Meal Prep Made Easy -Part 1

ByDiane
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Meal prepping has become more than a trend. It’s a simple lifestyle shift that helps you eat healthier, save money, and make weeknight meals effortless. There are many ways to meal prep, take a look.

Let’s jump right into it.

We’ll talk about the meals and how to prep them so meal time is easier for you. There are many ways to meal prep. I’m going to share the two methods I use most.

  • The first method is prepping all your ingredients, then each day it’ll take about 10 minutes to fix up meals based on the ingredients you prepared.
  • The second method is making individual meals, placing them in containers to have complete meals ready to eat, just heat and eat.

When beginning to plan things out, I suggest thinking about the foods you like to eat most.

Specifically, what meals do you make that your family loves: is it lasagna, or Greek style beef kabobs, or lemon garlic chicken.

Calculate how many servings you are looking to have prepped.

When you open the fridge/freezer, what do you wish was in there… breakfast items, snacks, as well as meals.

One of the most popular meals in my home is Mexican food (oh, how I love tacos, so I’ve found making taco bowls is always a good idea). I make them often… and with different protein options.

The next most popular item is. Pasta and Meat Sauce! It’s always a winner. And so many options on flavor, I’ll have to work on a post to share all the varieties I make.

I have a post on Cooking Chicken for the week all at once, which you may find helpful to prep out lots of chicken.

The list goes on… there are many favorites, some seasonal that find their way into rotation, like this pumpkin alfredo or chicken pineapple kabobs.

Everyone’s list may look different. I’ll give you recipes and options to make it work for you.

And… no, you won’t be eating the same meals each night. Unless you choose to.

Make a list of what you’d like to have for the week. Similar items will help make it easier to prep.

Such as a hot pasta meal for dinners and for lunches, cold pasta salad, chicken for dinner, and make extra to make chicken salad, or to put on salads, for instance.

Increase variety as you get the timing down to a minimum, and work on multitasking the prep. This will help reduce stress if you’re new to meal prep.

If you’ve never prepped or batch cooked, maybe start small … with 3 days of food, so it’s not overwhelming, to ensure success.

Do it your way, create a routine, or be flexible and wing it. I’m giving you ideas, what works for me, recipes, and plans, mix it up any way you’d like. Your own meal prep has changed how it looked over time, as life has changed, so has my meal prep.

Decide on what you will put the food in. What containers will stack well to fit in your fridge and freezer? Being prepared will help it go smoothly.

I’ve set up a week of meals if you need ideas, recipes. Feel free to swap out recipes with your own, too.

HARD BOILED EGGS how to and recipes from createdbydiane.com

And I typically make hard-boiled eggs to have on hand.

Meal Prep Example: This week, meal prep will look like cooking all the proteins one day, 1lb ground beef, 3 lbs chicken breast, 1 lb turkey meatballs, and cutting up all vegetables. Prep the Carbs: 2 lbs pasta, 2 cups rice. Prep the Italian chopped salad with dressing on the side to add before serving, or prep the chicken salad and hard boiled eggs.

The day of eating each meal:

  • Day 1– heat the sauce, add cooked beef, heat the pasta, toss everything together, add vegetables, and serve. Place all items in containers. meal plan you’ll prep ground beef, ground chicken, and chicken.
  • Day 2-Make the alfredo sauce, heat chicken and pasta, toss in the sauce. Add vegetables and serve.
  • Day 3-Sauté the vegetables, add chicken, make the sauce, and add it. Serve over rice.
  • Day 4- Make mashed potatoes, fresh or try these, a can of cranberry sauce, make or buy gravy, heat meatballs, add a vegetable, and serve.
  • Day 5– Prepare the French bread pizza, serve with a salad

>>> Lots of options, if you don’t care for a meal I mention, swap it out for one you prefer.

Option 2 on that same list: Prep out meals, fridge or freeze them. Write on freezer tape, post-it notes, or write with chalk markers to label containers.

Prep the proteins, pasta, rice, and potatoes, cut all the vegetables, and make each meal. I like to choose three meals from the list and double two of them. Once everything is cooked, portion the meals into individual containers. Some go in the fridge, and some in the freezer.

Building a freezer stash adds variety and makes life easier for lunches or busy nights. There are always a few meals you’ll eat again and again. Those are the best ones to freeze.

