving of white rice, put some sour cream in a separate small container, and shredded lettuce in a baggie. Voila - a great & filling lunch.

    I'm trying to get ideas outside of sandwiches, though the occasional p,b & j will no doubt be made. For now, so that I'm not overwhelmed, I'm just going to portion out extra servings of our dinners. That *does* mean that he's eating the same meal twice in a row (dinner, then lunch next day), so I will work on a little creativity - prepping some pasta salads and soups and stews to pack to break up the routine.

    I look forward to doing this to provide delicious food for him and save money. Hope things fall into place for you too!


    This is awesome thank you !!
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Options
    We meal plan the entire next week's dinners together as a family and post it on the fridge. Then I plan what I'm going to cook for the freezer and what I'll eat for breakfast. Next, I grocery shop based on the ingredients I don't have for those dishes.

    I cook entire dishes on weekends: all different varieties of soup, chili, curry, stuffed peppers, stew, casseroles, meatballs, nuggets, burritos, meatloaves, etc and freeze them in individual portions or flash freeze them. On each container, I label the date and calorie count. I've done it for 8 years, so in the morning I can grab and go for lunch and my family always has a healthy option to warm up in minutes. I have tons of variety doing this.

    I also like to prep my breakfast on weekends. On a Sunday night I may make some kind of frittata to eat a wedge everyday over the week, I may make hard boiled eggs, or I may roast some vegetables or make a shakshouka (don't poach the egg yet), so that I can just warm that up and cook my egg each morning.
  • myukniewicz
    myukniewicz Posts: 906 Member
    Options
    I use Sunday to do my food prep!

    For breakfasts I usually make the mini-egg muffin cups.
    My favorite go to combination is:
    - egg whites
    - kale
    - mushroom
    - cheese

    This week though I changed it up & made my smoothie packs for the week
    I chopped up bananas, peaches & oranges, weighed them & pre-portioned equal amount into baggies & threw them in the freezer. That way before I walk out the door I just have to toss the bag of frozen fruit, and a cup of greek yogurt into a blender and be ready to go in minutes (i put the blender in the sink to soak, i'll clean it when i get home in the evenings).

    For lunches I usually throw chicken breasts in the crock pot with a bottle of Italian dressing & cook them for a few hours. Then i shred it up & i have it to put on my salads.

    I also like to roast a large batch of veggies on Sundays too, like sweet potatoes, carrots & onions. That way I can either throw them in with my lunch or have it ready to heat up for my side at dinner time.
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,150 Member
    Options
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    We meal plan the entire next week's dinners together as a family and post it on the fridge. Then I plan what I'm going to cook for the freezer and what I'll eat for breakfast. Next, I grocery shop based on the ingredients I don't have for those dishes.

    I cook entire dishes on weekends: all different varieties of soup, chili, curry, stuffed peppers, stew, casseroles, meatballs, nuggets, burritos, meatloaves, etc and freeze them in individual portions or flash freeze them. On each container, I label the date and calorie count. I've done it for 8 years, so in the morning I can grab and go for lunch and my family always has a healthy option to warm up in minutes. I have tons of variety doing this.

    I also like to prep my breakfast on weekends. On a Sunday night I may make some kind of frittata to eat a wedge everyday over the week, I may make hard boiled eggs, or I may roast some vegetables or make a shakshouka (don't poach the egg yet), so that I can just warm that up and cook my egg each morning.

    Oh how I wish I was this organized!!! Good for you!

  • SharonDenzien
    SharonDenzien Posts: 21 Member
    Options
    The only prep meal I do is breakfast since I'm not one to fix that meal daily. I make about 24 mini frittatas then warm 2 in the microwave for breakfast. That plus a fat free Greek yogurt is my daily breakfast.
    Chop whatever veggies you like (I don't do cheese or meat). I use zucchini, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, peppers. Sauté them to remove liquid and add flavor. Whisk about 20 egg whites (there's my protein), add cashew milk and seasonings. Put about 1 1/2 T veggies in each cupcake liner (I use the non stick silicone cupcake cups). Fill with egg mixture and bake until eggs are set. Cool and package in containers. Love them! You can use whatever you like, add meats, cheese, etc. Mix up the seasonings if you like Italian, southwest, so versatile and no thinking in the morning.
  • Beautyinthemoonlight
    Beautyinthemoonlight Posts: 13 Member
    edited June 2016
    Options
    There are lots of videos on YouTube. Many of these provide useful tips.

    Write on the containers or on labels the day you are going to eat them and what meal it is for (Eg. Tuesday Breakfast).

    Soups are a great meal to prepare.

Categories