Meal Prep Like A Pro

Learn how to find the meal prep style that works for you and learn which tools I love in my own kitchen. Plus, grab my real-life menu for February and template to build your own.

Jan 31, 2024

It is one of my greatest joys to open the fridge and see little jars of colorful pickles and uniform containers of roasted vegetables and grilled chicken waiting for me. There is something so safe and charming about a loaf of homemade bread resting next to the butter dish on my counter. That humble loaf, along with some homemade granola and bowl of sliced strawberries are so much more than simple ingredients.

They are small beacons of hope and offer a sense of peace in the chaos of everyday life.

They reassure me that no matter what comes that day, or that week, that I have at least a few simple ingredients that my family loves, ready whenever I need them. If the toddler didn’t sleep through the night again, I can have a slower morning knowing we have breakfast figured out. Or, if someone unexpectedly stops by, I can offer a small gesture of hospitality through a simple snack. Dinner turns from being a burden and stress, into a connection point with my family because the time is spent less on cooking and more on reheating. When I know that I have at least a few basic pantry items and some simple components of a meal prepped ahead of time, it brings peace to my week and lightens the burden of feeding all the people all the time.

I share this sentiment to give you something to hold onto when it feels too cumbersome to take the leap into meal prepping. I also share this as someone who it did not come naturally to and was not a regular habit for until I started meal prepping professionally. I did not grow up in a home where this was modeled and it took years of trial and error in my own kitchen to find a routine that worked best for me.

So, maybe you are thinking “that all sounds wonderful and romantic to have time to meal prep each week, but I am just too busy.” Or maybe you have tried to meal prep before and it just felt too tedious. Or, you feel like if you can’t set aside a whole day to prep for the week like the influencers online than it isn’t worth it. Maybe you don’t have the budget for fancy containers, or coming up with what to prep is the hardest part for you.

No matter where you are at, I am here to say that meal prepping can be simple if you find the right style. Just like I talked about last month in my meal planning post, to make any routine stick, you have to work with your schedule, budget, and real-life - and meal prepping and cooking of any kind are no exception.

I could fill a book with all the different ways to meal prep more efficiently, recipes to cook, and the do’s and dont’s of it all. But, there are a lot of people far more qualified than I to write that book, and this post would be so long you would lose interest and waste the valuable time that you could be cooking. So, instead of overwhelming you, I wanted to start small today and focus on the first step - finding your style of meal prep. I also wanted to give you a few tools that I personally use in my kitchen for my weekly food prep.

And as always, below you will find:

A menu for the month and template to plan your own
A few of my favorite YouTube channels, podcasts, and IG accounts that will help get you ready to meal prep like a pro

Styles of Meal Prep

There are a variety of ways to make meal prepping work for you. If you don’t know your style just yet, try out the different ways listed below and see which works best for your season of life right now. It may be a few weeks before you nail down an exact routine, but the key is to keep it simple and start small.

A Quick Wash and Chop

onions and tomatoes — Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash

Something is always better than nothing. When you don’t have the time or desire to cook anything ahead of time, but you want to be organized and ready for the week, try tackling a few small tasks to get a head start on the week.
Simple preparations can go a long way in helping ease the stress of cooking, like:
- Washing and chopping all veggies and fruit
- Marinating meat so it is ready to grill
- Blending up one or two sauces or dressings to use in multiple dishes
- Grouping ingredients together in your fridge by recipe so they can be easily found when you are ready to cook. For extra ease, print out the recipe and put it on top of the ingredients so it’s ready when you are.

