Are You MEAL PREP Ready?

A list of essentials to make your next meal prep session an absolute breeze.

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First things first: Pick a day and MAKE TIME

Allot yourself 10-20 mins of time for everyday of the week that you plan to prep for. (Beginners or longer cooking meals may want to lean towards the 20 min area. If you are using a crockpot or instant pot for your main dish, then your time will be greatly reduced.

1 Week Before: Storage

By obtaining quality meal prep containers you will be saving yourself from a world of hurt later in the week as well as shaving even more time off of your morning routine when you are grabbing your food.

FTW TIP: Glass Containers. These are microwave and oven safe, clean much easier than Tupperware and don't stain!

If you do NOT like your food to touch, we highly recommend using seperated glass containers. These also come in really handy when you have foods that you want to pair but don't want to get soggy or want to dip but not saturate. Fruit, Greek Yogurt dip and granola is our favorite use of the separated containers.

If you are more of a one stop-shop sorta gal or have a meal like stir fry that can all go into one, then we recommend glass containers.

And of course, your lunch bag! This doesn't have to to a brown paper sack like 4th grade. You'd be surprised which of our favorite brands have a lunch box. Some things to take into account is size, whether or not you want a strap, a water bottle holder or two tiers. Here are just a few for inspiration:

Though lunch bags are insulated, it is always a good idea to use a little extra to keep your food cool (especially if you don't have access to a refrigerator). Our favorite freezer pack is the flat rectangle kind, but there are pros and cons to both.

ACCESSORIES: We've given you the bare bones, but these fun add ons could be your next biggest life changer. Check out a few up and coming meal prep products: Spoon, fork, knife - all in one. Insulated water bottle with reusable straws and reusable ziploc bags with a "extra hand" in case you need both hands to pour something into the bad and a scrubber.

2-3 Days Before: Pick Your Recipes

Maybe it's your favorite part, maybe it's the part that stresses you out the most: choosing what you're going to eat! Check our "For the Kitchen" recipe posts for ideas or Pinterest search a meal that you have been craving lately. Most of the time you'll be able to find something simple and similar to make at home.

Day Of: Grocery Store Haul

This is the time when you check off your own list of ingredients and search the isles for everything you need to meal prep your week. Make sure you don't forget things like non-stick spray or seasonings.

-Making the Food

You may need an Instant Pot or crockpot, but almost all meal prep recipes can be done with just a cooking sheet and a saucepan.

Post-Prep

You have already bought your containers and lunch pale, picked your recipe and prepared your food. All that's left is actually enjoying your hard work! Bon Appetité