The Beginner's Guide To Meal Prep Jus By Julie

Most of us are pretty busy in our day-to-day lives. Now it's time to enjoy your home cooked meals. Grill - Make sure it is hot enough before cooking so it doesn't take longer to cook, which leads to your meat being exposed to smoke longer. No one is going to spend their Sunday making 21 meals for the week ahead, so keep your goals realistic.

We would each bring in four meals a week. Take your large pot and dump both bags of veggies in. Add water until the vegetables are covered, and put on the stove on medium high heat. These are great to make one time, meal prep them for later use and pull one out at a time when you are ready for it.

The first week prep 1 or 2 recipes ahead of time and as you get comfortable with the process you can prep more. Planning on throwing the potatoes with the chicken and see how many meals I get out of that. Meal prepping not only saves time throughout the week, it also saves a lot of money.

You'll cut down on waste and cost, and this forces you to get creative with your meal prep and what you have on hand. Glass containers can be heated, used and washed mutiple times without showing wear and tear. If you're not a huge fan of spending time in the kitchen, listen to your favorite podcast or playlist while cooking up a storm to make the process more enjoyable.

Once you get a hang of one recipe or meal, you can try two (like lunches and dinners) or try prepping your breakfast ahead. One reason Jess always prefers cooking at home and meal prepping for the week is the control she has over her food. With specific, step-by-step instructions and meal prep plans that eliminate the guesswork of what to eat and for which meal, this cookbook is your kick-start guide to meal prep like a pro.

For the meal prep in the photo that I posted, I roasted two whole chickens ( ate some for dinner that night ) and made mini meatballs out of lean ground beef (also baked). You can pre-package specific meals to save time, or put the food into separate containers and build your own meal as you go.

Meal prep is a simple and easy way to track your food intake. Start small when you begin meal prepping. I purchase these meal Intro to Meal Prep prep containers on Amazon. Once your meals are prepared ahead of time, you simply take them out of the fridge and heat them up. You'll also save money because cooking in bulk tends to be cheaper, and it's way less expensive than going to a restaurant for lunch.

We are generally ok rusting up a quick dinner but, when it comes to lunches, it's often a sad-looking sandwich (I used to be the kind of person who would eat plain cheese sandwiches for a couple of weeks in a row) or an overpriced meal deal that just doesn't deliver on taste.

Next, you need to PLAN your meal recipes. You have to find recipes for meals that taste great and will store well in the refrigerator for up to a week. You've cooked it all and now it's time to package it all up for the week ahead. You can choose to spend a whole day meal prepping for the next few days or spread it out nightly.

Pro Tip: If you're new to meal prepping, start small. Into each of 4 containers, scoop about 2 cups of chicken and vegetables. It is nice to have a separate cutting board for vegetables and meat or multiple skillets to cook more than one thing at once but it is not mandatory.