Prep Your Kitchen For Meal Prep
Meal prep can be intimidating but believe me when I say that it does not have to be impossible! Here are a dietitians essentials for meal prep to help you get prepping in no time.
How many of y’all feel like the answer to eating healthy is always to meal prep your lunches?
How many of y’all feel like the answer to losing weight is to meal prep some of your meals?
How many of y’all feel like you have no clue where to start with meal prep? (insert girl with her hand raised emoji).
Trust me, I hear you. The first step to successful meal prepping is to make sure you have all of the right tools on hand!! No one likes to get started on a project and then realize they don’t have what they need to finish it… also, how likely are you to actually stick with that project if that happens? We’ll get to the meal prep essentials but let’s start with talking about why you should meal prep in general because I have to sell you on that idea first!
Why Meal Prep?
1) Save time: this may seem crazy to you but you will actually save time in the long run if you can get a good meal prep system down and prep most of your meals for the week. I can get majority of my food prepped in less than one hour… that’s about the amount of time that it would take for you to drive to a restaurant, wait in line to order your meal, wait for your order to be ready, and drive back home to eat that one meal.
2) Save money: yes, you will save money when you meal prep. I have calculated the cost of the lunches that I make for Daniel and I throughout the week and can typically prep a healthy and balanced lunch for around $2.50 per meal for the entire week. Now let’s talk about the price of the last meal your ordered in the drive thru…
3) Eat healthy: When you have healthy meals already prepped for yourself you will be far less likely to eat out or grab something from a drive thru line. Not only does this generally add more servings of fruits and vegetables to your day but it also really helps lower your calorie and sodium intake which can help you stay on track with your health goals.
If that list didn’t sell you on meal prepping then I don’t know what will. Remember, you have full control over how much you want to prep and how much time you want to invest. Personally, I typically only prep our lunches and snacks because those are what we eat during work hours which are the hours of the day that I don’t have access to my own food at home. Some people find that meal prepping breakfast and dinner is also extremely helpful, especially when the days seem to not have enough hours in them. In any case, in order to make meal prep seem less overwhelming you need to make sure you have the RIGHT tools in the first place. Obviously you will need some spatuals and wooden spoons but let’s get to the big stuff. Today I am listing out my top 10 kitchen essentials for meal prep and even gave you the links to all of my personal favorites so that we can get you ready to start prepping your own meals ASAP! Let’s prep our kitchen:
We’re bringing it all the way back to elementary school with this one but it is an absolute necessity. Does your long commute in the morning worry you about keeping your food cold? Do you not have a refrigerator at work to store your prepped food? Do you use these reasons as an excuse not to meal prep? Well, here is the insulated lunch box that I use that will fix all of your food safety concerns. You CANNOT be successful with your meal prep if you do not have a good lunch box to put your meals in. Unless you are only driving 15 minutes to work, grocery bags are not insulated enough to keep your meals cold. Trust me on this one, buy a lunch box. It’s what the cool kids do. Also, if you are really concerned about food safety, buy these ice packs to ensure that your cold items stay cold all day long!
This is a close second to the lunch box and also absolutely essential for successful meal prep. Not only are these easy to grab in the morning on your way to work but they automatically control your portions as well! Take one day to prep all of your lunches for the week and divide it up into 5 individual containers. You may also like pre-portioned containers if you are anything like me and despise when your food touches your other food!
This is my #1 meal prep appliance, especially for those of you who are looking for convenience. This is the crockpot that I use in my own house and it’s probably my favorite kitchen item. I’m the crockpot queen, y’all. I picked this crockpot because it is extremely affordable, easy to use, and easy to clean! They do make programmable crockpots which would be PERFECT for those of you who want to meal prep dinners as well. You can cook just about anything in a crockpot but I generally use it to make my protein for the week (chicken, pork, etc). What I like about the crockpot is that it does ALL the work for you. I take 5 minutes to trim and season my chicken then I put it in the crockpot to cook for 4 hours during which I can clean my kitchen, clean my house, and run any other errands that I have on the to do list for the day! Then voila, the crockpot took all the stress of meal prepping off of you and your chicken is now cooked and ready to be eaten throughout the week!
This essentially does everything that a crockpot does but in a much shorter amount of time which is the beauty of an instant pot. I personally am a slow cooker person but an instant pot would be perfect for those of you who want to plan your dinner, cook your dinner, and have it ready to be served in under 30 minutes. This is my favorite 3 qt instant pot and this is my favorite 6 qt instant pot if you’re needing to put more food on the table!
This is Daniels favorite kitchen item and literally fries your egg in under 2 minutes. It makes perfectly round fried eggs that fit beautifully onto a whole wheat English muffin or a white cheddar rice cake and are ideal for a quick breakfast on the go! Need I say more?
You NEED these in your kitchen and do not cut yourself short on size. Larger size= less pans to clean. These are ideal for one-sheet dinners, roasted vegetables, or a baked protein of choice! I have 3 pan sizes in my own kitchen and use them for every meal prep.
Ok, we get it Lauren, we need pots and pans in our kitchen if we want to meal prep. If you aren’t looking to buy an entire set of pots, I would definitely have at least two sizes such as these two. That way you can have your eggs boiling for an easy hardboiled egg breakfast and your rice cooking to be used as the perfect base for your meal prepped chipotle bowls!
Obviously, this follows on the heels of the large baking sheets and they can even be used interchangeably. I always keep a 9x13 baking dish on hand in case I want to cook anything in a sauce because this dish is much deeper than your standard cookie sheet which can reduce the risk for mess!
Not only do these look cute in your refrigerator but they are also perfect for prepping your overnight oats or storing salads for lunch. I would use the 16 oz mason jars for overnight oats and the 32 oz mason jars for salads so that you have room to mix your salad!
Last but not least, muffin pans are another great kitchen stocker to have on hand. You can use them to make healthy egg muffin bites or go sweeter with an enlightened Greek yogurt muffin! Either way, this pan allows for you to create portion controlled bites that fit perfectly into your busy schedule!
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