Would you love to meal prep on Sundays, but don’t want to spend half your weekend cooking? Me—and most of my clients—feel you!
My clients often tell me that meal prepping is one of their top goals to ensure they eat regular, well-rounded meals throughout the week. They’re taking care of young kids, navigating ADHD, or working two jobs to make ends meet. Meal prepping is often the difference between eating at home or resorting to takeout every weeknight.
The good news is you can absolutely set yourself up for success for the week without being in the kitchen all day. How? Some ideas include leaning on set-it-and-forget-it appliances, freezing extras, and using pre-chopped or frozen veggies. By doing so, you can significantly cut back on prep time.
Keep reading to learn 6 tips to make meal prepping less of a time commitment, so you can take care of your weekday-self without giving up half your weekend to do so.
Be Mindful of Perfectionism
When you think of meal prepping, do you picture Euro-centric meals in perfectly-lined-up glass containers? It may be time to shift your idea of what meal prep can be.
Your meals don’t have to look pretty to be satisfying and nutritious. And you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to make well-balanced meals.
If this is your idea of meal prepping, then perfectionism might be the reason you think of it as a full-day event.
Instead, focus on embracing the foods you already love and are comfortable cooking. Aim to add nutrition to continue enjoying your favorite foods while also promoting your health.
Lean on Set-It-And-Forget-It Appliances
One simple way to reduce your active cooking time is to lean on appliances that you can set and forget. My favorite example is a rice cooker, which is undoubtedly my most-used appliance! It’s so nice to set it and forget it and get a perfect pot of rice every time.
Some other appliances that may be especially helpful include:
- Air fryer
- Rice cooker
- Slow cooker
- Instant pot
With these appliances, you can make a big batch of rice and beans, chicken tinga, ropa vieja, carnitas, mojo chicken, sancocho, or avena to enjoy throughout the week. And you don’t have to spend hours in front of the stove to do so.
Prep Meal Components, Not Full Meals
Pre-portioned glass containers may look pretty, but they’re not always the most practical meal prep option.
For one, you’re not a robot, so you may want a little more food one day than the next.
Plus, it gives you less flexibility to customize your meals during the week.
Lastly, it makes more work for you on the weekend.
So instead, consider batch cooking meal components instead of full meals. For example, cook a big batch of Mexican rice, pollo asado, and salsa, and store them separately in the fridge.
You can combine them all and add avocado for a meal, or you can repurpose them separately. For example, the chicken used in tacos, mixed in with a salad kit, or stuffed into a burrito. More meal options without much more work!
This isn’t one-size-fits-all, so if you prefer pre-portioning your meals, go for it!
Buy Pre-Chopped or Frozen Produce
Chopping veggies can be tedious and may even deter you from adding them to your meals. To cut back on meal prep time, use pre-chopped, pre-washed, and/or frozen produce.
It’s just as nutritious as fresh produce, and it helps cut back on the time and effort needed to add fruits and veggies to your meals.
Want ideas? Frozen spinach makes for a great pasta sauce mix-in, frozen onions and peppers are perfect in scrambled eggs, and frozen broccoli is a delicious stir-fry veggie.
For fruits, I love prepping chia pudding or overnight oats with frozen wild blueberries, or making tropical fruit smoothies with frozen banana and mango.
Make Extra and Freeze It
Make extra food and freeze it so you can have it ready to go for future weeks. This won’t save you time this week, but your future self will thank you! Think pancakes, rice and beans, burritos, and sopa de lentejas.
Even freezing extra rice can save you time and effort next week (or month). It’s one less meal component you need to prepare for the week!
Plan Takeout Days
It’s normal not to want to cook every single day, especially if you live alone or handle the cooking for the whole family. So if you can afford it, plan a certain number of takeout meals each week.
Take the pressure off of yourself to prepare every single meal for every single day and allow yourself to eat out without guilt or desperation.
This is extra important when you’re in a busier season of life and may need to lean on takeout more often.
Final Thoughts
Meal prepping can help make weekday meals a breeze, and it doesn’t have to take up your whole Sunday. So let go of perfectionism and embrace simpler, tastier meals!
Specifically, use appliances you can set and forget, lean on frozen or pre-chopped produce, and make extra to freeze for the future. Also, if it’s in your budget, let yourself plan for some takeout meals!
By taking the pressure off of yourself and embracing convenience, you can establish a meal prep routine that works for you.
