How To Meal Prep 101

It’s time to learn how to meal prep! ⏰⏰⏰ Come see what’s cookin’ and bring a pen because I’m sharing all of my secrets to rock your meal prep.

Join me every Monday LIVE at 2pm EST on Facebook for my latest meal prepping session.

Watch how it all comes together here:

Week 1: Vegetarian Meal Prep Menu/List/and FREE RECIPES
Week 2: Vegetarian Meal Prep Menu
Week 5: Vegetarian Meal Prep Menu

How To Meal Prep

Step 1: Meal Plan and Shop

One day before the day you plan to prep, make a simple meal plan and shop for your ingredients. You don’t need anything fancy for this. You need a piece of paper and a pencil. Seven days across the top of your page and “Breakfast”, “Lunch”, and “Dinner” down the side and fill it in. Don’t try to get gourmet and fancy if you’re not a gourmet cook. Just go with your family’s favorite dishes.

Step 2: Prep Your Space

You’re going to need space to spread out with a bunch of tools and ingredients. Starting with clean counters, an empty sink, and a refrigerator with space will help the entire process run smoothly.

You’ll need every last ingredient on hand and easy to reach. This includes spices! Make sure to pull out all of your supplies you’ll need as well. Bags, bowls, trays, spoons, measuring spoons, Sharpie marker, trash bowl, knives, and a cutting board.

Pre-label your bags with the name of the entree and the date. This way you won’t have to guess when you pull it out for dinner. If you have time, also list the ingredients on the bag. It will make assembly easier.

Wash your veggies! I find that Young Living’s Veggie Wash is great at removing the wax on my veggies. The essential oils in there just ‘melt’ the wax away.

Now you’re ready to dig in.

Step 3: Start Your Grains

Decide how much rice, quinoa, pasta, lentils, bread, etc you will need for the week. This is where the Instant Pot comes in handy! Measure and cook what you’ll need.

Step 4: Chop Chop Chop

If you’re preparing dishes with raw meat, chop your meats last. Always start with chopping your herbs and vegetables to avoid cross contamination. You’ll want to make sure your trash bowl is nearby. As you chop each type of vegetable, add it to a large serving tray. Pile all of the chopped vegetables on the large serving tray so you can grab from there when you go to assemble.

Step 5: Assemble

Line up you pre-labeled bags and load them one meal at a time. Once your bag is full, seal it and set it aside. If it needs to be frozen, freeze the bag flat for a few hours and then stand it up in a bin in the freezer to easily access the meals in the future.

Learning how to meal prep has changed our household for the better. It has saved us money, time, and sanity. We end up having more time together and less stress surrounding meals. If you’re just starting out, learning how to meal plan, start with just three meals and work your way up to five or seven. If you are overwhelmed at the thought of meal prepping more than one meal at a time, start by doubling the recipe for one family meal and freeze the excess for an easy meal in the future.

That’s It! You did it! Time to enjoy all of the extra time this week.