Another busy weekend means little time for meal prep again. Rob was nice enough to do the grocery shopping so that at least I didn’t have to worry about that when I got back from NY, but that meant coming up with our meal plan and grocery list on Friday night:
Sunday: salmon, broccoli, baked potato
Monday: Baked lemon herb chicken, garlic roasted asparagus and mushrooms
Tuesday: Paleo chicken parmesan and zucchini noodles
Wednesday: Bacon, broccoli robe and tomato pasta
Thursday: Beef, broccoli, and sweet potato bowl
Friday: Pasta, turkey meatballs, salad
Saturday: Out
Snacks/Desserts: Fruits (whatever looks good/is on sale), almond butter muffins, Paleo cookies
Breakfasts: Smoothies, Eggs with meat/veggies, Paleo Pancakes
Lunches: Salads with steak or leftovers
Since I am posting this Sunday morning on the train ride home, I haven’t actually done the meal prep (or seen that he has actually bought the groceries). So instead of sharing what I did to prepare my meals for the week, I thought I would share some tips on how to efficiently prep your meals for the week.
- To start the whole process you need to have at least some idea of what you will be eating throughout the week and when. During the previous week I save meals on Pinterest that I may want to make, and then organize them into a board labeled “This Week’s Meals and Recipes”. I either handwrite my meal plan and grocery list, or use my online template. I make sure to plan easier meals on days that I will be home later, or I make sure I can prep food for those nights. I also need to think about how far in advance I can prep certain foods. (For example, meats that I buy on Sunday but won’t eat until Thursday will need to go in the freezer).
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Then I make a list of what I want to do for meal prep. So for this week, it would look like this:
- Wash and store fruits
- Make steak for salads
- Cut and store chicken
- Roast spaghetti squash
- Make turkey meatballs
- Make almond butter muffins
- Make Paleo cookies
- Make Paleo pancakes
- Cook bacon for Wednesdays’ meal
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Next I think about the order that makes the most sense. If I worry that I won’t have time to do it all, I prioritize. I know I won’t have time on Wednesday to roast the squash, so I might get started on that first. I also know I will want the steak for lunches early in the week so I will make sure to get that cooked.
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I also plan to prep foods that use similar appliances/tools together. I will do the baking all at once since I’ll be using measuring cups and similar ingredients, and they usually require similar oven temps. If I have a cutting board out, I will try to do all chopping at once.
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I might also start with something that takes the longest, like roasting the squash. While the oven is preheating, and the squash is cooking and cooling I can get a bunch of other things done.
I’m thinking I will do this again in a few weeks with a different set of tips. I’m thinking the next one will be about how to make the least amount of mess possible while doing all of this stuff:) If you have anything specific you want to hear about regarding meal prep, let me know and I’ll do my best to write about it at some point!
Did you meal plan/prep this week?
Great tips! While I don’t really prep foods early, I do like to plan out my meals a little. Then I only buy what I need at the grocery store. If I go in there without a list I will buy everything I don’t need. Your Monday meal looks delicious! I may have to try it myself one day 🙂
I do the same thing without a list! Or I forget important things that I need.
I love meal planning and tend to do it similarly. Although the past month has been so busy and we’ve been gone almost every weekend that I haven’t been as great at prepping as I’d like to be. This weekend we are gone again so I’ll do my prepping and grocery shopping tomorrow. Monday meal prepping!
Monday meal prep works just as well:) I’ve been away a lot this summer, too and haven’t been able to prep as much as I like.
These are great tips for people looking to get their eating/meal prep organized….I never meal plan because I can’t decide what I may be in the mood for until at the most a few hours before. That said, I do always have the usual staples for what I might need and I live in the grocery store in order to always have fresh fruits and vegetables so somehow I always seem to pull a fresh meal together quick.
See, the difference between your meal prep and my meal prep is that you make real food…. I just combine things.
Maybe so, but that is an awesome skill to be able to just create meals on a whim like that! I wish I was that creative/spontaneous,
As usual I’m so impressed with your organization! I really should start a meal prepping ritual to make things easier for me during the week. Once the kids start school and have activities up until dinner I’ll be forced to!
Its really all about making it into a routine you can stick with. I look at it as either I meal prep on the weekends, or I eat later….and I hate waiting to eat when I’m hungry:)
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
You’re welcome! I hope they were helpful!
I’m impressed 😛 How long does this take usually? I’m super impulsive so what I eat always changes but when I DO do a meal prep … it takes me forever that the week after I don’t want to go through the process again ):
This week’s took 2 hours. I’ve done up to 3…but usually at least 1. It is a big chuck of time but then I do all my clean up at once which is kind of nice!
I am always so beyond impressed with your meal prepping! I put together a list of things I think I’ll want to make during the week inside my head and then roam the grocery isles hoping I don’t forget anything! It’s totally unproductive 😉
Haha I don’t think I would get anywhere if I did that! Actually I would forget a whole bunch of stuff and have to go back to the store like everyday that week. Its not convenient to get to the grocery store so i try to avoid that!
I did not meal plan/prep this week. I have such a hard time with this, I’m not sure why. The week always seems to sneak up on me and then I don’t have any time. But figuring out on a daily basis is really hard. It’s so much smoother when I actually plan!
I know, it definitely stresses me out trying to do it each day! It can be so hard to get it done before the week starts, but I have found that I just have to make it a priority. I think I’ve learned my lesson too many times with having too much to do in the evenings!