Meal prepping: Everything you need to know before you start a routine

Are you tired of cooking every single day and would like to catch a break? Maybe it is time you worked on a meal prep routine. It may seem lazy cooking food in advance but for those who have to go to work every day and come home late appreciate the benefits of a meal prep.

Besides, would you rather spend quality time with your family or labour away every evening in the kitchen? Also meal prepping will not only save you more time with your family but it will also save you money you might be spending on food daily.

Before you jump into meal prepping, here are some things you should consider:

• Understand why you need a meal plan

You need to make your why clear before getting into a meal prepping routine. Do you need more time with your family? Are you on a new diet? Or are you simply trying to save some money? Once your goal is clear it will help you stay focused on meal prepping and inducting your family into the system won’t be as difficult as well.

• Decide on the meals

For a meal prep to work you have to decide on a favourable menu, you need to mix your favourite dishes with the less savoury ones just like you do every day. Make it as real as possible so it doesn’t give you a hard time when meal times come. You could make your family part of the process so they don’t feel left out in your new ‘adventure.’

• Start slow

The main reason you are opting for a meal prep is because cooking is not easy and you cannot do a whole week’s meal plan on your first try. Meal prepping is about cooking all the meals in a single day, if you are not used to it you will be exhausted. Start with two or three days first and gauge how you did and soon you will be a pro.

• Invest in airtight containers

Of course for your food to last a week or so you will need to get quality airtight containers. Consider getting containers that are the same sizes and shapes for easier storage in your fridge. While at it ensure they are also microwavable and easy to wash, since they will be storing different foods every week and you need your food as fresh as possible.

• How much can your fridge hold?

When it comes to meal prepping you should also consider how powerful your refrigerator is, not all can keep cooked for a whole week while maintaining the tastes. Also how long can your fridge hold in case of a black out? Imagine all the losses you could incur with a single black out? As you do your meal prep put into consideration your mode of storage and its capacity.

• Have alternative snacks

If you leave alone a meal prep can work perfectly but when your family is involved, you need to stock up on snacks as well. Nobody’s going to open the fridge all day and assume good food all week, one of them is bound to cave into temptation and ruin the whole point of meal prepping. Have snacks and fruits stocked in the house for those idle periods in between meals.

• Keep things simple

If you have the time to prepare fancy dishes, go for it but you are really not competing with anyone and who is to judge you? Cook meals that are easy to store and remember not all foods must be cooked in advance, like ugali doesn’t have to be prepared a week early.

Tip: Choose a day you are most comfortable with and well rested to do all your grocery shopping and cooking for your meal prep to work.