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5 Meal Prepping Basics that Every Prepper Should Know

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Although many people want to prep their meals beforehand, it’s common to feel overwhelmed by the process and not follow through on the task. However, meal prepping isn’t so tiresome once you get organized. We’ve compiled a list of meal prepping basics to help you organize and get ready to prep your next meal.

  1. Start Off Small

As a prepping beginner, it’s crucial that you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Though it might be tempting to jump right into it, doing so could easily overwhelm you and reduce your motivation to continue the process. Start by prepping a few ingredients ahead of time to make cooking dinner easier. From there, you can work your way up to a meal or two as the process gets quicker.

  1. Decide on the Best Prep Method for You

While your friend may swear by the make-ahead meals method, that doesn’t mean that it’s best for you and your lifestyle. It’s important that you experiment with the different prepping methods; take time to figure out which methods work in your household and which ones don’t. Some possible strategies are as follows:

  • Make-ahead meals

If your busy schedule doesn’t allow much time for cooking during the week, you may want to consider prepping full meals ahead of time. Common recipes for this method include soups and casseroles because they’re easy to store and reheat.

  • Batch cooking or freezing

This method involves doubling a recipe and freezing the excess for future meals. You’re going to need plenty of freezer space as well as reliable containers, but the end result will be worth it.

  • Individually portioned meals

Whether you have specific health goals you’re trying to reach or are looking for a quick grab-and-go meal, you may want to prepare meals according to individual serving sizes. This includes mason jar salads and overnight oats.

  • Ready-to-cook ingredients

If you don’t want to reheat your meals, you could prep the ingredients instead. By chopping vegetables and portioning out seasonings ahead of time, you’ll be saving yourself some much-needed time.

  1. Schedule Your Prepping

If you know ahead of time what meals you’re going to prep and when you’re going to do so, you can shave even more time off of the weekly process. We suggest purchasing a calendar or notebook that’s exclusively dedicated to planning your prepping process. Using a planner makes it easier to schedule the process as well as take down what items you’ll need from the grocery store.

  1. Use Recipes That You Can Count On

We all have a few meals that we default to when we want to make something quickly and easily. These staples will be the foundation for your prepping routine. Since they’re generally the easiest recipes for you to make, they should be the ones you start off with when you’re developing a system. Some easy meal prep recipes generally include chicken, vegetables, and a crockpot to cut down on the work you have to do.

  1. Use the Proper Containers

It’s important that you use the proper storage containers when you’re prepping food. You don’t want to risk the meals getting moldy, freezer burnt, or contaminated—especially after you go through all the work to prepare them. Not only will you need to purchase containers that are air-tight and reusable, but you also want to make sure that they’re BPA free as well as freezer, dishwasher, and microwave safe.

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