Don’t let meal prepping or meal planning keep you from enjoying affordable healthy meals! Let meal prep be the catalyst for money savings, more time with your family, and stress-free dinners. Here are my strategies and tips for mastering meal prep.
The kitchen is literally where I spend the majority of my time. And with good reason! We do everything from home (homeschool, raise produce and chickens, I work from home…you get the idea!) and we rely on unprocessed foods to fuel us.
Because we are an ingredients household, we don’t have grab-and-go snacks at our disposal!
About once a week, I like to take time to prep snacks and other meal components so I can get through my week stress-free.
If you have been looking for tips on how to ditch the grocery store convenience foods but still save money, here they are!
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Table of Contents
Strategy Vs. Tip
Strategies are plans that outline how to achieve a goal. Tips are small, focused suggestions usually given by an “insider.”
You can utilize both in your homemaking journey. But for the sake of this blog post, I’m going to break it all down and give you everything I know so you can take any of this information and use it for you and your family.
I hope this helps!
Mastering Meal Prep
Let’s say our goal is to fuel our family with homemade snacks and meals as much as possible. Up to 80 percent of their diet. Because this is our goal, we need to get into a good routine of making this nutritious food!
Healthy eating isn’t the only reason we like to prepare food at home.
Did you know that consumers spent $327.75 every month on eating out in 2023? The same 2023 study showed consumers spent an average of $500 every month on eating food at home.
How much money do you think you could save by spending $100 on meal prep containers, upping your grocery budget by $100 every month, and stopping eating out altogether?
Here are a few strategies I implement in my own home to make sure I’m always hitting my food and finance goals.
Meal Prep Strategies
Remember – strategies are plans that help you achieve a goal. These will be broader ideas you make a part of your life.
Grocery Shop Once Per Week
When you grocery shop every day or every other day, you are more susceptible to purchasing impulse buys. You also remove the need to purchase items in bulk. When you purchase items in bulk, you can usually save money because the product is cheaper per pound!
When you grocery shop once a week, you force yourself to eat what you have. And the more practice you have, you will understand exactly what food your family needs to get through the week.
Meal Prep Once Per Week
Batch cooking, or making large quantities of food to use or store, is a great habit to cultivate in the kitchen.
If you’re a busy mom like me, you simply don’t have time to prepare snacks every day of the week. You have errands to run and hobbies to invest in! That’s where batch cooking comes in.
One day a week I make a plate or two of chopped vegetables and fruit. We eat off of those throughout the week.
In the same vein, I will make a double batch of something like pancakes or waffles one day for breakfast and throw them in the toaster for breakfast another day during the week.
You can use this same method for anything in your kitchen.
- On Monday night, wash, peel, and chop all your vegetables for meals during the week.
- Prepare all your dressings or bake your side dishes in one go.
- You can cook all of your meat ahead of time, too. Roast your chicken in the oven, brown ground beef on the stove, and throw a roast in the crock pot for ready-to-go meat all week.
Anytime You’re in the Kitchen, Work Ahead
Let’s say you’re making dinner for your family. What’s for breakfast? Can you throw together an oatmeal and put it in your fridge while the dinner bakes?
We are a part of a homeschool co-op and mother’s group that meets every week. It’s not uncommon for us to bring snacks to either gathering! Since I know I’m going to these every week, I could put muffins on the menu for breakfast. If I double the recipe, I have my snack ready to go!
I personally love working one meal ahead. When I clean up breakfast, I’m gathering what I need for dinner. As I’m prepping lunch, I’m mentally reviewing what we’re having for dinner and I begin working on that meal, too.
Does planning food have your homemaking in a frenzy?
Whether you are flexible or structured with your food prep, it doesn’t have to leave the rest of your home feeling unorganized and crazy.
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Stock Up When Food is On Sale
Buying in bulk and buying when food is on sale are probably my two best strategies for saving money in the kitchen.
I can’t remember the last time I saw chicken legs for less than $1 per pound. When I peruse the meat section at my grocery store, I will grab multiple packages of chicken legs if I see that they are less than $1 per pound! I just throw the extra packages we won’t consume that week into the freezer for later.
The same goes for produce. When produce is on sale, I will grab an additional package or two. When I get home, I will wash it, cut it up, and either cook it, blanch it, or throw it right into the freezer. Different products have to be preserved in different ways.
Choose Affordable Ingredients
If you prioritize healthy eating but can’t afford organic grocery store prices, it’s time to weigh what’s best for your family.
For our family, I prioritize unprocessed foods. But not all of my food selections are organic. Sure, I purchase what I can when it’s in the budget.
Meal Prep Tips
Plan Ahead!
Meal planning does so much for you.
- It keeps you from going over budget at the grocery store.
- It reduces food waste.
- It gives you direction and reduces decision fatigue if you keep a busy schedule.
- It prevents you from buying food you may not eat.
