Meal Prepping is the ultimate hack in the present day. Being the busybody that you are, cooking daily could prove to be a challenge. That's why if you aren't hooked on meal prepping yet, you should. If this is your first time trying meal prepping, it can prove to be difficult and confusing. However, with the right hacks, you'll be a pro in no time. Here are some tips that you can make use of as you dive into the culinary world of meal prepping.
Plan
The key to successful meal prepping lies in your ability to plan adequately. This is because you are encompassing meals for days to come and should, therefore, know the recipes that you are going to make use of. It would help if you planned on when you'll be prepping your meals and whether you’ll be doing it weekly or bi-weekly. It would be best if you also planned the meals that you are going to have for the next couple of days and ensure that there is a balance throughout the plan. If you want to master meal prepping, you can't ignore the need to create a plan.
Have A Grocery List
How else are you going to remember all the ingredients that you need for the several meals that you are going to make if you don't have a grocery list? The goal of meal prepping is to save time. Shopping every day for several items defeats the purpose of prepping your meals. Needless to say, if you also forget to buy ingredients, it can mess up the plan you had, causing you to be less enthusiastic about the prepping process. To avoid all of this, just make a grocery list based on the meals you have planned.
Choose Quality Storage Containers
This is a very important aspect of meal prepping as the quality and preservation of your food will depend on the containers you store it in. You wouldn't want to prep your food and eat it soggy, would you? The most recommended storage for your food would be glass containers as they are microwave-friendly, freezer-friendly, and not toxic, which relatively makes them convenient, useful, and healthier options. Glass containers are also easy to clean, making your experience less tiresome. Ensure that the container is compartmentalized to ensure that certain foods that you don't want to mix are not mushed together.
Take It One Step At A Time
You cannot become a meal-prepping pro overnight, so don't push beyond your limits, as you may end up making avoidable mistakes. You should start small so that you get accustomed to the idea of meal prepping and so that you can adjust certain mechanisms that you will notice may require a change after trying them out. Consider prepping food for two days first then increase the number of days as time goes on. This will ensure that you are not irritated into stopping the program easily.
Research For Easy Recipes
Go on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to check out several recipes that other people recommend. Instead of using only the recipes that you know, make the experience fun by adding more recipes to the pool. Research on how to cook the food, the ingredients necessary as well as the longevity of the food. That way, you are fully aware of the most appropriate time to prepare the food.
Use Portion Control
The ultimate goal of meal prepping is ensuring that you take good care of your body by having healthier eating habits. Having two full plates of rice in one sitting is not healthy and you need to let go of this by controlling your serving portions. Don't be greedy when you are now serving food, stick to reasonable food portions.
Use Labels
If you sometimes confuse your house keys with the other keys you have when they are not even identical, what would stop you from confusing the meals that are in the identical containers in your fridge? You need to be able to discern the food from each other. You can label the food with the days of the week that you plan on eating it. This will make it easy for you to just grab the container instead of having to open one container at a time in search of the one you want to use. You can also label the containers with the food contained inside so that when you have a change in mood in the food that you want to eat, you can simply refer to the label instead of having to open all the containers as well.
Experiment
This is your time to experiment with food all you want. Be creative about your menus and don't shy away from trying out new things. The recipes that you are making use of were all composed by someone, just like you, who decided to experiment with their food. You never know, maybe you'll create the next best dish there is.
Change Your Recipes
Variety keeps the mind excited and anticipating. You can't keep making the same dish over and over again. This will only become monotonous, making the experience boring and impossible to stick to. Try to rotate several recipes so that you remain excited and willing to give yourself into the experience more. This experience is meant to be convenient, time-saving and fun, so go ahead and switch up your recipes. Don't make the experience boring by cooking the same things week after week.