It’s January, which means there are a lot of people who are re-focusing and thinking more about their nutrition and eating habits. The only way to be successful at eating well and staying on track (whatever your track may be) is by planning. We’ve all heard the saying, “failing to plan is a plan to fail,” and it’s true. Without a little bit of thought, your best intentions will go right out the window which is why meal prep is so important.
Meal prep can sound scary, and time-consuming – but it’s really not! All meal prep does is make it easier for you to make good choices and save time later on.
In our house, we make supper fresh each night, so unless there will be a bunch of evenings when one of us isn’t home I don’t really worry about meal prepping for suppers. What I do prep for is lunch and snacks. In between classes I work from home so it’s easy for me to forget about lunch, or grab a handful of random food and keep going at whatever I’m working on. Unless I have my lunches planned, chances are I will forget to eat until 3pm, or end up eating something that is lower in protein than what I really need to fuel my workouts.
So on Sunday afternoons or evenings, I take 30 minutes or an hour and put together my lunches and plan my snacks for the week.
This past weekend I documented my meal prep to share with you just how easy it is! While grocery shopping I decided I would have a tortellini salad with ham for lunches, with strawberries, cheese and sunflower seeds for daytime snacks.
I started by getting my Snapware Total Solution Plastic Food Storage Containers out. I have 5 of the 5.35cup square containers, and 2 of the 3.01 cup containers. I use the square ones for my lunches, and the smaller two for snacks (in this case the strawberries) that need to be prepped.
After cutting the tops off and washing the berries I divided them evenly between the two containers and in under 5 minutes I had 2 snacks ready to go!
While I was working on the strawberries I had put on a pot of water to boil, so once the strawberries were done it was time to throw in the pasta. My tortellini pasta salad is pretty basic. I toss the cooked pasta with cherry tomatoes, olives, chopped red onion or scallion, feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil and top with a sprinkle of salt and Epicure sun dried tomato seasoning. Once the mixture had, had a few minutes to cool, I divided it into containers,
and then left them to cool completely before putting the covers on and storing in the fridge.
Speaking of covers, the Snapware covers are the reason I love them for meal prep. They go on so easily, stack really well, you never find yourself struggling to get a cover on or off (I know you know what I’m talking about!), and you don’t have to worry about the covers falling off if you are carrying one in your purse or bag.
So darn easy.
The rest of my lunch and snacks didn’t need any prep at all. The cheese was already in single serve packages, the spinach I wait to add to my salad when I’m ready to eat (so it doesn’t wilt), the ham was in a resealable package so I take out two slices at lunch and easily reseal the rest, and the sunflower seeds – well those are more of a “handful here, a mouthful there” sort of thing. 😉
All in all it took maybe 30-45 minutes to get all of my lunches and snacks ready for the week, and now when I’m hungry I know exactly what to have and I don’t have to spend any time at all getting it ready. And since I’m back to tracking my protein intake, I only had to calculate it once to know how much protein is in my lunch and snacks all week-long!
I’ve already mentioned Snapware’s awesome lids, but lets look at all the benefits of using Snapware over your standard grocery isle plastic containers. They are:
- BPA-Free
- Airtight, leak-proof, and write n’ erase lids <– how cool is that!?
- Four-latch locking lids are durable and easy to open and close
- Lid fits both Total Solution glass and plastic containers
- Space saving and nestable design
- Color coordinated lids for a quick match
- Made in the USA
- Safe to use in the microwave, refrigerator, freezer, and dishwasher
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
Snapware Total Solution Plastic Food Storage Containers are part of the World Kitchen family of brands. From bakeware, dinnerware, kitchen and household tools to range-top cookware, storage and cutlery, World Kitchen, LLC., and its affiliates manufacture and market brands known and trusted around the world. World Kitchen brands include Corningware, Snapware, Pyrex, Baker’s Secret, Chicago Cutlery, Corelle, and more!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Snapware. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
When I cook, I tend to make twice (or more) as much as required for the meal and then have left overs for the next day, and/or freeze extra portions to have for meals at a time when I am too busy to prepare something fresh. These containers seem like they would be great for left overs, freezing and transporting to work!
I always make extra each dinner so I can freeze one or two lunches for my hubby. He then just pops one into his lunch bag and then by lunch it is thawed and ready to reheat.
I plan the coming week’s meals and shop on Saturday and prep them on Sunday night. Coming up with meal ideas is the toughest part for me!
clean and cut up all the fruit and veggies first and then set up the containers like an assembly line and fill away, and try to have enough containers to last the week, it’s better to grab a container of fruit then a bag of chips!
I cut up carrots, celery and onions in big batches and freeze some of each together in a package to be ready to throw in the pot when I make soup. Any other veggies nearing the end of their shelf life also get chopped and frozen for soup.
