Meal prep, this is how you do it

1. How do you survive the week when you have a busy job, (school-going) children with sports clubs around dinner time and you hardly have time for cooking and shopping? Then meal prepping is the solution for you.

What is it?

1. Meal prepping is really nothing more than preparing your meals and stocking up on sophisticated supplies. That way you spend less time on shopping and cooking during the working week. It not only saves you valuable time, it also ensures that you eat healthier. Because it is really better to put a home-prepared healthy meal on the table than to bake a frozen pizza or get fries. Meal prepping is very smart, healthy, sustainable and cheap.

2. Meal prepping is actually nothing more than preparing your meals and stocking up on sophisticated supplies. That way, you spend less time shopping and cooking during the working week. It not only saves you valuable time, it also ensures that you eat healthier. Because it is really better to put a home-prepared healthy meal on the table than to bake a frozen pizza or get fries. Meal prepping is very smart, healthy, sustainable and cheap.

How do you proceed?

1. Meal prepping does require some planning and discipline. Certainly in the beginning you will think that it is a lot of hassle. Until you notice how much calmer your week becomes when you have properly arranged everything around food. And until you notice how delicious and healthy you eat! Meal prepping consists of 4 steps. The first step is planning. You make a weekly schedule of dishes and think about what your week will look like. The second step is shopping. A smart meal prepper makes a shopping list and does (almost) all weekly shopping in one go. The third step is the meal prep itself: you choose a quiet moment when you spend extra time cooking and in which you prepare meals and parts of meals. The fourth step is the grand finale: every working day you eat a delicious meal, which consists of parts that you have already (partly) prepared, so that you are ready in no time.

2. Meal prepping does require some planning and discipline. Especially in the beginning you will think that it is a lot of hassle. Until you notice how much calmer your week becomes when you have properly arranged everything around food. And until you notice how delicious and healthy you eat! Meal prepping consists of 4 steps. The first step is planning. You make a weekly schedule of dishes and think about what your week will look like. The second step is shopping. A smart meal prepper makes a shopping list and does (almost) all weekly groceries in one go. The third step is the meal prep itself: you choose a quiet moment when you spend extra time cooking and in which you prepare meals and parts of meals. The fourth step is the grand finale: every working day you eat a delicious meal, which consists of parts that you have already (partly) prepared, so that you are ready in no time.

Step 1: Planning

1. Grab your diary and look at your work schedule and the appointments you have for the coming week. Are there days when you have time to cook slowly? Fine, you don't have to prepare anything for that. Are there busy days ahead? Think about what you want to eat, what you can prepare in advance. Consider shelf life. Fresh leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach, are perishable and should therefore be eaten at the beginning of the week. The same goes for meat and fresh fish. By the way, meal prepping is also very useful for unexpectedly busy days, when your schedule goes completely wrong due to a traffic jam or a delayed meeting.

Step 2: Shopping

1. Based on your schedule, you can now make a list of all the groceries you need for the next week. It is smart to buy everything in one go, that saves a lot of time. It is also often healthier, cheaper and more sustainable because you do not give in to offers for sweets, biscuits or snacks. Buy a combination of long-life products and products that are more perishable. Don't forget to stock up on frozen foods, as they are your best friend during the work week. When you shop online, you can save your grocery list so you have a good foundation for any work week.

Step 3: Prepping

1. Now it's time for the real thing. Take a few hours, for example on a Sunday afternoon, and 'cook ahead' for the work week. You can make complete meals that you can freeze. Examples are savory pie, soup, casseroles and rice dishes (such as fried rice). You can also make parts of meals, such as pot roast, pasta sauces or a curry. Make sure that you cool everything down as quickly as possible after preparation, for example by putting the pan in cold water. Then divide it into portions and freeze (for later in the week) or keep in the refrigerator (for the start of the working week). You can also make salad dressing for several days, cook and store servings of rice or quinoa… the possibilities are endless.

2. Now it's time for the real thing. Take a few hours, for example on a Sunday afternoon, and 'cook ahead' for the work week. You can make complete meals that you can freeze. Examples are savory pie, soup, oven dishes and rice dishes (such as fried rice). You can also make parts of meals, such as pot roast, pasta sauces or a curry. Make sure that you cool everything down as quickly as possible after preparation, for example by placing the pan in cold water. Then divide it into portions and freeze (for later in the week) or keep in the fridge (for the start of the working week). You can also make salad dressing for several days, cook and store portions of rice or quinoa… the possibilities are endless.

Step 4: The grand finale

1. Now it is time to harvest and enjoy your good work. On Monday you eat a chicken curry with rice that you prepared on Sunday. Just heat it up, stir in some spinach and you're done. On Tuesdays you also eat chili con carne with a fresh salad. Again at the table in 10 minutes. On Wednesdays you take a homemade pesto from the freezer and cook your own pasta with it, delicious with mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes. On Thursdays you eat soup (from the freezer) with some baked baguette and herb butter. And then it is already Friday. How about lasagna with lots of vegetables from the freezer? This way you will get through the working week very tasty and healthy.

2. Now is the time to harvest and enjoy your good work. On Monday you eat a chicken curry with rice that you prepared on Sunday. Just heat it up, stir in some spinach and you're done. On Tuesdays you also eat chili con carne with a fresh salad. Again at the table in 10 minutes. On Wednesdays you can take a homemade pesto from the freezer and cook your own pasta with it, delicious with mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes. On Thursday you eat soup (from the freezer) with some baked baguette and herb butter. And then it is already Friday. How about lasagna with lots of vegetables from the freezer? This way you get through the working week very nice and healthy.

Don't like planning? Maybe you are not much of a planner and you hate the idea that you already know on Monday that you are going to eat lasagna on Friday. Even then, it is quite smart to cook a little ahead and have a stock of healthy, homemade dishes in your freezer. Better than those everlasting pizzas right? And whether you make pea soup, hash or bolognese sauce for one day or for several days, that makes little difference in terms of work and your freezer is patient. Also ensure a good basic stock. For example, you can store tins of tomatoes, legumes, fish, pasta and rice in your pantry. In the fridge vegetables, eggs, dairy, cheese and spreads. In the freezer meat, fish and vegetables. That saves a lot of time for groceries, but with that you can still determine what you feel like every day. Also a kind of meal prep, but just a bit different. Don't miss anything anymore?

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Don't miss anything anymore?

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