For some families, the grind of getting meals to the table can be a real peace stealer. The time it takes to chop, slice, cook, and serve meals can cut into time they could be using in another way. Meal prepping is getting a lot of attention and can help save time and energy in lots of ways. Here’s how it works-
Meal prepping is all about preparing whole meals or components of meals ahead of time. Meals, or the key ingredients for multiple meals, can be prepared and stored for easy access and quick turnaround, saving busy families a lot of time.
You can meal prep whole meals in advance
One of the concepts for meal prepping is creating whole meals ahead of time. This includes cooking large batches of foods once and portioning them to be used over time. You can easily make casseroles, soups, stews, or other meals that your family loves and reheat them for lunches or dinner. This saves the time of cooking a new meal each and every day.
You can meal prep individual ingredients in advance
Sometimes families like variety. Meal prepping is great for cooking batches of ingredients that your family can use to make a variety of meals throughout the week. Cooking a batch of rice, pasta, meat, and veggies can be mixed and matched for a range of meals.
You can also prep fresh veggies, grated cheese, or prepare other sides to go with your food prepped items. This saves additional time and makes putting meals together even easier. Have salad items chopped and ready or other items you use regularly.
Shop and cook one day per week
Meal preppers tend to shop and prepare foods one day of the week. Using conventional methods like the stovetop or oven, mixed with handy appliances like Instapots, air fryers, and crockpots, multiple items can be made at once. This can increase the variety of options for your family.
Meal prepping saves time and money
Meal prepping saves a ton of time during the week because you won’t have to do anything except reheat foods for the family. It also saves money because you can use meal prepping for homemade lunches, and you won’t end up in the drive thru when you don’t have enough time after work to make a full meal.
Meal prepping keeps families healthier
One of the biggest advantages of meal prepping is it helps avoid impulse eating and can help manage calories. By portioning out meals, families tend to eat less and stay healthier. When healthy foods are available in the fridge and ready to go there’s less likelihood of eating unhealthy snacks or over eating.
Meal prepping is a great way to bring peace into your home. Having a week’s worth of healthy foods for lunch and/or dinner is an excellent way to save time and money and make your evenings hassle free.
