A 5-Step Beginner's Guide To Meal Prep

Look, I’m not going to bullshit you – meal prep is a lot of fucking work.  It takes thought and time and energy to get everything knocked out.  That said, I really only cook once a week, so getting it done in one day frees up my weeknights for other tasks (like doing nothing).

I have a lot of people tell me that they’re interested in trying it but don’t know where to start.  So, this is a simple beginner’s guide to meal prepping.

START SMALL:

First and foremost, I wouldn’t recommend doing a full week’s worth of meal prep your first time around.  Start with a couple dishes that you can easily throw together and portion into leftover containers.  Lunches are a great place to start, so think salads, soups, wraps, pastas, whatever.

Try doing just two dishes your first week and see whether or not they even get eaten.  Consider whether having them there is saving you time, stress, energy, whatever.  Ultimately, by starting small you can determine within a week or two if this is a path worth exploring or not.

If you decide that having some food already made in the fridge was worth the effort, then try doing three dishes the next week.

KEEP IT SIMPLE:

You don’t need to make leftovers a traditional meal with side dishes, in fact, I rarely do.  Look for dishes you can make in your slow cooker or air fryer.  Try one-pot meals, or casseroles that can simply go into the oven.  You don’t need to kill yourself to make healthy and delicious meals.

I’m a big fan of picnic salads for meal prep – pasta salads, potato salads, bean salads, whatever.  They’re fast and easy to make and keep well and make a great quick grab-and-go dish that doesn’t need to be reheated.  They’re also a great canvas for tons of different flavor profiles.

DON’T BUY ALL THE FANCY THINGS YET:

You don’t need the fancy Tupperware containers and tiny sauce cups for good meal prep.  Use what you have at the start, whether it’s old sour cream containers, jelly jars, or Gladware, it doesn’t matter what vessel the food goes into, as long as food that is meant to be warm is in microwave safe containers and you have containers with reliable lids, you’re good.

You also don’t need the fancy cookware or utensils to start.  Use what you have.  Don’t go into meal prep assuming you’re going to commit to it because honestly, it’s not for everyone and it may not be for you.  So, don’t start investing in nice tools until you’ve established that this is a path you want to go down.

KEEP DISHES TO A MINIMUM:

Doing dishes fucking sucks so make it easy on yourself.  Line your baking sheets with aluminum foil and use non-stick cookware if you have it.  I like making picnic salads because I’m really only dirtying one big bowl, which is easy to wash.

START & END WITH A CLEAN KITCHEN AND WASH AS YOU GO:

I can’t stress this one enough.  Make sure your kitchen is clean when you start, and the dishwasher is empty (if you’re lucky enough to have one).  It makes the process infinitely less stressful when you have space to work.  If you end up going down the meal prep rabbit hole, you’ll find that you’ll need space because you’re going to be multi-tasking like crazy.

Wash your dishes as you go, I promise, starting this habit early will make your future of meal prepping so much easier and more pleasant.  You don’t even have to be the one doing it…snag your partner or your kid or someone and make them wash the pots and pans while you’re chopping ingredients for the next dish.  Ultimately, just keep the kitchen as uncluttered as possible.

That’s it.

Those are my five steps to get your meal prep journey off to a roaring start.  Have questions?  Pop them in the comments section below and we’ll see if I have a good answer or not!