When you need something quick, you’ll have a meal ready to heat and eat. Midweek, you can prep a couple of fresh meals if needed or add more to the freezer as time allows. A little multitasking helps you get more done in less time.

This is Part 1 of my meal prep series. I have many planned…

I tried to break this up into a series you will hopefully try, that you won’t be exhausted reading, and find a way to make it work for you.

Leave any questions in the comments.

Smart Meal Prep: Neutral proteins = endless flavor options

I find prepping the proteins without a specific flavor always added at the time of cooking allows you to create flexibility. Add the flavor before you heat the protein so it’s not plain. Add seasoning, or the sauce, and reheat the protein. As it heats, it will absorb the flavors.

Let’s Talk SALT:

You should definitely salt your chicken before cooking it for meal prep. Salting chicken before cooking improves its flavor and tenderness, and it also helps to retain moisture.

This is especially important for meal prep, since you want your chicken to stay fresh and full of flavor for several days. I like using coarse kosher salt because it’s easy to pinch, adds great taste, and coats both sides of the chicken breast evenly. Salt promotes a drier surface for better browning.

 

Do you have to eat the same meals day after day?

No. Once you figure out how to prep enough food, place some in the freezer. Then you can mix up what you’re eating by having a variety.

Maybe you don’t want to freeze meals, that’s ok. You’ll have food in the fridge. If you make a pound of pasta for 2 people, you can make 2 different sauces, so it’s not the same taste all week. Keeping it simple with the same protein, then add a different vegetable.

How many days will my meal-prepped food last in the fridge?

Sometimes that will depend on the items you make. Certain foods last longer than others. As I’m sure you know, when you have items leftover and how long before they are no longer good.

I find that the majority of the meals I make can last 5 days in the fridge. If on day 2, 3, or 4, I think I won’t get to them all by day 5, I put them in the freezer. Once frozen, if thawed, I eat them within 24 hours, ensuring they are at their best.

For the best food safety recommendations, it’s recommended not to let the food cool off to room temperature before storing. Seal containers, place in fridge.

I’ve been meal prepping for as long as I can remember. I first started by planning and prepping my lunches so I didn’t have to do it each day. I’d make something for the week and eat it each day for lunch. The next week would be something different.

In later years, I’d make all my kids’ sandwiches for the week on one day, put them in the fridge, and prep out snacks for them, so it kept the mornings less stressful.

How long does meal prep take?

Great question! I typically plan out 2 hours. I get as much as I can accomplished. I’ve been doing it for many years. I write everything down I’ll be doing, and see how to batch cook items to save time. It goes quicker as you get better at multi tasking! How long will it take you, that will all depend on how organized you are. Writing it all down will help. PRINT THIS to help.

Give me about 2 hours and I can have everything prepped, cooked, cleaned up, and tucked away—way quicker than making dinner from scratch every single night!

And who wouldn’t like a piece of cake, single slices freeze well 🤩

More reasons I like to have cooked chicken on hand or in the freezer. Need more meal options:

  • Chicken Caesar Salad with Chicken– A classic Caesar salad topped with juicy seasoned chicken and crisp romaine with homemade creamy Caesar dressing.
  • Green Chicken Chili– A hearty, flavor-packed chili made with tender chicken, mild green chiles, and real comfort in every bowl.
  • Chicken Lo Mein– Savory noodles tossed with stir-fried chicken and vegetables in a rich, flavorful sauce.
  • Chicken Fried Rice– A quick, satisfying dish of golden rice stir-fried with chicken, eggs, and veggies for an easy meal any night.

To keep everything organized…

Click here to print this meal prep organizer. It will help you gather your ideas, make a to-do list, and plan what you’ll be cooking and eating for the week.

As a reminder, don’t forget to sign up for my emails, so you don’t miss the next part of this series, and be alerted to my latest recipe. I often send 1 email a week, and you may get 2 around holidays.

Did you know email is the best way to stay in touch… it helps me send you my newest recipes, and remind you of seasonal favorites, as well as it’s the fastest way for you to get a response from me. Just reply to any email and it’ll land in my inbox!

Feel free to share this post with anyone you think may enjoy it.

Thanks for making it all the way to the end!

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