My First Time Meal Prepping and What I Learned!
Hello there, friends! As requested, I wanted to hop into the wonderful world of "meal prepping" from a beginner's point of view! You heard right...I’m a total "meal prep virgin," and not the proudest because rumor has it once you try meal prepping, you'll never go back! I figured I'd be the guinea pig and fill you in on everything I've learned from my first time meal prepping! So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
I had a few reasons for wanting to try meal prepping...my main ones being: to eat cleaner, have more time with family, spend less time cooking/cleaning, and save more money each week! I went to my local Trader Joe's, and joined in the current with the rest of the other shoppers swimming happily up and down the aisles. Everyone seemed to know where they were going, but me, haha! My goal was to cook simple, healthy meals for the entire week on a “smallish” budget. I focused on organic meats, brown rice, and LOTS of veggies. (Considering mac and cheese and cereal were my go-to meals when I didn't have enough time to cook during the week, this menu was good enough for me!) So for $57, I want to share what I bought as seen in my shopping cart below!
**My meal prepping journey is not meant to offend anyone who chooses not to eat meat, or has dietary restrictions, so please adjust as you feel necessary!
*Not pictured was my pound of lean ground beef I later realized I forgot to include in this picture!
I arrived home late from the grocery store, and was so excited that I couldn't wait till the next day to start cooking! I laid out all of my ingredients on my kitchen island, and was ready to see how fast I could cook everything into meals for the week! It took me an hour and forty minutes to cook three different proteins with a bunch of veggies on the side! I rinsed the meats with vinegar, patted them with paper towels, and seasoned everything generously with salt, pepper, and garlic to focus on a nice, “clean taste!” Instead of investing in a bunch of small individual tupperware for each meal, I divided my meals into the four large tupperware I already had as seen in my photo below.
I had such an adrenaline rush from cooking everything at the same time! I’m actually pretty sure I deserve a show on the cooking channel now, Haha! Totally kidding…but it was the most I ever multi-cooked at once, and I was left with a huge feeling of accomplishment! I had my chicken legs and brussel sprouts/carrots cooking separately in the oven at 350 degrees. I had my asparagus cooking in a skillet on the stovetop, and once set aside, I washed and reused the same skillet to cook my chicken, mushrooms and broccoli for a little stir-fry meal! I made five cups of brown rice medley, and each night we split one cup between us for dinner. I cooked my beef in a separate skillet with olive oil and a can of already minced garlic which is a time saver/game changer! (Sometimes, I don’t want to take the time to mince garlic, and that makes me semi feel like a failure, but why peel, mince, and chop garlic when there's already prepped jars of that at the store!) At the end of my hour and forty minutes of cooking, things were messy, but it only took 20 minutes to rinse, load the dishwasher, and transfer my meals into the tupperware!
And VOILA!
Now I'd like to share some examples of the meals we ate throughout the week from everything I cooked! Again, for my first time meal prepping, it wasn't about cooking “to-die-for recipes,” but rather, quick and doable recipes to fully utilize and enjoy learning this new process! If you'd like more of a “fancy meal prep” recipe blog post, let me know in the comments below! (I know these pictures aren't the most glamorous--since I cooked everything late at night, the lighting was not the best, but you best believe they were incredibly tasty!!)
Chicken, carrot, broccoli, and mushroom stir-fry with brown rice medley
Beef, mushroom, and asparagus with brown rice medley
Chicken legs, asparagus, and mushroom with brown rice medley
Chicken, broccoli, and mushroom stir-fry with brown rice medley
Now, for what I've learned:
1. There's nothing better than coming home from a fun day out, putting the kids to sleep, and heating up dinner that's already made!
2. Don’t overcook the veggies (for example, the broccoli/asparagus) so that they aren't soggy when you heat them up later in the week!
3. Heat up food on the stove, NOT the microwave, for a more fresh and temperature-controlled meal!
4. It normally takes me one hour to cook dinner each night. By meal prepping only 2 hours a week, I reap HOURS less of cooking and cleaning all week which means more “family time” and “me time!” (When eating “meal prepped food,” I only have to clean the pan I reheated my food in, and the dinner plates we ate on! (I don't have to clean messy counters, scrub the stove, put spices away, or load a full dishwasher each and every night!) YAS, please!!
5. Meal prepping means eating healthier, and a greater chance of saving money by eating IN due to the yummy convenience it offers!
6. I never ate so many veggies in one week! Having them cooked and handy allowed for easy adding them to meals for more diversity!
7. I love multitasking when I meal prep for the week! It gives me a larger sense of purpose while cooking, and a greater sense of freedom for the rest of my week!
8. Having a variety of food makes eating already prepped meals very mentally doable! I made three proteins to eat during the week so we wouldn't get bored. Next time, I will make four proteins and get even more creative with my recipes! I plan to ask my husband what he's feeling for the upcoming weeks to challenge myself, and give us more diversity.
9. Find time to clean up while food heats up on the stove during the week to make the most of your time! This was the most enjoyable week of cooking and eating for me! From start to finish, with cleaning involved, it only took me two hours to meal prep, which was way less time then having to rush home to defrost meats, cook every night, and clean pots, pans and, spills, etc! HOORAY!
10. At the end of the week, I had more veggies then meat left over. Become aware of your veggie to meat ratio so you can buy the correct amount and cook more efficiently each time! After cooking everything in my picture, I had two bags of broccoli, and a half a bag of carrots we still hadn't ate yet! I probably would have purchased two more pounds of meat. As pictured on my kitchen island above, (don't forget the beef I forgot to include!), there were five whole nights I didn't have to cook dinner for my husband and I which was AMAZING!!
Well there you have it…My First Time Meal Prepping and All that I Learned! I avoided trying meal prepping for a while now because sometimes the idea of changing my current habits to become more efficient overwhelms me! We should never be afraid to master a new skill that will actually make our life easier in the end! Thank you all for requesting a meal prepping blog post that helped me challenge my laziness, and come out on top! Now that I know meal prepping is beneficial for me and my family, I will continue it with even more diverse and exciting recipes! Do you have any more questions for me on my first time meal prepping? Leave them in the comments below! Let me know if this topic interests you, and what you'd like to see next! Meal prepping is the definition of "work smarter, not harder!" Take what I've learned, and let me know how your time in the kitchen goes! See you next time!
Cool, Calm and Collectedly Yours,
