26 Meal Prep Tips and Tricks

Meal prep is tough, but rewarding. It can be daunting to plan meals for five days a week, especially if it’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Once you get it down, however, you’ll save on time, stress, and money.

No more wasting time making meals every day. You spend one chunk of time making meals for the week, then relax for the rest. No more eating out to save time. No more rushing out the door because you barely had to time to make breakfast. Have a smooth, relaxing, healthy week with meal prep.

1. Start with just two meals. You don’t have to make enough for every meal of the week, just cook one extra portion in advance as a baby step. Each time you prepare it you’ll get better at guessing quantities, spices, etc.

2. You won’t be used to spending time cooking in advance, so book off a block of time for you to accomplish this task. Most people do it Sunday night when they’re hungover. There aren’t usually any big events happening Sunday night so this block of time is often free. Keeping a meal prep routine is key.

3. Find recipes online. Once you get a repertoire, you can cook them without thinking about it. You already know they’ll taste good. There are lots of great sites with lists of recipes that are good for meal prep. Don’t just wing it. You want foods that maintain their taste when frozen and refrigerated for days and weeks.

4. Use glass containers so you don’t have to transfer your food to a microwavable plate. You can eat it straight out of your glass dish. If you look for deals you can usually get a nice pack of 18-30 containers for a good price. Make sure to get a lot. You’ll be using a ton of them.

5. For fresh veggies, simply pre-chop to use in salads and wraps. Or, to cook quickly during lunch time. Never put the dressing onto your salad, even if you’re planning on eating later that day. Otherwise, it’ll turn everything gross and mushy in a few hours. Just get some tiny containers to freeze the dressing. Oil and vinegar-based dressings will free well.

6. Uncooked veggies will last a week, while pre-cooked will last around five days. So, make sure you eat the lunch you made. If you do have to cook the veggies, then freeze your meals. Some office fridges even have a freezer you can use to store prepped meals.

7. Find vegetables you love, not just ones that are the healthiest. Pick what you’ll genuinely enjoy eating. There’s no point in prepping 10 meals of broccoli and tofu if you’re not going to eat. Good meal prep is all about finding the balance between price, taste, and healthiness.

8. Try out some of those food box services to get meal prep ideas. The boxes come with great recipe cards you can save and turn into a book. This way, you can see how easy they are to make. You’ll also be able to see if you like the recipe to make it again.

9. Get mason jars for overnight breakfasts. You can use them for overnight oats and fruit. They’re easy to carry with you the next day and make for a delicious meal. Mason jars can also be placed in a microwave. (Glass only, no lid.)

10. Make sure your shopping list is in order. Don’t get stuck in the middle of prep forgetting a key ingredient. Stock up everything you plan to make in the future. You never know when something will go bad. Opening a package of rotten peppers is never a fun experience.

11. Try a buffet style prep. Cook your proteins, veggies, and carbs separately, then add them together for a full meal every weekday. This way you can make fun assembly foods like tacos, fajitas, or burritos. Look into getting some meal prep containers with separated compartments so things don’t mix.

12. Try batch cooking. Make a huge bowl of chili, soup, or cook an entire chicken. Take portions of it for each meal. This requires a lot freezer space and a lot of containers. So make sure to plan accordingly. Batch cooking is fun so you don’t get bored at each meal. Chili every day can get lame!

13. Portion your meals ahead of time so that you just grab and go. This will lessen time and stress in the morning. Meal prep takes extra time when you cook the stuff, but you’ll be saving time throughout the week. Just don’t forget your meals at home. Everybody does it at least once!

14. Put your meal together uncooked. Then, when it comes time to cook, pull it out of the freezer and you have a pre-set meal. This works great for stir fried meals, one-bowl meals etc. Basically if you can throw it all in the same pan with a bit of cooking oil then you’re good to go.

15. Use what you already have at home before going shopping. Take an inventory of what you have in order to reduce waste. Everyone has things in their pantry like cans of tuna they bought on sale. Use that junk first. If you’ve got enough of it, there’s a meal prep recipe out there for it.

16. Create a database for your recipes. Whether online or on paper, keeping an inventory will make it easier to get started since they’re all in one place. Leave some space to add cooking notes and adjustments. You could also put star ratings, substitutions, freezer lifespan times, etc.

17. Share your highly rated recipes with other meal preppers. You can join online, and offline communities dedicated to prepping meals and saving money on food. Ask them for tips on your recipes. They’ve been doing this for years and probably have some great ideas.

18. Pack enough in the meal prep to not get hungry again. The worst thing you can do to yourself is bring lunch then also buy lunch. Plus, you can save some of it for an afternoon snack. Some days we just need more calories. Like if we didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Or we did a huge workout in the morning.

19. Buy your ingredients in bulk. This way, it’s cheaper and reduces packaging waste. If you don’t have a bulk store nearby (like Bulk Barn) then order things like spices on Amazon. Or get a Costco membership. You can save a ton on things like meat and frozen seafood.

20. If you know you won’t prepare meals on your own, have the insight to get precut or already prepared meals. They’ll be more expensive but will help you get the nutrition you need. It’s still meal prepping, it’s just that someone else is doing it for you. You could always buy one of those family pack deals from a chicken restaurant.

21. Get a slow cooker or pressure cooker. This way, you can prep your meals while accomplishing other chores. You’ll also know for sure that everything is cooked, since it’s been simmering for a thousand hours. Slow cookers are great for chilis and stews, both of which freeze very well.

22. Use seasonal fruits and vegetables. They’ll taste better and will be cheaper, so they’ll encourage you to eat them more. Using seasonal ingredients can be a bit tricky for recipes though. You may have to swap your meal plans every few months. Especially when the veggies rotate.

23. Some people like to meal prep their breakfast. You’re half asleep anyways, so it won’t matter as much that it’s the same thing every day. This can be a personal choice, since many breakfast foods are best fresh and don’t freeze well. Bread, eggs, etc. Maybe just stick to cereal and fresh fruit. You can prepare that quickly, which is the goal of meal prep.

24. Use canned foods. You don’t have to make everything from scratch. If it’ll save you time, use canned foods you enjoy. You can buy almost anything in a can, even vegetables. Once you’ve mixed it all into a slow cooker you can’t tell what was fresh anyways.

25. To find more meal prep recipes, start doubling the regular stuff you make for lunch/dinner. If you’re making a meal, it takes almost no extra effort to double it and have more for later. This will give you some great ideas on how long things last, how long they take to make, etc.

26. Use the same ingredients for different meals. Make a large batch of spicy chicken and use it for different recipes throughout the week. Day 1 it’s fajitas. Day 2 it’s a salad. Day 3 it’s chopped up and in a stew. Stuff like that. Once you’ve got some staples going you can combine them. Variance is key so you don’t get bored.