Many Americans know that deciding what’s for dinner, navigating how to get it and preparing the meal can be a daunting feat each week. From coordinating what the family will eat to gathering the ingredients and finding time to prepare, meal preparation takes significant time and money. Last-minute meals can create extra stress and higher costs for convenience, so what is the answer?
What is Meal Prep?
Meal prepping involves making multiple meals at once and preserving them for the week or month ahead. This does involve a significant time commitment up front, but makes meal time quicker, simpler, and more economical.
Let’s walk through a few different meal prep tips that could help save your family time and money.
1. Set a Designated “Meal Prep Time”
Scheduling a recurring time and place to prep and plan meals helps keep the process consistent. The timing of when you start your meal prep plan is entirely up to you. Maybe you choose to reset every Sunday and prepare the meals for the week that morning. Whenever you decide, do what you can to revisit that time regularly so you will have meals planned ahead of time.
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2. Create a Space to Save Recipes
Now that you have created the time, we need a place to meal prep. Start by finding a place to save recipes and grocery lists that can be reused. Some use the notes app on their phone, social media apps like Pinterest or even local grocery store online accounts. Finding a space to save recipes makes choosing a meal less time-intensive each week. Once this is in place you can save your favorite frozen meals, crock pot meals, or sheet pan meals that feed the whole family.
3. Remember to Start Small
Starting a new process is exciting and it can be easy to jump ahead and set unrealistic expectations. Let’s try to remember to start small by preparing some snacks or maybe a meal or two at the beginning of your meal prep journey. Then once you find a process that works, maximize the number of meals to prepare at one time.
4. Consider Bulk Buys
Meal prepping can bring financial and health benefits by buying in bulk. Buying proteins or panty essentials in bulk, typically lends itself to a lower overall cost, reducing the amount you spend on groceries. Having meal plans also can bring health benefits because many meal prep recipes are a mix of nutrient-dense, balanced meals. Finding ways to store protein and pantry items in bulk can help maximize meal prep benefits. Investing in containers, vacuum seal supplies or even a deep freezer can provide long-term benefits.
5. Explore Online Ordering
Many grocery store chains now have online ordering options that save your purchases. This is a great way to revisit the contents of last week’s grocery list. In addition, some grocery stores offer digital coupons that can be directly applied to your order allowing for extra savings. Scheduling options are also available so orderscould be created and scheduled for pick up later in the day or week. This helps save time and money in the meal prep process.
With many Americans looking for ways to save on the essentials, meal prepping is one way to get ahead of schedule. Not only can you save money and time, but you can even lessen stress levels around meals. Give it a try and see what kind of benefits you discover.
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