Whether you have become a meal prep expert, cook for family and friends on a regular basis, or maybe a kitchen novice, it is highly unlikely that you have ever taken on the task of preparing your complete monthly menu all at once. As more people look to cut household spending, as well as manage how and what they eat, they are endeavoring to prepare meals ahead of time. While preparing 90 meals all at once may seem like a daunting task, there are some basic steps that you can take to simplify the process. Following are five simple steps to help you prepare all 90 meals for the month.
While most people will consider the possibility of literally having to heat cook every meal. The truth is that some meals, especially those prepared for breakfast will not always have to be cooked. For instance, one breakfast meal could actually consist of a ripe avocado spread over toast. Additionally, a basic three to four-ingredient salad could be eaten at lunchtime.
No matter how much you love to cook, there will be days in which you will be too tired or too busy to conceptualize and prepare a complete meal. On those days when you are tired or overwhelmed it is a good idea to have a few go to meals that will be simple and easy to preparing — making the process less stressful and exhausting. Some foods that fall into this category include almonds, frozen seafood and eggs.
Prepping meals in advance will help you honor your commitment to eating healthier. Some cooks and chefs who cook their meals at home will not necessary prep and cook all of their meals at once; however, they will plan all of the meals for a specific time frame in advance. When you already know what you are going to cook in advance, it will make the entire process significantly less stressful. Additionally, having all of the meals planned out in advance will allow you do all of your grocery shopping at once.
You should find recipes that have five ingredients or less, or another option would be to plan the entire week in which the meals that are being prepared will include some of the same ingredients. Another way to save time is by using precut vegetables and fruits. You can also stock your kitchen with canned fruits and vegetables, but you will sacrifice freshness. You can make cutting your vegetables and fruit much simpler by using a quality cutting board. If you don’t have a good wood cutting board, you can order one from bulk cutting boards, a company that specializes in wholesale cutting boards.
If you are a person who keeps a well-stocked kitchen, it will be easier for you to prepare multiple meals at one time. When you don’t have the kitchen stocked the way that you would like, a little creativity will go a long way. Try using chicken breasts that are pre-cooked, allowing you to heat them up relatively quickly. You can also use precut broccoli as the vegetables.
Proper prepping is what will make or break this project, and most of the prep time is in cutting and chopping fruits and vegetables. Using a sharp knife and a quality wood cutting board. You can find a quality cutting board through a distributor that specializes in bulk cutting boards.