Feeding your self generally is 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 turn out to be 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.ok.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 now have some straightforward, expert-approved ideas and merchandise to set you on the suitable path. You may even cancel your Doordash membership after studying (okay, wonderful, preserve it for emergencies).
Our high picks
- Rubbermaid Brilliance Hermetic Meals Storage Containers
- Blue Apron Subscription
- Farberware Edgekeeper 5-Inch Santoku Knife
- KitchenIQ Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener
- Hiware Strong 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 Fast 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 Tender Neoprene Lunch Tote
- Papaya Reusable Paper Towels
FAQs
What are one of the best meals for meal prepping?
“The most effective 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 can be versatile, so you need to use them in a wide range of recipes.” She recommends breaking apart your grocery listing into classes like grains or starches, proteins, fat, fruits, and greens, then mixing and matching the mixtures 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 fit for human consumption 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 may lose its moisture or taste.
What number of instances are you able to reheat your leftovers?
There’s no common rule about how usually you possibly can safely take pleasure in your leftovers. Nevertheless it’s excellent to solely reheat small parts as soon as, Nichols says. “For this 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
Execs
- Lockable lids
- Stack properly
- Freezer-, microwave-, and dishwasher-safe
- Are available in a wide range of sizes
Cons
- Some reviewers have hassle taking the lids off
Half the battle of meal prepping is discovering the suitable containers to retailer your meals in. Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, a registered dietitian based mostly 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 just 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 will get a wide range of sizes, which is useful when you choose to batch-cook substances, retailer all of them individually, after which assemble your dishes on the fly. If you happen to’d reasonably pre-portion particular person meals, it’s also possible to get a set that comes with a number of of just one dimension. And don’t sleep on the ones with dividers that preserve your hen from operating into your broccoli.
Blue Apron Subscription
Execs
- No grocery purchasing wanted
- Very customizable
- Pre-portioned substances prevents meals waste
Cons
- You received’t have leftovers until you pay for extra parts than you want
If reducing out grocery retailer purchasing is what you should get into the swing of issues, you possibly can all the time attempt a meal package subscription. That method, meals shall be delivered proper to your door—all you need to 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 stunned 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 plenty of modifications obtainable, and regardless that we didn’t all the time make the most of making adjustments or upgrades, we appreciated the variability and the completely different delicacies types.”
Farberware Edgekeeper 5-Inch Santoku Knife
Execs
- Comfy, versatile design
- Comes with a blade cowl
- Price range-friendly
Cons
- Some Amazon reviewers say it dulls rapidly
- Hand wash solely
You’ll be reaching for a knife over and over whereas cooking, so why not put money into a stable one which makes prepping meals in giant 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], regardless that the deal with dimension and weight of the knife may be very comparable,” she says. “I discover that it’s extra snug to make use of and in addition actually versatile. It will possibly fairly rapidly flip over from dicing up an onion to chopping by means of a cooked hen breast.”
KitchenIQ Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener
Execs
- Simple to make use of
- Shortly sharpens blades
- Price range-friendly
Cons
- Some Amazon buyers say it’s too small and light-weight
If you happen to can’t keep in mind the final time you sharpened your kitchen knives, then it’s in all probability been too lengthy. “It’s so vital to have a well-sharpened, high-quality knife that you just’re assured in utilizing,” Harbstreet says. “If you happen to’re nervous about one thing like a uninteresting knife blade or working with instruments that aren’t snug in your hand or power degree, then it makes prep work that a lot much less satisfying.”