If you have never tried meal planning, give it a shot. Start with your typical week. If you eat out regularly or enjoy a store-bought pizza, put that in your meal plan.
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Prepare All Produce At Once
When I am meal prepping, I like to go in phases.
I create my plan and gather the necessary equipment (scroll to the end of this blog post for the top 5 meal prep equipment I recommend!).
When I begin meal prepping, I start by processing all my produce. I wash and dry fruits and vegetables, chop fruits, peel and chop vegetables, and move on to meats.
After I process my meats, I clean my entire workspace and all my tools and move on to seasonings.
Seasonings and sauces are the same for me. So I mix all my sauces during this time, too.
Make Simple Meals
There is nothing like getting home from work at the end of the week and realizing the only thing you have to prepare is a steak that isn’t thawed and a finicky side dish like risotto.
When you make simple ingredient choices, your meal prep becomes simple.
Instead of searing or stuffing meat, opt for a whole chicken on a bed of russet potatoes and carrots. Instead of making an apple pie for dessert, make an apple crumble with no bottom crust and an oat topping.
Instead of a salad with 20 ingredients, grab a head of romaine, some cherry tomatoes, and a bottle of your favorite dressing. If you do like nuts or fruit on your salad, opt for chopped nuts from the grocery store and prepare the fruit for your salad when you prepare your fruit for snacks at the beginning of the week.
Double the Meal and Freeze the Second Portion
If you run a busy schedule, chances are you aren’t going to want to dirty your kitchen every single night for dinner.
If you spend most of your time in your kitchen, chances are you aren’t going to want to dirty your kitchen every single night for dinner.
When I am making my meal plan, I’m always looking for meals I can double and freeze. I stash these meals away for a rainy day, like when our errands run late or I don’t feel well enough to cook.
I pull them out and ta-da! We aren’t breaking the budget ordering a pizza or eating well past bed time.
My favorite meals to double and freeze are –
- Enchiladas
- Lasagna
- Meatballs
- Soups and stews of any kind
Healthy Snacks and Meals to Prep Ahead of Time
Have we already talked about how much I love batch cooking?
Here are a few things you can prep in advance to get a jump on your weekly meals.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Fresh fruit, like berries, kiwis, pineapples, melons
- Fresh vegetables, like sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, and carrots
- Root vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions for side dishes or meal additions
- Overnight oats
- Brown rice or white rice can be thrown into casseroles, stir fry, or soups
Meal Prep Equipment to Invest In
Preparation is the key to this blog post! But if you don’t have anywhere to put all this food, your prep won’t do you any good.
If I were just starting, these are the five things I would focus on in my meal-prep journey.
Freezer Bags
I like to keep quart-size and gallon-size freezer bags on hand at all times. Quart-size freezer bags are great for single servings of soup or fruits and vegetables I want to use later.
Gallon-size freezer bags are great for full dishes, meats, and baked goods.
Slow Cooker
My slow cooker is a powerhouse when making meals in bulk. I love to make large batches of soups and stews or roast a lot of meat at one time.
Slow cookers are also a great investment because you can cook two meals at one time. If you’re limited on oven space, you can still cook a lot of food without sacrificing too much space.
Mason Jars
Mason jars are my personal go-to for everything. Smoothies, sauces, homemade condiments, juice, etc.
Quart-size, wide-mouth mason jars are also great for make-and-take meals like soups and salads.
Wide-mouth mason jars are also freezer-safe. They’re a great, reusable solution to things like soups, broths, and pureed fruits and vegetables.
Airtight Containers
Airtight containers are a must-have when it comes to meal prep.
Food degrades because of light, air, and moisture. We aren’t storing food long-term in airtight containers. But they remove the air and moisture that would spoil your food before you can enjoy it. That’s the best way to preserve your food short term.
I don’t have a brand recommendation, because frankly, airtight containers are a dime a dozen. I do have to invest in airtight containers every year or every other year. They are a primary vehicle for food storage for us, so we use them often!
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Freezer-Safe Foil Pans for Freezer Meals
I love keeping foil pans on hand for my freezer meals.
When I’m making something like meatloaf, enchiladas, or even cake, I can easily double those recipes, fill my own glass 9×13 dish and a foil pan, bake at the same temp and time, and freeze the foil pan when it reaches room temperature.
Foil pans are also wonderful to have on hand because I can take them to a friend in need and leave the pan. I have made oatmeal, chopped vegetables and fruits, fried rice – you name it! Foil pans are a must-have for my meal-prep needs.
Where Are You at in Your Meal Prep Journey?
I didn’t take meal prep seriously until I was living alone and forced to save money.
Wherever you are in your meal prep journey, there are so many easy recipes you can make and great options for storing that food! Meal prep can be a game changer when managing your time and budget.
Next time you find a good meal prep recipe, let me know! Comment on this blog post so I can check it out.
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