The ultimate meal prepping guide
1. Meal prep in advance
This can be as simple as preparing your dinner tonight or
meal prepping lunches for the workweek. Make it from scratch, but make double or triple your usual amount, then freeze the leftovers. You instantly have 2 dinner meals to last you for the next two days.
2. Buy in bulk
Any time you see a good deal on something you like, such as vegetables in season, snap up way more than usual and spend a little time prepping it and cooking it for next time. You will be thankful that you can pull a meal straight out of a freezer bag for an instant meal. This may seem like more work at first, but trust me – once you get into a routine of doing this, you will be amazed at how quickly you can pull dinner together with something you have made in advance (and at a much cheaper cost too).
I enjoyed this 10-minute video on
Freezing & Storing Veggies.
3. Focus on the basics
Cook, cool and then freeze roasted veggies, mashed potato, cauliflower rice and grains such as quinoa, lentils or rice. Cook them plain first, then add flavours, sauces and seasonings once thawed (whether you are having Mexican or Italian). This way you can have a lot of variety with your meals, almost in an instant.
Check out this article,
How to Meal Prep for the Week – Inspiring!
4. Make new creations from your favourites
When you cook in bulk, use the same ingredients in different ways. For example, I make a mixed vegetable mash that can be used as the filling for fish cakes and served with chicken, fish or steak on another occasion. Read my recipe for
Rainbow Fishcakes with Batch Freezing Instructions.
There you have it. Meal prepping doesn't mean making everything from scratch. Ignore this misconception. Sometimes meal prepping can mean stocking up on the shortcut staples like black beans,
rotisserie chicken, frozen brown rice, or pre-cut butternut squash.
Do you have any special tips to cook like a pro at home? Share with us in the comment box below!
Next Read: Stasher bag review - the handiest eco-friendly bags for your kitchen
