Get a scrap book to keep your favorite recipes and ideas
Trying to think of things to have for each meal can be tiresome and draining, so it’s great to have a compilation of your favorite dishes, and some new ones to try too! When you come across a dish you really love and you would like it to be a regular in your rotation, print or write it out and stick it in your homemade recipe book! Hopefully you’ll find some new favorites in this book to add to your repertoire.
If you like to freestyle some of your meals and forgo the use of a recipe, make sure you write down the ingredients you used and a rough rundown of the method, so you can recreate it another time! You’ll end up with your very own, self-curated recipe book.
Get your partner or family in on the meal-prep fun
If you’re prepping for a partner or for your family as well as for yourself, don’t take on all the work! Get your family or loved one involved, and treat it as a chance for some quality time for talking and laughing as you prep. If you have kids, give them an easy job so they can practice their food-prep skills while making them feel useful and appreciated in the kitchen with Mom or Dad. This will help to establish meal-prep time as a fun and relaxing thing to do, which means you’ll be far more likely to keep the routine up!
Make a dedicated meal-prep box to keep in the pantry
In my pantry, you will find a large box filled with containers, measuring cups and spoons, and a range of regularly-used ingredients. I keep oats, nuts, seeds, canned goods such as beans and corn, olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs, spices, and more. When I embark on each meal-prep session I place this box on the counter and it has all of the essentials I need to create many meals. All I need to do is get my fresh produce, meat and dairy from the fridge and I’m good to go. This makes life quicker and easier as it means you don’t need to rummage around in cupboards, shelves, and drawers to find utensils, containers, and ingredients.
Choose a meal-prep day and make sure it’s a relaxing experience
If you plan your meal prepping days right, you will begin to really look forward to each meal prep session. It shouldn’t be a stressful, rushed, or cumbersome activity, so choose a day when you’ve got a large chunk of time all to yourself. I find that Sunday afternoons and evenings are the best, as there are rarely social or work activities on Sunday (and there should never be!). I start at 2pm and just meander through the process for as long as it takes and I find it really does relax me. I usually put a podcast or movie on my computer and watch or listen as I quietly work – it’s a great time to binge watch a great show! The great thing about Sunday is that you wake up on Monday morning with all of your meals planned and prepped. Choose a day and time that works best for you and do whatever you can to make the experience enjoyable. You could even invite a friend or two around to chatter away with you as you prep (perhaps a nice glass of wine while you’re at it?).