Meal Prep Ideas And Guide For Busy Mums

If you happen to’re a busy mum (examine) with a to-do listing so long as your arm (examine) who needs to eat properly however hasn’t received hours to spend within the kitchen (examine examine), this meal prep information is for you.

We do speak an terrible lot about meal prep concepts and suggestions right here on the Wholesome Mummy and on the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem, however we perceive that a few of you’ve gotten by no means tried it earlier than.

So it’s possible you’ll be feeling a little bit overwhelmed with the way it all works.

Key takeaways:

• An enormous number of meal prep suggestions and recommendation 
• The proper containers for meal prep
• Recipe solutions that can work properly for you 

All aboard!

Leap forward to search out out extra:

So….what’s meal prep?

If you happen to consider the time you spend within the kitchen every day or evening getting ready meals, it shortly provides up by the top of the week. And if there’s one factor that us busy mamas don’t have sufficient of – it’s TIME.

That is the place meal prep is available in. By spending a while a couple of times per week (or no matter works for you and your loved ones) chopping, cooking, and packaging up your meals and snacks, you possibly can slice a TON of hours off your weekly meal prep and cooking schedule.

However you don’t must really feel overwhelmed. Meal prep will be made up of easy duties like chopping components and storing them in hermetic containers, making a batch of wholesome meal prep recipes from the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem, or cooking a double batch of your favorite wholesome meals forward, so you possibly can freeze some for one more day.

What are the advantages of meal prep?

Oh, so many…

1. No extra cooking within the kitchen each single day. By cooking in batches (as an example, you may make a double batch of Bolognese, one to make use of this week and one to freeze for one more household meal subsequent week).
2. Lower your expenses by shopping for your components in bulk – it’s typically less expensive in the event you purchase 3kg of hen breast as an alternative of 500g. Identical goes with components like 2kg baggage of potatoes, 1kg baggage of rice and so on. Each little bit of cash saved is cash in your pocket.
3. You’ll have spare time to hold with the children within the witching hour (after they simply wish to snuggle up and browse a ebook or play a sport), as an alternative of getting emotional children pulling at your legs whilst you attempt to prepare dinner dinner.
4. Keep away from the temptation to seize a takeaway if you’re drained and hungry, understanding there’s a wholesome meal already made at house.
5. You employ much less electrical energy and water as you don’t must prepare dinner as typically. You’ll have much less washing up as you’ll make one BIG mess as an alternative of a multitude EVERY DAY!

What’s going to I must get began?

You don’t want quite a lot of kitchen tools, however these are the fundamentals to make it a little bit simpler.

Meals processor, blender, kettle, sharp knives, chopping boards, pots and pans, sluggish cooker (non-obligatory, however we adore it), and meal prep containers for the completed product.

And, after all, don’t neglect the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem app!

What ought to I make for my first try?

Don’t go too onerous too quickly! To begin with, why not simply put together two 28 Day Weight Loss Problem dinners (doubling the recipe to make 4 household meals) and two double batches of snacks?

As an illustration, you could possibly make a double batch of Gradual Cooker Asian Hen after which a double batch of Mexican Lasagne.

Then as soon as they’re cooking, you could possibly make a double batch of the Raspberry Muffins, and a double batch of the Weetbix Slice. That will make FOUR entire household meals and THIRTY SIX serves of some wholesome snacks!

How do I start?

Getting began with meal prep doesn’t must be this large factor the place you spend each weekend planning and doing all of your weekly meal prep. Relying in your freezer house and the scale of your loved ones, you are able to do weekly meal prep or simply pre-prep the meals for the times you’re all attempting to eat more healthy. No matter you determine, getting began with meal prepping begins by taking step one.

Step 1. Resolve what you want to prepare dinner throughout your session. 

You’ll be able to select to prepare dinner a dinner meal prep recipe (an important begin!) or add in lunch meal prep concepts too (why not simply use dinner leftovers for lunch?), you may wish to meal prep some snacks too.

Leap on the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem app and kind in an ingredient you wish to use (e.g. mince), and see what wholesome meal prep recipe pops up that you simply just like the look of. You’ll be able to customise your meal plan after which hit the ‘purchasing listing’ button.

Step 2. Make a purchasing listing (or use the one on the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem) and buy groceries.

Make a purchasing listing (or use the one on the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem) and buy groceries. Test the cabinets to see you probably have fundamentals like oil, flour, pepper and so on.

Many mums discover it helpful to make use of on-line purchasing in order that they’ll see what their whole spend will probably be and make adjustments if wanted to suit inside their finances.

Step 3. Carve out a while (relying on what you’re cooking and what number of recipes you’ve gotten) to spend within the kitchen cooking

A number of our 28 Day Weight Loss Problem members swear by the Sunday afternoon cook-up, however do no matter works for you. Many mums do meal prep twice every week.

