Best Tips/Advice to start food prep/meal plan for a week

faithbabe21
faithbabe21 Posts: 33 Member
edited January 2017 in Food and Nutrition
A little background....I've always in concept would like to cook out my lunches and dinners but I get entirely overwhelmed by the process....the shopping list, the recipes, multiplying the portions....on top of the fact that I'm not a very good cook to start with. However I'm starting back on the second shift where I'm at work from 1130 to 9 and if I want to avoid eating the over priced, over calories cafe food I have to make the plunge. So if anyone could offer their best tips or practices to make it not overwhelming it would be super appreciated....I've got the containers and three recipe books and pintrest all in front of me but I'm still ....overwhelmed is really the best word. Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • merbear787
    merbear787 Posts: 82 Member
    I love meal prep! I keep it simple- I'll roast up some chicken or make a big crockpot of something: shredded chicken and veggies, sweet potatoes, broccoli, whatever you like! I just pick a recipe and make that into however many servings it makes. This week I made 4 turkey burgers for lunch with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted chicken breast and broccoli, and then bought veggies and fruits for snacks. Hope that helps!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2017
    I've never really done meal prep for a whole week or anything like that. I brown bag my lunch the night before...sometimes it's leftovers...sometimes it's just a sandwich or salad with some grilled chicken or something. It's winter so we make lots of soups and stews this time of year so we'll get at least a couple of work lunches out of that.

    I prefer fresh food...so in that regard, we prepare dinner fresh every night. IDK...Don't make it harder than it needs to be.
  • faithbabe21
    faithbabe21 Posts: 33 Member
    merbear787 wrote: »
    I love meal prep! I keep it simple- I'll roast up some chicken or make a big crockpot of something: shredded chicken and veggies, sweet potatoes, broccoli, whatever you like! I just pick a recipe and make that into however many servings it makes. This week I made 4 turkey burgers for lunch with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted chicken breast and broccoli, and then bought veggies and fruits for snacks. Hope that helps!

    Do you get bored by having the same things multiple times a week?
  • faithbabe21
    faithbabe21 Posts: 33 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I've never really done meal prep for a whole week or anything like that. I brown bag my lunch the night before...sometimes it's leftovers...sometimes it's just a sandwich or salad with some grilled chicken or something. It's winter so we make lots of soups and stews this time of year so we'll get at least a couple of work lunches out of that.

    I prefer fresh food...so in that regard, we prepare dinner fresh every night. IDK...Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

    Thank you....I think I may be making it harder than it needs to be. (=
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Create a flow. Decide what meals you need to make and what you want to eat for those meals. For instance, pick a starch, a protein and a vegetable for each meal. Make shopping lists based on the ingredients you need for the meals you are going to make. Find out what you have to do in advance, when, and how to remember to do it. Keep the cooking simple. All meals don't even need "cooking", salads, sandwiches and yogurt is fine for lunch.
  • vikinglander
    vikinglander Posts: 1,547 Member
    OP: Google this phrase: "Cook for a day, eat for a week." More than you can use in ten years...
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 358 Member
    faithbabe21 wrote: »
    A little background....I've always in concept would like to cook out my lunches and dinners but I get entirely overwhelmed by the process....the shopping list, the recipes, multiplying the portions....on top of the fact that I'm not a very good cook to start with. However I'm starting back on the second shift where I'm at work from 1130 to 9 and if I want to avoid eating the over priced, over calories cafe food I have to make the plunge. So if anyone could offer their best tips or practices to make it not overwhelming it would be super appreciated....I've got the containers and three recipe books and pintrest all in front of me but I'm still ....overwhelmed is really the best word. Thanks in advance.

    Just make the food one day at a time. I make the bulk of my chicken on Sundays and then divide it the night before so I don't have an entire refrigerator of tupperware. Then, every night after I've had dinner, I just make up the meal for the next day. That usually consists of breakfast, snack 1, lunch, and snack 2. My post workout shake I have to make the day of though because I'm not sure how that would taste sitting in the fridge over night. So, I have to come home after the gym to make my smoothie before heading to work. Then, I just make my dinner and snack 3 when I get home, while I'm meal prepping for the next day. I'm already in the kitchen so I just get it all done at once.
  • thuderousthighss
    thuderousthighss Posts: 10 Member
    This is my first week here, but super simple thing I have been doing is just baking chicken breasts, cutting them into little pieces, weighing them with my old spring kitchen scale i got at goodwill and putting them into snack baggies. I end up with multiple bags containing 4oz of chicken in each and then i can just do whatever i want to them for lunch. I've put them in whole wheat tortillas with a little cheese and spinach, made a small portion of pasta and added the chicken, thrown it in a salad. It's just what is working for me at the time, I live in a house with 4 other people so just premaking the protein ahead of time seems easier and more realisitic for my case. Plus I get variety daily.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    Meal prepping isn't for everyone and isn't necessary for weight loss.

    Sometimes I meal prep sometimes I don't, but I always have a menu in mind of what I'm going to eat the coming week so I can go grocery shopping. Sometimes I do eat out for lunch, but I've planned for it and it's not a big deal.

    In theory, I would like to cook more elaborate lunches, but I find that overwhelming so a lot of times lunch is either a salad, soup, sandwich, or stir fry. Something I can throw together easily and eat off of for a few days. Work snacks are usually just fresh fruit or yogurt.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    Crock-pot.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    OP, I don't "meal prep", I ingredient prep. So I'll wash and chop my veggies. I'll cook off a tray of chicken breasts, shred or cube some, and leave a couple whole. I'll cook some hard-boiled eggs. I'll cook a pot of rice and store it in the fridge. That sort of thing. So then I can easily use them from day to day.
  • postchrysalis
    postchrysalis Posts: 88 Member
    edited January 2017
    thuderousthighss wrote: »
    This is my first week here, but super simple thing I have been doing is just baking chicken breasts, cutting them into little pieces, weighing them with my old spring kitchen scale i got at goodwill and putting them into snack baggies. I end up with multiple bags containing 4oz of chicken in each and then i can just do whatever i want to them for lunch. I've put them in whole wheat tortillas with a little cheese and spinach, made a small portion of pasta and added the chicken, thrown it in a salad. It's just what is working for me at the time, I live in a house with 4 other people so just premaking the protein ahead of time seems easier and more realisitic for my case. Plus I get variety daily.

    This! I did this about two weeks ago--made a crap ton of boiled chicken breast and divided it up in baggies, then used the chicken for different meals throughout the week. I had a stir-fry one day, a salad another, tortillas the next, soup after that, etc. I don't really enjoy eating the exact same thing every single day so this really worked for me.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    I cook what I like! I find it really easy that way.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I cook, portion and freeze. That way I can grab what I want when I want.
  • faithbabe21
    faithbabe21 Posts: 33 Member
    Thanks for the advice everyone, it is much appreciated. I'll be getting home from work at 10 at night and I'm not one of those night owls so having everything good to go for the week will be very helpful for me.

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