I would loves these as i am always preparing extra food for lunches and the containers would work out nice to store and travel with
These would make preping lunches so easy! It is always nice to have things easy to go!
My Meal plan tip is go shopping first! I always find some crazy good deal when I’m grocery shopping..once I have all my loot at home I figure out what to make.
I have gotten my husband involved in the meal prep for the week. With the two of us in the kitchen we can get more food prepped in less time. Plus he’s a much better cook than I am!
I like to make up 3 days of food at a time and I log it all in My Fitness Pal at once so it keeps me accountable and I am more likely to stick to it.
On Sundays I always fill a few containers with a variety of washed and chopped fruits and veggies. I find it so handy for making my daughter’s lunch each morning and even for dinners when I’m in a time crunch.
my tip is when you buy your veggies and fruit to chop or cut them up as soon as you get home. Makes it so much easier for quick snacks and meals
I always do meal prep on the weekends! It’s one less thing to worry about during the week
My tip is to cook ahead on the weekends so meals are ready to go during busy weeknights.
My meal plan tip is to plan out an entire week’s worth of meals in advance. That way we are never guessing what to make for dinner that night. We also like to cook extra servings and take them in our lunches the next day, which means we go through a lot of containers with all of those leftovers!
My best tip is to make sure you clean out your fridge each week if you’re meal planning. You don’t want to miss a container of food in there and find it weeks later. I speak from experience!
my tip is never to buy more than you can use for that wk, I hate when fresh produces spoils before yo can use it, so I started buying fresh produce wkly and only buy what I know we can eat
Prepare as much as possible at the same time. Less clean up! It’s best when only preparing what will be eaten in a few days… to avoid having to throw food away.
My tip is to make extras so you have enough for another meal or freeze some so you have meals when don’t have time to cook.
My tip is to wrap produce in a lightly damp paper towel to keep it fresher.
when i cook on the weekends i try to make enuff suppers for the week when i have to work late and its easy for my kids to re heat for suppers.
I like making big batches of food with a friend and then splitting up the results! Then you can mix things up through the week a little
I buy things I can easily serve, precut veggies, fruit and salads.
My tip is to plan and make a list of meals for the following week before going grocery shopping.
I do not currently meal prep, so I do not have a tip, but I am using your points as a guide to get started
If I don’t prepare enough for an extra meal, I still save it for a lunch for myself at work one day.
I use rubber bands to hold my tin foil down and keep my food extra fresh!
Plan ahead cook meals on the weekend and freeze them to have all week
I buy things I can easily serve and i damp paper towel to keep it fresher.
My tip is to plan your meals before going to the supermarket so you will have ample ingredients ready to go,
My prep tip – for salads, include the dressing on the side, or keep at the very bottom of the container with the larger “wet” ingredients and keep the container right side up, then shake.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
I cook meat ahead of time in the crock pot and freeze it for easy making meals during the week
We prep our meals each weekend since we have some busy weeks. We prepack our lunches and get thignsd ready for dinner such as cutting up veggies and fruits.
I plan ahead with a meal planner and have some freezer meals. I also got my friends into freezer cooking so once a month we cook on the same day in large batches, then she comes over with her kids and brings some meals with her and she leaves with some of the meals I made. It breaks up the routine and gives a good variety.
I don’t do much food prep but I will make a big batch of homemade granola bars, individually wrap & use for my kids school snacks.
working shift work i also plan ahead meals. i work more on a 4 day scheduled & will try to cook meals that leave me left overs for lunch. I make my lunch the night before so in the AM its pack & go so i know my lunch will have a bit of everything i’ll need
if I can get my fruits and veggies washed and prepped for the week then I know that I’ll be more likely to eat them throughout the week instead of them going bad.
My favorite meal prep tip is to wash the veggies for the week & dice them up & store them in separate containers. I usually dice up onions, shred cheese, boil eggs, cook bacon & chicken breast, & then store them in separate containers so we can add them to our meals throughout the week!
Andysavi.Mom@gmail.com
I don’t have many tips, just make my lunch the night before!
I plan with a meal planner and I have a big freezer 🙂
I’m getting to know my slow cooker really well!
Plan ahead
My meal prep tip is to make extra when you make a meal so you have enough to freeze for a second meal.
I’ve always wanted to meal prep. I keep saying that I will, but it just never happens
I always make meals that will last 2 meals (2 different ways)
Great for storing leftovers, and preparing lunches.
Make extras! Leftovers are awesome! Quick and easy.
Food storage containers are really very useful to have at home! I also find preparing meals very important and I am trying to be very efficient when it comes to using all the food that I buy. Many times I need small food storage containers so I can preserve some pieces that are left of to have food easy to access in the fridge! Thank you for sharing this!