Mix and Match
Photo by Kim Deachul on Unsplash
- This is for those who have a little more time to cook, but want flexibility when using the cooked ingredients throughout the week without committing to set recipes. Ingredients are stored separately to be used in a variety of meals along with other pantry items and produce you have on hand.
- This is a great style if you are tracking macros because it is easier to weigh out as you go.
- Here is a sample prep list:
  - 2 Starches - rice and roasted sweet potatoes
  - 3 Other Veggies - steamed broccoli, roasted zucchini and summer squash
  - Sliced Fruit (for snack or side) - Strawberries and Oranges
  - 3 Protein options - Turkey Meatballs, Shredded Chicken, and Roasted Salmon
  - 2 Sauces/Dressings - Green Goddess Dressing and Balsamic Vinaigrette
  - Pantry Items - Granola and Energy Bites
  - Baked Good - Sourdough English Muffins
Complete Meals
Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash
- This is for the person who may have more time on a given day than the rest of the week, and they like following recipes to have complete meals ready to go. This may look like individual portions or family style meals.
- This can be done for a few meals or the entire week’s menu. It can be for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Or, it can just be the meal that is the biggest pain point for you. It is up to how much time you have to cook, and how much you like leftovers versus freshly cooked meals.
- For example -
  - Maybe breakfast is always a hectic time of day getting kids out the door, so having some baked oatmeal, or yogurt parfaits ready are the most helpful use of your prep time.
  - Or, having individual dinners ready are helpful for the nights that one parent takes one kid to dance and the other takes the second kid to soccer practice.
  - Having a couple family style meals prepped works well, even if you live alone, because you host a mid-week book club and provide a meal.
- This style of prep is great because meal time requires no thinking after it’s made, just reheating.
- A sample prep list would look something like this:
  - Breakfast: Yogurt Parfaits, Berry Oat Bake, Sourdough English Muffins, Veggie Egg Bake
  - Lunch: Strawberry Spinach Salad with shredded chicken, Balsamic Dressing, Corn Chowder, and Bento Box
  - Dinner: Lemon Herb Salmon with coconut rice and roasted broccoli, Greek Turkey Meatballs with roasted peppers and onions, and Grain Bowls with chicken, sweet potatoes, rice, and zucchini
  - Snacks: Homemade granola and Energy Bites
Batch Cooking
Photo by Carnivore Style on Unsplash
- This style is for those who want to prepare multiple of the same meal at once to maximize prep time and have extras to freeze for the future. It can look similar to any of the above styles or a combination of them all.
- This is a great tactic, especially when you have a busy season coming up like pregnancy, an upcoming surgery, or caring for an ill family member. Even if it is just to have meals ready for unexpected events, this is a great way to help your future self out - even if it just helps spend less money on takeout.
- A few things that are great for batch cooking and freeze well are:
  - Baked Goods - Bread, Bagels, Muffins, Pancakes, Waffles
  - One pan meals - Casseroles, Enchiladas, Pot Pie
  - Soups
  - Crockpot “Dump Meals” (the raw meat and sauce in one bag, ready to dump into the pot) - BBQ Pork, Salsa Chicken
  - Cooked Meat, shredded or chopped to defrost and add to soups or meals quickly
  - Smoothie Freezer Packs (omit the liquid)
  - Desserts - Pie Filling, Cookie Dough

Have what you need

A Plan

I highly suggest getting in a rhythm with meal planning before incorporating an intense prep routine. In my meal planning post, you will find all you need to find the best planning system for you.

If you don’t have a plan, you are less likely to be successful and it can be discouraging to set aside the time, collect all the tools, and then get ready to cook just to discover that you don’t have an ingredient or a good recipe.

If you don’t have a plan for what you will be cooking, you will be less likely to feel like cooking and discouraged from prepping altogether.

Tools

Ok, so you have your plan, you figured out your style, now you need a few kitchen gadgets (who doesn’t need a reason to go shopping, right?!?)

All joking aside, keep it simple and within your means. Do not blow your budget on new gadgets just because you are trying to get better at meal prep. Fancy containers may be pretty, but they don’t change your life or make you cook. Get creative with what you already have, repurposing storage bags and containers before buying new items.

Outside of basic kitchen items you normally use for cooking - like pots, pans, baking sheets, mixing bowls, knives, etc. - these are the only a couple things I would suggest investing in if you find yourself meal prepping regularly.

Containers (Somewhere to put the prepped food)
- I use these Pyrex glass containers with the lids because they can go from fridge to oven to freezer to dishwasher seamlessly. They also have compartmentalized ones as well.
- Prep Natural is another great brand for glass containers.
- If you don’t mind plastic, my two favorites that I use for lunch items and leftovers are: Rubbermaid Brilliance and the Rubbermaid Containers with stacking lids.

Reusable Storage Bags
- I love using bags in my kitchen to store odds and ends leftover from prep, baked goods, or even liquids like homemade stocks or soups.
  - I would love to say that I use the Stasher brand, because it has been proven to be the best and most sturdy. But, my budget doesn’t allow me to buy them at that price point. If yours does, make the splurge. I have heard they are worth it.
  - If you are like me, I have these and they have been great!
- No matter which brand you choose, make sure you search for “STAND UP.” This will make a big difference in storing them efficiently in the fridge or freezer.
- Also, some say dishwasher safe, but I always hand wash to extend the life. They have drying racks to go with them like this, but I always just face mine upside down on my paper towel holder or the little nob to the left of my faucet at the sink.

Nice to have, but not necessary items
- Aluminum food trays - Costco always has them, but I found them on Amazon here too. These are great for batch cooking, freezing, or bringing someone a meal.
- A food scale - Great if you are tracking your macros or frequently use recipes that go by weight.
- A Crockpot or Instant Pot - so helpful to set it and forget it for meats, soups, chilis, and so much in between.
- An Air Fryer - I don’t have one, but people swear by them. I will probably break down and get one someday if I ever stopped cooking for more than our family, and if I did it would be this one by Breville for its larger capacity and high quality.

February Menu and Template

Below is a month of my family’s real meals for the month of February. Use this as inspiration for what to cook, but then make it your own with the blank template. Use recipes that work with your dietary needs, budget, and schedule.

If planning monthly is too much of a commitment, break down the meal plan into weekly chunks. This is still just as helpful and provides all of the same benefits.