I have to be completely honest, meal prepping is hit or miss
for me. I have to be in the mood for it
and when I am I can be very productive, but if I'm not in the mood for it I
just don't do it. Having said that I do
see the true value in meal prepping and I strongly recommend it as a great tool
for busy families on a budget or for those with diet and nutritional
concerns. Because of that I do try to
meal prep often and find that I manage to do it about once or twice a month.
What I do like about meal prepping is the way I am able to
create meals or components for preparing meals to help me get dinner on the
table relatively quickly. Especially if
we have a very busy week ahead, as we often do.
I also like that I'm able to make sure we hit all of our nutritional
needs because everything is planned and organized.
Another benefit of meal prepping is that it really minimizes
food waste. This saves a lot of money as
you obviously aren't throwing food away, you don't need to do extra shopping to
replace spoiled items and you are far less tempted to hit the drive thru or
order a pizza delivery.
Meal prepping is a healthy, low cost option for feeding your
family. It also saves a lot of time and
I have to admit, on the days following a meal prep I am able to quickly get
meals on the table without much thought or work either. The added benefit of meal prepping, which is
probably the best benefit of all, is that it lowers stress and works hand in
hand with meal planning.
So, in a nutshell, I need to embrace meal prepping and try
to enjoy it more so I do it more often.
I'll see if that is something I can work on and improve.
I did much more meal prepping back in my pre-kids working days. Now, my prep usually consists of following a vague, three-day in advance plan by making sure whatever I am planning gets defrosted, put in the slow cooker, etc. Meal prepping is a HUGE time saver, isn't it? I don't know how we would have survived those exhausting small children years without it. It also really saves the budget. I need to get back into it, but the problem is with two of our kids at the local college, that we never really know from day to day who will be where at what time!
ReplyDeleteThat could be part of my problem lately. I'm never quite sure who will be where and our schedule has been a little rocky.
DeleteI need to do this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou bet!
DeleteI do my best to get any veggies prepped ahead of time. I find we eat more veggies that way and also have part of a meal prepped and that makes it go so much easier when cooking. Have been cooking a lot at my mom's house. So lots of planning and chopping, cooking and dishes. Oh my, I could do without all the dishes. We made a lovely veggie stew yesterday and cheated and made "homemade" bread from a frozen loaf of Rhodes bread. So yummy. My brother and his wife are vegan. My brother wanted homemade bread for his birthday. (yes, we are a wild group) We put the loaf in a pan covered it and set it in the back window of my mom's car since it was the warmest place we could think of. It rose beautifully. lol. Take care.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that's hilarious. But totally makes sense too! Smart thinking!
DeleteSince I've retired, I do less food prep but I do try to use up leftovers as much as possible to reduce waste. Last week's roast was made into Shepherd's pie last night, and the weekend's chicken and rice was made into soup today. Besides being thrifty I find those small amounts of leftovers can be stretched into enough for the two of us.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine once my kiddos are out of the house I'll meal prep a whole lot less. Using up leftovers is a much however. Ha! You got really creative. :)
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