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Meal prepping is a great way to save time throughout the week. It’s perfect if you’re always on the go and only have time or energy to reheat meals or want to get a head start on cutting up your ingredients.
There are various ways to meal prep to help you make the most of your week, so we’ve put together this quick guide to help you get started.
You might have seen meal prep videos online with gorgeously laid-out meals in food containers and neatly stacked in the fridge, but this attractive organisation method is only part of the appeal. Meal prepping encourages you to prepare fresh food for several days at a time, all at once, so you don’t have to cook throughout the week. It also reduces waste since you’re making more of an effort to use leftovers and plan each day’s meals in advance.
Batch Cooking - this involves cooking multiple portions of one meal and putting the leftovers into food containers in the fridge or freezer, ready for another day. This way, you don't need to cut or cook anything when you get home after a long day—you'll just need to reheat it when you're ready.
Prepped Ingredients - chop, peel, and prep your ingredients, such as veggies, several days in advance or cook anything that can be re-heated to save you time when you're ready to eat. This way, you have everything you need prepared to put your meal together at the last minute.
Individually Portioned Meals - this is where you make multiple dishes and pop them into containers to pick up as and when needed. They're often different meals to differentiate it from batch cooking. It can offer a greater variety of meals throughout the week if you don't mind cooking different meals at once on one day to make the rest of the week easier.
The best foods to meal prep are unlikely to spoil before you eat them. You might choose to stay away from chopped salads or sandwiches, for example, as these could become brown, dried out, or soggy whilst sitting in the fridge fully made for a few days. We also suggest avoiding foods with high moisture content for meal prep and items that can create a stench in your fridge, such as fish, or crunchy foods that can become stale like crackers, crisps, and breadsticks.
Top Tip: if you’re making a meal that you’d eat the leftovers of the next day, it’s perfect for meal prepping!
The main thing you need is plenty of food containers. Try getting microwave and freezer-safe containers to make things more convenient. You can also get food bags to separate raw ingredients such as cut meat or chopped vegetables if you're prepping ingredients.
Ensure you have enough chopping boards for everything you want to make. Have a board for vegetables and fruits, another for raw meat, and another for cooked. Remember to wash knives and chopping boards between uses.
For more cooking inspo, browse the articles below and check out our whole Cooking and Dining collection!
