Do You Meal Prep?

AbbysMom

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I don't, but I'm just curious. On Sundays my Instagram and Facebook feed are full of people posting their meal prepping pictures.

I do occasionally cook for the freezer, like a big pot of soup or little egg "muffins" for breakfasts.
 
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AbbysMom

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It's a trend nowadays to make or prepare to make all of your food for the week in one day. Some people buy special containers, portion out the food, etc.
 

raysmyheart

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I don't meal-prep all that often, but when I do, I enjoy it to take to work and heat up. I do, however, notice the trend of meal-prep, just notice the upswing in food storage solutions in the stores. Storage and lunch containers are big business these days and many are very pretty.:purplebutterfly::daisy::bluebutterfly::daisy:

I think meal-prep can be a great way to reduce stress during the upcoming week. It can also make for healthier eating when you have to think about it. I am hoping more will post on this topic as I studied Dietetics and Home Economics in college and I have always had an interest in Food topics. I would be interested in knowing if those who food prep feel less stressed. Thanks AbbysMom AbbysMom for such an interesting question!

I can say I do food prep on a very small scale, that is, getting my water, coffee and lunch ready for the next day and when I do that, I feel like I have done something good for myself. I am in awe of those who do it for an entire week!
 

blueyedgirl5946

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I don't do this at all. Sometimes when I cook, I double recipes, but it is not particularly with a plan in mind of when we will eat it again. I just do it, and freeze it for later.
 

Furballsmom

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I remember reading over the past few years that it was suggested for "busy moms" to meal prep so that all that was necessary was to pull whatever out of the freezer and voila'. I loved the idea as far as it went but never could come to grips with the time spent (--lost) on the weekend doing all the prep LOL
 

Kieka

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I have done meal prep (the trendy giant prep on Sunday version you are referencing). My problem is I get bored because it tends to be slight variations on the same core. Since it's just me I usually can't do more then two different things, meaning two variations on chicken a veggies usually. For example, BBQ chicken with veggie mix and spicy chicken with veggie mix. While I can cook, if I get more elaborate it tends to cost more or take too long... At least to Sunday me who wants to be doing other things.

In the past I did a meal service that delivered once a week my lunches for the upcoming week. That way I got five different meals, it costs about $70 for the service but even though I'd spend probably about a third shopping and making myself it's worth it for five different meals. Totally trying to justify it to myself since I just reordered and probably will for the next several weeks.
 

orange&white

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If we're defining meal prep as spending a weekend day cooking balanced meals for the next 6 days, no I don't. But I very rarely cook one single serving meal either.

If I'm pulling food, cutting board, knives, pots and pans then I'll make food for 2-6 servings/meals. I do brown bag my lunch to work and heat in the toaster oven (can't stand microwaved foods). I tend to freeze items a la carte rather than in meals. For instance, I boil a pound of pasta and bag two servings each in freezer bags. That pasta may end up with premade marinara, or turn into tuna salad, or tetrazzini, or frittata, or soup.

Precooked pasta, rice, beans and homemade bone broths are some of the things I feel I have to have to make very quick meals for the next 2-4 lunches or dinners. I'll also cook 4-6 pork chops or chicken breasts or whatnot all at once and freeze separate individual portions. I make flour tortillas to keep in the fridge for wraps and breakfast tacos.

So do I meal prep as we're defining it? It sure feels like prep. :p I don't eat out, and I'm not starving, that's for sure!
 

Winchester

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I don't make up a bunch of lunches at one time (I only take my breakfast to work and Rick likes taking leftovers for his lunch). But I will often spend a Sunday afternoon making a pot of chili or soup or a casserole just for the freezer. It comes in handy on nights when Rick has to bowl or I have meetings and don't have an hour to make dinner. Or on nights, when I want to make something like baked ziti, I have pasta sauce in the freezer that I can quickly nuke in the microwave.

