How to Meal Prep for the Week - The Girl on Bloor (2024)

FAQs

How to Meal Prep for the Week - The Girl on Bloor? ›

Prep your ingredients or batch cook.

Plan meals that can be refrigerated and heated up or eaten cold the next day such as pasta bake, soup, shepherd's pie, curry, lasagne or beef stew. Use leftover vegetables in an omelette, soup or salad, or add leftover meat to a curry or stir-fry. Remember leftovers stored in the fridge must be used within three days.

Typically, refrigerated meal preps last between 3 to 5 days, depending on the ingredients used. However, this relatively short window can be a challenge for many people, as it requires diligent planning and scheduling to ensure that all meals are consumed before they spoil.

Make a meal plan of about four days of safe storage in the fridge and about four months of safe storage in the freezer. Watch for changes (smell, color, texture, and mold) to your meal prep food as a sign that it's gone bad. If you're unsure if food has spoiled: when in doubt, throw it out.

One important note though: as long as you cook meals properly, food will be perfectly safe to eat within seven days. However, by day five, it might not be as tasty. If there's one number to remember from this cheat sheet, it's four. Most meals are good (safe AND tasty) in the fridge for up to four days.

Five meals a day equals breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. To do this right, you need to plan what you'll eat every day for each “meal.” And you need to schedule eating every 2 to 3 hours.

How do I plan a menu for a week? Repetition is key. Pick two or three breakfast options and two or three lunch options for the week (at most), and add variety through dinner and snacks. Consider what meals you and your family enjoy eating, any food allergies or dietary needs, and how much time you have to prepare food.

Meal prep for weight loss includes using cooking methods that experts recommend for a balanced diet. This entails broiling, baking, grilling, and roasting instead of frying. People can also season their food with herbs, spices, and lemon juice instead of store-bought sauces.

A healthy eating plan: Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. Limits saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars.

Is it better to freeze or refrigerate meal prep? ›

Fridge vs Freezer Storage

This includes prepped soups, stews, chicken and rice, and salads. The main drawback of storing meal prep food in the fridge is that it can dry out easily. A freezer is an ace option for meal preps that will be eaten more than four days later. This includes pizza, pasta, meat, and veggies.

You can meal prep hard-boiled eggs, fried eggs, as well as almost any egg-based dish, like omelettes, quiches, and casseroles with eggs. When properly stored, eggs last up to a week in the fridge and for several months in the freezer.

It makes using rice so much easier and theres no pressure of having to use the rice during a specific timeframe. Re-heating the frozen rice is super easy too just toss it in the microwave for a minute or two and it should come out perfectly steamed and ready to eat.

Fridge vs Freezer Storage

This includes prepped soups, stews, chicken and rice, and salads. The main drawback of storing meal prep food in the fridge is that it can dry out easily. A freezer is an ace option for meal preps that will be eaten more than four days later. This includes pizza, pasta, meat, and veggies.

However, as a general guideline, experts recommend spending at least 2 to 3 hours per week on meal preparation to ensure healthy and nutritious meals throughout the week. During this time, you can plan your meals, shop for groceries, chop and prepare ingredients, and cook in bulk.

Some benefits of meal prep:

Can ultimately save time. Can help with weight control, as you decide the ingredients and portions served. Can contribute to an overall more nutritionally balanced diet. Can reduce stress as you avoid last minute decisions about what to eat, or rushed preparation.

Depending on what you're cooking and prepping, it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. If you're new to meal prepping, I recommend padding your time a bit at first until you find a system and know how long it takes you to get your prep done. You can also simply do as much as you have time for.