Okay, so let’s start this post off with a slight disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor am I a health guru. I don’t meal prep for the healthiness, although it sort of goes hand and hand, I meal prep for the convenience and the money savingness (I’m aware savingness isn’t a word). Anyways…I compiled a list of my favorite meal prep tips to help you kick-start your meal prepping journey!

1. Chinese takeout containers (those black plastic ones with the clear lids) are PERFECT for portions and reheating.
2. Pick meals that you actually enjoy! My favorite part of work every day is lunch time (queue the fat joke) and having a genuinely yummy lunch makes it that much better! Don’t try and force yourself to eat foods that you won’t like, you’ll end up hangry and annoyed.
3. Frozen vegetables are so much easier to keep than fresh vegetables and they’re just as good for you! Just let them thaw out or cook them just like that. My personal faves are frozen broccoli and frozen chopped spinach.
4. This one is going to sound strange, but hear me out. Don’t start meal prepping until AFTER you’ve eaten. There have been so many meals that I’ve made that I just ate right afterward because I was so hungry! Save yourself the time and eat before!
5. Preminced garlic is a lifesaver for those of us that have novice knife skills! It’s obviously not as fresh as fresh garlic BUTTTT saving the hassle is so so so so so worth it. Spice World is the brand I get, they have squeezee tubes, small jars, and giant ass jars. 12/10 recommend folks.
6. Set a time and day of the week that you’ll meal prep! I personally meal prep for my work lunches, so I make my dishes Sunday nights after dinner, around 8pm. Depending on what I’m making it takes about an hour to cook and prep everything for the week ahead. Even if I go out on Sunday nights, I’ll still come home and make SOMETHING for the next day, because I know if I don’t my mornings will be all sorts of screwed up.
7. Try out different recipes! Take to google and pinterest and search different meal prep recipes that use the ingredients that you like. Going back to tip number 2, don’t try anything that has ingredients that you don’t like. You can substitute them out, or leave them out as the recipe calls.
8. Put on a movie or TV show on your laptop, or bump some tunes. If you’re like me and have the attention span of a goldfish, you can make it more entertaining by watching a show on your laptop (I suggest something that you don’t need to pay attention to so you don’t mess up anything you’re cooking), or pop on some tunes or a podcast! I usually catch up on my shows for that week, or listen to KFC Radio.