Overall, I don't mind meal prep at night for dinner. I consider it "therapy" and it's relaxing to get my knives out to chop vegetables or work on the night's dinner; for the most part, it doesn't really bother me. Most of my problem is trying to figure out what to make. You would think that with all the cookbooks in this house, menus shouldn't be a problem, but they are.
 

furmonster mom

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I don't meal prep per se, but if I get a large package of meat, I will cut it down to 4 oz meal portions and Foodsaver freeze them. Also, I do keep a few "quickies" in the freezer... things I just don't have the ambition to make myself, like ravioli or potstickers.

Otherwise, I prefer to keep a rotational variety of veggies in the fridge, a stocked fruit bowl, and a cupboard full of spices, which allows me to be a little more experimental in the kitchen.
 

micknsnicks2mom

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i don't do the meal prep thing as you're talking about -- i'm more like orange&white orange&white with the meal prep i do.

i tend to do prep for meals as well as baking, ahead of the day(s) i do the actual baking or cooking. and when i cook (or bake), i'll make a full recipe (sometimes even a double recipe), which will last me 4 or 5 days for my dinners and/or i'll freeze all or part of it in portions (something like 3 or more servings per container). i'm very cost-conscious, and rarely eat out, but i also want to eat well.

i do cook and bake ahead for the hot summer months-- 'put up' meals and desserts in my freezers. since i started doing that (last year), i've found that when i'm cooking or baking now, i prefer to fill the oven/make full use of the oven (it's space as well as the energy i'm using). so when i baked a coffee cake last week, i baked a second coffee cake with it...in the same oven. i cooled, sliced, and froze the second cake in individual slices. several days from now, i'll pull out some brownies or blondies from the freezer, which will be my dessert for another few/several days or so. i use the 'first in, first out' method to manage what's in my freezers. what's in my freezers kind of 'ebbs and flows', i pull out and eat some things and also freeze freshly made things. i will be 'putting up' meals and desserts for this coming summer, will be starting on that in early march and should be finished in early may.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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I think meal-prep can be a great way to reduce stress during the upcoming week. It can also make for healthier eating when you have to think about it. I am hoping more will post on this topic as I studied Dietetics and Home Economics in college and I have always had an interest in Food topics. I would be interested in knowing if those who food prep feel less stressed. Thanks AbbysMom AbbysMom for such an interesting question!

...
I think it does reduce stress during an intense work-week. I managed to (purposely?!) find a husband who likes to cook, so I can't say I food-prep myself. (I am instead the dishwasher of the house, lol.) DH does like to be a "weekend food warrior" and do some food prep for 2-3 days at a time, but not for the whole week. It does de-stress him to putter around in the kitchen on the weekends. But he and I think it's less creative to prep for too many days ahead at a time... it sort of constrains impulsive choices during the week. Sometimes decisions for the foods he or we make together during the week really help with a feeling of freedom and choice when we are stuck in a rut: not sure if being "tied" to a bunch of frozen pre-made meals for a week is we'd want.
 

neely

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One of my daughters who works in Nutrition spends at least half a day on the weekend doing meal prep for the week. She cooks for both lunch and dinner. I give her a lot of credit. :thumbsup: I only 'meal prep' per se if I'm cooking veggie chili or a casserole and we have leftovers. Otherwise I cook every night. We don't eat out too much, i.e. maybe once a week as a treat unless we're meeting friends.
 

Ardina

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I work too many hours to deal with coming home and having to figure out dinner, especially when it's just for myself. (I've tried it - what happens is I pull out my raw mixes to feed the cats, and then wander around the kitchen grumbling about silly humans needing their food cooked and how much more effort it is). So I make a huge pot of whatever on the weekends and just eat it for lunch and dinner all week. I don't really portion it out in the true sense of "meal-prepping," but just keep working my way through the pot. The weekends when I'm lazy and don't manage to make something, I end up eating random things like eggs or ramen or cereal, which isn't ideal.
 

Azazel

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I'm in the same boat as Ardina Ardina . My husband and I both work full time jobs during the week and are way too exhausted to come home and cook so we prep everything on the weekend. For the 2 of us we usually don't need to make more than 2, maybe 3, big meals. It's not that bad. We also make the cats' meals once a month too :)
 
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