Step 4. Begin chopping and getting the components prepared

The meals processor will be useful right here to cut onions, carrots, cabbage, and so on. Why not attempt utilizing the oven, stovetop and a sluggish cooker suddenly so to put together a number of meal prep meals?

Step 5. Begin cooking!

Get your apron on, throw on some tunes, and get into your meal-prepping session.

It’s usually greatest to get something cooking first that can take a little bit longer, then work again from there.

Suppose forward of time about what you can also make whereas one other meal is baking within the oven, as an example.

Step 6. As soon as the meals has cooled, it’s time to package deal it up

You may select to package deal your meals into single-serve parts or into family-sized parts, relying in your wants.

Permit the meals to chill utterly within the fridge in a single day, then place it within the freezer the following day. This avoids freezer burn. Label every little thing so to see at a look what you’ve gotten within the freezer.

What if I don’t have sufficient room to retailer a great deal of containers?

That’s OK! Not everybody has an enormous freezer or a lot of meal prep containers. Right here’s what you are able to do:

• Make your lunch for the week – place some cooked hen, rice and greens, or some pre-chopped salad into 5 containers (no dressing) you can simply pull out every day.
• Type breakfast out to make mornings a breeze. As an illustration, you may make these Chia Puddings (or there are a great deal of recipes in the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem) or a batch of the Gluten Free Granola to maintain available for the week.
• Meal prep your snacks for the week and retailer them within the fridge. Suppose Zucchini Carrot Cake, or Lemon and Coconut Bliss Balls. These don’t take up a lot room.
• Simply prepare dinner and freeze the primary part of the meal, which you’ll then add simply with a aspect of rice or veggies. You would make a triple batch of Chilli con Carne or Bolognese to make use of with pasta one evening, then tacos one other evening, wraps, or on prime of a jacket potato. Simply freeze it in household sized parts and defrost it within the fridge in a single day earlier than you propose to make use of it.

Which containers ought to I take advantage of for meal prep?

Choosing the proper meal prep containers may be very a lot a private selection.

However the primary choices for freezing meals are a budget and cheerful takeaway-style containers from the grocery store (round $3 for 10), which are sometimes single-use;

Or the costlier however higher high quality plastic tubs equivalent to Décor, Tupperware, Ikea or Sistema.

You may as well use ziplock baggage for issues like bliss balls or muffins, as they take up much less room.

Which dinner recipes work properly for meal prep?

Listed here are among the favorite wholesome meal prep recipes of the Challenge members that love meal prep. All of those wholesome meal prep concepts and recipes can be found to members of the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem. If you happen to’re searching for inspiration and for 1000’s of meal prep concepts for weight reduction you could find a lot on the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem and Wholesome Mummy web site.

Meat

Listed here are a few of our favorite meal prep concepts for the meat-eaters who need to eat more healthy:

Seafood

If seafood is extra your model, try these wholesome meal prep recipes excellent for the entire household:

• Fish & Vegetable Curry
• Coconut Fish Sizzling Pot
• Tuna Pasta Bake (pictured above)
• Salmon & Zucchini Patties
• Chilli Tuna Patties with Asian Coleslaw

Vegetarian

We even have an important vary of wholesome recipes excellent for the following weekly meal prep which are excellent for vegetarians:

• Baked Cheese & Tomato Risotto
• Spinach & Pumpkin Curry
• Straightforward Fried Rice (pictured above)
• Pesto, Spinach & Ricotta Rolls
• Zucchini & Corn Fritters
• Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Household Pleasant

As busy mums it may be so onerous to search out scrumptious, wholesome recipes that the entire household loves which is why The Wholesome Mummy has 1000’s of family-friendly heathy recipes prepared so that you can meal prep:

Snacks

When searching for meal prep concepts for weight reduction, one of the vital essential meals to incorporate in any meal prep is snacks as a result of everyone knows how simple it’s to seize a less-than-healthy snack. Listed here are our favorite snack recipes prepared on your weekly meal prep:

Why do these mums like to meal prep?

Sascha Farley (proper) misplaced an unimaginable 34kg following the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem.

Sascha says, “Figuring out I’m making the precise decisions, particularly on the subject of ‘treats’ has been the largest studying for me. I’ve all the time received 2-3 wholesome treats prepared for my candy tooth hits. With training comes freedom, and The Wholesome Mummy program has given me that.”

Kaitie Purssell (left) misplaced 21kg with the 28 Day Weight Loss Problem and credit her weight reduction to her newfound love of wholesome meals.

Kaitie says, “Being ready and getting organised doesn’t solely save money and time, it additionally makes your life a lot simpler. The Wholesome Mummy way of life was made for busy mums like myself.”