Feeding your self is usually a actual chore—typically, you simply don’t have any dinner inspiration or time to cook dinner. That’s when meal prepping some straightforward recipes and stashing them away for the week can come in useful (and save your pockets from takeout supply charges).
Meal prep can look completely different from individual to individual: For some, it’s chopping a bunch of substances up (a.okay.a. mise en place) and storing them till you’re able to assemble your dish; for others, it’s whipping up full meals and portioning out particular person servings forward of time. Whether or not you’ve by no means meal prepped earlier than otherwise you simply can’t appear to keep it up, we’ve got some straightforward, expert-approved ideas and merchandise to set you on the correct path. You would possibly even cancel your Doordash membership after studying (okay, tremendous, maintain it for emergencies).
Our prime picks
- Rubbermaid Brilliance Hermetic Meals Storage Containers
- Blue Apron Subscription
- Farberware Edgekeeper 5-Inch Santoku Knife
- KitchenIQ Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener
- Hiware Stable Stainless Metal Spider Strainer
- OTOTO Measuring Spoons Set
- OXO Good Grips 7-Piece Nesting Measuring Beaker Set
- Bragg Natural Apple Cider Vinegar and ReaLemon 100% Lemon Juice
- Sprint Speedy Egg Cooker
- W&P Porter Seal Tight Glass Lunch Bowl Container
- OXO Good Grips Storage Container
- Joseph Joseph Chop2Pot Plus Folding Chopping Board
- BUILT Gourmand Getaway Comfortable Neoprene Lunch Tote
- Papaya Reusable Paper Towels
FAQs
What are the very best meals for meal prepping?
“One of the best meals to make use of for meal prepping are those that may be saved and reheated nicely,” Alexa Nichols, MS, RD, the lead affiliate dietitian at Nourishing NY, tells SELF. “I additionally like to decide on ones which are versatile, so you should utilize them in quite a lot of recipes.” She recommends breaking apart your grocery checklist into classes like grains or starches, proteins, fat, fruits, and greens, then mixing and matching the combos to create balanced meals. Some meal prep staples she recommends:
Starches
- Rice
- Oats
- Quinoa
- White potatoes
- Candy potatoes
- Squash
Proteins
- Hen
- Eggs
- Floor turkey,
- Tofu
- Greek yorgurt
- Beans
Fat
Fruits
Greens
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Leafy greens
How lengthy can you retain your meal-prepped meals within the fridge or freezer?
The USDA says that the majority leftovers are suitable for eating as much as three to 4 days later so long as they’ve been within the fridge, or three to 4 months in the event that they’ve been within the freezer. Technically, your frozen meals could last more than that—however the USDA notes that it additionally would possibly lose its moisture or taste.
What number of instances are you able to reheat your leftovers?
There’s no normal rule about how usually you possibly can safely get pleasure from your leftovers. However it’s ultimate to solely reheat small parts as soon as, Nichols says. “This is the reason meal prepping and pre-portioning works so nicely, as a result of you possibly can portion what you’re going to eat,” she provides. “You keep away from having to reheat your entire leftovers, put again what you don’t eat, after which repeat this once more.”
Rubbermaid Brilliance Hermetic Meals Storage Container
Professionals
- Lockable lids
- Stack properly
- Freezer-, microwave-, and dishwasher-safe
- Are available in quite a lot of sizes
Cons
- Some reviewers have hassle taking the lids off
Half the battle of meal prepping is discovering the correct containers to retailer your meals in. Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, a registered dietitian primarily based in Kansas Metropolis, recommends these Rubbermaid ones—she’s even gifted them to folks. “What I actually like about these is the seal that you simply get with the click-top lid,” she says. “It really creates a bit little bit of a vacuum seal, which is spill-proof. I’ve by no means had a catastrophe the place they leaked or broke open.”
Relying on the set you purchase, you may get quite a lot of sizes, which is useful should you want to batch-cook substances, retailer all of them individually, after which assemble your dishes on the fly. Should you’d slightly pre-portion particular person meals, you too can get a set that comes with a number of of just one measurement. And don’t sleep on the ones with dividers that maintain your hen from working into your broccoli.
Blue Apron Subscription
Professionals
- No grocery purchasing wanted
- Very customizable
- Pre-portioned substances prevents meals waste
Cons
- You gained’t have leftovers until you pay for extra parts than you want
If slicing out grocery retailer purchasing is what that you must get into the swing of issues, you possibly can all the time strive a meal equipment subscription. That means, meals might be delivered proper to your door—all you must do is cook dinner and retailer it.
Harbstreet has tried a number of meal kits, however Blue Apron is the one she’s been subscribed to the longest. “What shocked us about Blue Apron was that these meals didn’t essentially depart us with leftovers, however the parts that they allowed for and offered have been really actually filling,” she says, including that her husband is a former athlete with a hearty urge for food. “We actually loved the number of recipes. There have been lots of modifications obtainable, and though we didn’t all the time make the most of making adjustments or upgrades, we favored the variability and the completely different delicacies types.”
Farberware Edgekeeper 5-Inch Santoku Knife
Professionals
- Snug, versatile design
- Comes with a blade cowl
- Price range-friendly
Cons
- Some Amazon reviewers say it dulls shortly
- Hand wash solely
You’ll be reaching for a knife over and over whereas cooking, so why not spend money on a strong one which makes prepping meals in massive batches simpler? Harbstreet recommends utilizing a Japanese santoku knife, which is designed for slicing, chopping, and mincing.
“Its blade is a bit bit shorter and curved, so the form is simply barely completely different [than a traditional chef’s knife], though the deal with measurement and weight of the knife could be very comparable,” she says. “I discover that it’s extra comfy to make use of and in addition actually versatile. It may well fairly shortly flip over from dicing up an onion to chopping by means of a cooked hen breast.”
KitchenIQ Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener
Professionals
- Simple to make use of
- Rapidly sharpens blades
- Price range-friendly
Cons
- Some Amazon buyers say it’s too small and light-weight
Should you can’t bear in mind the final time you sharpened your kitchen knives, then it’s in all probability been too lengthy. “It’s so necessary to have a well-sharpened, high-quality knife that you simply’re assured in utilizing,” Harbstreet says. “Should you’re nervous about one thing like a boring knife blade or working with instruments that aren’t comfy on your hand or power degree, then it makes prep work that a lot much less gratifying.”