Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
I have a love/hate relationship with meal prepping. I love it because I KNOW it saves me time during the week. And I hate it because I hate taking the time to do it. You know, it’s like folding laundry. It’s annoying because you know you have to do it every week for the rest of your life.
This article wasn’t meant be depressing. Actually, meal prepping can be a lot of fun and we’re going to look at some fun ways to do it.
Once you’ve done your meal planning (which, by the way, you can read the article titled, "Meal Plan Like a Boss" for more tips) and you’ve purchased your ingredients, it’s time to prep.
Even you just have 30 mins, prepping now rather than waiting for later will help so much and actually make sure it happens. I usually hold out my produce and don’t even put it into the fridge until its washed and dried. I would also recommend getting some good quality glass storage containers to place your prepped foods in. They will last longer and its safer for microwaving.
Here is a good timeline for prepping your newly purchased foods:
Place your desired amount of rice/quinoa in a bowl and cover with filtered water for at least 20 minutes.
While that soaks, place your berries and grapes in large bowls of 10 cups water with 1/4 cup of white vinegar solution and let them soak for 2 minutes. Rinse well and then lay on paper towels to dry. You don't want to end up with fermented strawberries, believe me!
Begin chopping/dicing/slicing cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes and place in glass dishes.
Turn oven on to 400 degrees and let it preheat.
Rinse rice/quinoa and cook according to the instructions. While that is cooking, chop veggies for roasting and roast for around 30-45 minutes depending on the vegetable.
Quickly rinse herbs like cilantro, dill and parsley and dry with a paper towel. These herbs will last a good amount of time in a plastic bag with a paper towel to help absorb moisture.
Once veggies and grains finished cooking and are cooled, place in glass containers along with washed/dried fruits.
I don't like to pre-make my meals, but if you do for school lunches or lunches to take to work, you can do that at this time or wait until the next day. I like to have lots of options for making the foods that I feel like for that day.
Full-on meal prepping is going to be a similar process except that you will be putting together full meals. You can do a bit of both food and meal prep or choose one depending on how much time you have for the week.
Usually you will want to start with the things that take the most time first. Because you will be focusing less on meats than typical meal preps, this won’t involve a lot of grilling or oven time. The things you’ll want to be focused on are roasting your vegetables and soaking and cooking your grains.
Take a look at your recipes and make a running list of the vegetables that need to be chopped and how many, any meats that don’t need to be seasoned that can be cooked, as well as any grains that aren’t seasoned that can be cooked. I don’t recommend pre-cooking noodles as they can be annoying to reheat. Begin prepping these items by:
Turning the oven on to 425 degrees
Begin soaking your grains
Chop your vegetables for roasting and for refrigerating
Begin roasting vegetables and rinse and cook grains
While this is happening, get out your other ingredients and seasonings. This is a good time to also set aside your fruits and veggies used for light meals (snacks) and have them in personal servings ready to go.
Prepare any seasoned meats and vegetables to put in the oven as soon as your other batch is finished.
If you want to freeze these foods, then get out and label gallon Ziploc bags with the name of the meal and the date. If you will be consuming in the next 3-5 days, you can leave the foods fresh and put them together in labeled Ziploc bags or large glass containers in the fridge.
By this time your roasted veggies should be finished and your cooked grains. Let them cool and begin putting your meals together.
A tip for breakfast items is that your dry ingredients can be pre-packed in Ziploc bags (like for instance your oatmeal or chia) and this can help with prep in the morning. Be sure to label these bags as well! In less than 2hrs your meals for the week will be prepped to the max and make your life so much easier
Food and meal prep is a great way set yourself up for success during the week and ensure you have healthy options available when you need it!