Save Money and Time in the Kitchen with Meal Prepping
Meal prepping is essentially planning and preparing meals, or components of a meal, ahead of when you anticipate eating that meal or snack. Meal prepping can be as simple as cut
ting up vegetables for the week, cooking a large batch of chicken, or as complex as preparing all meals for the entire week.
Here are six simple steps for getting started with meal planning. What better time to get into a routine than this month before back-to-school starts!
1. Plan your meals. Pick recipes that you know you and your family enjoy and add one or two new ones to try.
2. Make your shopping list. Be sure to check your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer first and plan your meals around those items first! Remember to do first-in, first-out for your food items.
3. Prepare food in batches. Cooking rice or quinoa or roasting veggies? Go ahead and make some extra and add it to meals and recipes throughout the week.
4. Store food properly. Use food-safe containers and ziplock-style bags to properly store prepared food in the refrigerator or freezer. Date and label containers that will be stored for longer than a week so you remember what they are and when it was prepared. Lastly, make sure your refrigerator and freezers are organized to easily find the foods and meals that you need!
5. Be creative and flexible. Mix and match different sauces, seasonings, and ingredients to change up recipes and keep meals interesting and not boring. Meal prepping doesn’t have to be eating the exact same thing every day, week after week!
6. Have a few emergency meals on hand. Prepare a couple of meals and put them in the freezer for those extra busy weeks when you don’t have time to grocery shop or meal prep. Jump back into the meal prepping once your schedule allows again.
Meal prepping isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Find what works best for you and your family. Start small and focus on preparing meals for one or two days, then add more based on your comfort and needs. The overall goal of meal prepping is to be more efficient in the kitchen (meaning less time spent in the kitchen) and have nutritious homemade meals all week long.
Looking to learn more about meal planning and prepping freezer meals? Join us for our class on August 23rd! Register at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/24y3a2f
by Chelsea King, Nutrition, Food Safety and Health Agent, 2025