Meals at Home


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Meal Prep: The Key to Easy Home Cooking

Cooking meals at home leads to healthier eating habits and fewer calories compared to dining out. However, busy schedules often leave little time for home-cooked meals, leading to more on-the-go eating.

Meal prepping is a fantastic solution to save time and ensure healthy choices throughout the week. So, what exactly is meal prep? It's flexible and can be tailored to suit your needs. For some, it might mean dedicating a day to cook all meals for the week and storing them in single-serve containers. For others, it could involve batch cooking a few recipes and freezing portions. It could also be as simple as chopping vegetables, fruits, and marinating meats in advance. There is no right or wrong way to meal prep!

Benefits of Meal Prepping:

  • Saves time during the week
  • Reduces food waste
  • Provides convenience at meal times
  • Ensures healthy options are always available
  • Eliminates the guesswork of deciding what to eat
  • Minimizes cooking time
  • Reduces the temptation to eat out or make unhealthy choices

How to Start Meal Prepping:

  1. Make a list of meals you want to make.
  2. From those meals, make a grocery list.
  3. Schedule a time to go grocery shopping.
  4. Set aside time to prep the food.
  5. Store prepared foods in the fridge or freezer.

Food Storage Options:

  • Glass or plastic reusable containers
  • Zip-top baggies in various sizes
  • Tin foil
  • Bowl covered with plastic wrap
  • Plates topped with large bowls, acting like a lid
  • Reused (and washed) deli meat containers
  • Glass jars (save some of those jelly or sauce jars)

Start with one of these ideas:

  1. Boil and peel eggs for an easy protein for snacks or breakfast
  2. Mix up some overnight oats in small containers.
  3. Dice onions and bell peppers to toss into dinners daily. Washing and cutting up broccoli, celery, cauliflower, and cucumbers is great for snacks too!
  4. Make a large pot of soup in the slow cooker.
  5. Cut up fruit and put into snack size baggies.
  6. Cook chicken to use for quesadillas, salads, or sandwiches for lunch.
  7. Cook ground meats that can be used for tacos, spaghetti, or in casseroles later in the week.
  8. Pre-cooked casseroles take about 20 minutes to cook. Put together and freeze a couple casseroles so they are ready for the week. Or if you are making the casserole the night of, double the recipe ingredients when you cook so that you can serve ½ at one meal and freeze ½ for a later meal when you are hurried. 
  9. After a meal, slice or chop and freeze left-over beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc. to use later for a sandwich, casserole, soup, taco, or quesadilla.
  10. Make your own TV dinners out of planned or leftover meats and casseroles. Freeze in microwaveable containers, then warm in the microwave and serve.

Best Tips:

  • Start small - only a few meals or ingredients to prep so you don’t get overwhelmed
  • Always go grocery shopping with a list and don't go hungry
  • Wash and prep fruits and vegetables right after shopping
  • Keep a stocked pantry of foods that won't spoil
  • Write down your favorite meals
  • Buy foods on sale
  • Batch cook and freeze some to make meal prep easier another week
  • Use a slow cooker for minimal prep time
  • Make foods you're going to enjoy eating!

Recipe Ideas

Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup low-fat milk
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 chopped ripe banana
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup berries
  • 1/8 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

In a bowl or glass jar, mix together all ingredients. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight (or at least 2 hours). Stir and serve either cold or warm.

Will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days.

White Bean Soup

Ingredients:

  • 4 cans Great Northern (white) beans, or 1 lb dried beans that have been presoaked
  • 3 large carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a slow cooker. Mix together. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours.