Efficient Weekly Meal Prep in Just 90 Minutes with Sample Plan
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Meal prepping can feel overwhelming if you're new to it, but it’s entirely feasible to accomplish in less than 1.5 hours. Imagine being able to enjoy a movie or catch up on YouTube while you prep!
The perks of meal prepping are numerous, and while there are many benefits, here are the main ones I have experienced:
- Time-saving throughout the week
- Access to nutritious and fresh meals, aiding weight management
- Minimization of food waste, contributing to climate change efforts
- Lower grocery bills, combating inflation
From discussions with friends and family, I’ve noticed that starting is often the toughest part. It can seem complicated, especially with the way it’s portrayed in academic settings. After two years of practice, it’s become a routine for me, and I even find joy in preparing extra meals for friends.
Here’s a simple four-step guide for effective meal prepping:
- Plan your meals
- Create a task list based on your meal plan
- Shop for groceries
- Prepare and organize your groceries
Step 1: Meal Planning Planning your meals is crucial—it might even account for 70% of your success. Knowing what you’ll be cooking simplifies the prepping process. I began meal prepping out of necessity during the COVID lockdowns, committing to grocery shopping every two weeks. This meant no more last-minute trips for forgotten items.
This approach made me clever about meal planning. For example, if a recipe calls for sweet potatoes, buying them in bulk is cost-effective. If you need them for dinner, consider using them in your lunches as well.
To ease the planning process, I’ve outlined a three-step method in a previous article, which includes tips on selecting seasonal items and grouping ingredients, along with a free meal planning template.
Step 2: Prepping Ahead As I plan our meals for the week, I note which items can be prepped in advance. Sweet potatoes, for instance, can be easily baked at 425°F for around 40 minutes, ready to eat throughout the week.
Examples of foods you can batch prep on a Sunday include:
- Grains: rice, farro, quinoa, oatmeal
- Smoothies
- Potatoes
- Proteins: pulled chicken or pork, tempeh, tofu, grilled chicken
- Salad dressings
- Roasted vegetables
- Chopped vegetables & dips
- Overnight oats or chia pudding
- Fresh herbs, garlic, ginger
The possibilities are vast, ranging from full meals to prepped components that make post-work cooking simpler.
Step 3: Grocery Shopping Many people don’t realize that the prep process starts at the grocery store. I strategically plan what to buy and how to organize my reusable bags.
I prefer to bag my own groceries to save time later by keeping similar items together:
- One bag for dry goods destined for the pantry, including items like sweet potatoes.
- One or two bags for refrigerated/freezer goods, keeping proteins cool.
- An additional small bag for specialty items from places like the farmer’s market.
Every moment saved counts when it comes to meal prepping!
Step 4: Prepping and Organizing You’re ready to start prepping! Begin by putting away your groceries and leaving out what you’ll be preparing.
Tackle the items that take the longest to cook first. Sweet potatoes, roasted veggies, and grains can take over 30 minutes, so start with those to maximize efficiency.
Here’s a suggested order for prepping:
- Sweet potatoes
- Grains & roasted veggies
- Protein sources
- Chopped vegetables
- Smoothies
- Dressings & dips
Once everything is done, let the items cool before storing them in appropriate containers. I prefer to prepare full lunches in one container, but some opt for keeping ingredients separate for variety.
Sample Meal Plan, Grocery & Prep List And that's it! My entire meal prep usually takes less than 1.5 hours, often even shorter.
To assist you in starting your meal prep journey, here’s a sample meal plan (the one I plan to cook next week). Feel free to utilize my template and let me know how it goes in the comments!
The Meals:
The Grocery List: Based on the meal plan above, here’s how the grocery list looks:
Here’s what I already have at home to use this week:
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil & avocado oil spray
- Kewpie mayo
- Cornichons
- White vinegar
- Ketchup
- Apple cider vinegar
- Rice
- Parsley
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Honey
- Garlic
- Tortillas
- Lime
- Udon noodles
- Kimchi
- Eggs
- Sesame seeds
- Shrimp
- Chicken
- Farro
- Japanese sweet potatoes
- Tahini
- Chickpeas
- Nutritional yeast
- Dijon mustard
- White miso paste
- Paprika
Let me know in the comments if you’d like this in an editable format!
How I Developed This Plan: - I check the Whole Foods flyer for weekly deals, noting sales on chicken sausages, broccolini, and short ribs. - I had frozen shrimp, parsley, dill, and a large bag of Japanese sweet potatoes on hand. I also needed to use jicama wraps before they spoiled, pairing them with a short rib taco recipe. - Seasonal snap peas influenced my lunch choices, along with other in-season produce like asparagus and berries. - I typically mix bison and beef for burgers, creating extra for another meal, which aligns with my partner’s preference for variety.
My Sunday Meal Prep To-Do List: - Place short ribs in the crockpot - Bake sweet potatoes - Start veggie stock using frozen scraps - Sauté tempeh - Chop snap peas & basil, plus snack peppers - Prepare smoothies - Make salad dressing
Explore more posts in this series: How to Meal Plan in 3 Easy Steps (+ a free spreadsheet template!) 4 Habits to Lose Weight & Keep it Off