In a perfect world, you would be able to meal plan and prep like a pro.
No more wasting money on food that you know isn’t very healthy for you. No more wasting time pinning recipes you’d like to try but never actually try. No more stressing over what you’re going to cook for dinner an hour before dinner time.
Let’s face it… You’d be much less stressed and frustrated if you could just meal plan and prep.
And I believe you’re right.
If you meal plan and prep, you’d save a lot of time and money in the long-run.
I mean, think about it… In what situation is having no plan better than having a plan?
I can think of situations where having no expectations is better than having expectations. But I can’t think of any situation where having no plan is better than having a plan. (If you think of any instances where no plan is better, let me know in the comments!)
So, if taking a little time up front to plan and prep your meals ahead is going to save you time and money, then I want to help you meal plan and prep.
There is a downside to planning and prepping your meals. Planning and prepping can take a lot of time at the start until you figure out what works best for you.
But, once you figure out a system, you’ll be meal planning and prepping like an expert in no time!
First, Meal Planning
I started planning my meals earlier this year.
I tried a free meal planner I got from a food blogger for a while. But, I hate printing out so much paper.
I tried adding a meal section to my bullet journal. But, I would forget to write the meals down.
I have been using a small paper that I can write down my grocery list and meals to make on. And that has been working for me. Except the times I lose the paper or forget which ingredients go with which recipe.
I know there are apps you can buy to help with meal planning, but I’m not one to spend money on (small) things I can do myself.
So, this past month I tried something new (and free).
Insert Trello.
I’ve been using a site called Trello to keep my business organized and keep up with my growing list of to-dos.
Trello is a site where you can organize tasks, lists, processes, etc. on boards. It’s like posting sticky notes all over a whiteboard (except without the clean-up).
Using Trello, I can create cards for the recipes I’m planning to make, set a due date for when I’m going to make each, attach the recipe links to each one, and mark our favorite meals. (See picture below.)
This saves me sooo much time because I have everything I need for meal planning in one spot.
No more searching Pinterest for a recipe I forgot to pin (and getting distracted by other pins). No more trying to keep up with the piece of paper I wrote everything down on. No more forgetting what meal I planned for tonight’s dinner.
I can even type in the ingredients needed for a recipe in its card.
That way I don’t have to go to the recipe link and scroll down through all of the pictures just to find the ingredients I need to buy. Everything is right there in the recipe card.
Best part about using Trello is that once you figure out what recipes you like the most, you don’t have to keep making cards for them. You already have the cards with the recipes that you can use over and over. No re-writing necessary.
All you have to do is schedule a due date for when you’re going to make that recipe. Then you can check off and remove the due date once you’ve made the recipe. The recipe, then, can be put back into your recipe bank for the next time you want to make it.
It’s as simple and easy as that! And you can save TONS of time using it.
This is why I wanted to share Trello with you.
Just in case you were wondering… I don’t get paid to advertise for Trello.
I believe using Trello can save you lots of paper, time, stress, and frustration when meal planning. So, it’d be an injustice if I talk about meal planning by telling you about Trello. I love using it, and I think you would too.
Second, Making a Grocery List
After you have planned which recipes you are going to make, next up is making a grocery list.
Making a grocery list is a money and time saver.
If you stick to buying only what’s on your list, you won’t buy that last-minute bag of chocolates (or tub of ice cream in my case). You also won’t buy food that isn’t in your meal plan. Food bought that you haven’t planned to eat is likely to go bad before you remember to eat it.
I have a really bad habit of buying things I see at the store, instead of only buying what’s on my list.
We often have produce (especially fruit) that I forget about it.
If it’s not on the meal plan, I don’t feel the need to make it right away. So, it just sits in our fridge until we (mostly my husband) realizes it has gone bad.
So much money lost because of this. Also, time is lost in the grocery store when you wander down rows you don’t need anything on.
So, don’t make this mistake as I do!
Make your grocery list and stick to it. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and only venture into the rows in the middle of the store when necessary.
If you do these two things, you’ll be grateful you did.
There are plenty of free apps out there to help you meal plan and make grocery lists faster.
Some of those are…
ChefTap*
Mealime
BigOven*
Recipe Keeper*
*Apps that will add recipes from outside websites
There are many more meal planning and grocery list apps out there that you can download. The ones I listed are the top-rated free apps I could find that can turn recipes into grocery lists.
Third, Prepping Meals
Once you have bought the groceries you need for your meals, the next step is organizing ingredients.
Though you can skip this step, taking time to group ingredients together will save you time in the long-run.
Something else that will save you time in the long-run is taking a day to chop next week’s fresh ingredients. Just get your food processor (or blender) out and get to chopping.
You can also group ingredients by meal in your fridge. Put the ingredients that you will need earlier in the week in the front, and ingredients for later in the week in the back.
If you just spend 1-hour chopping up your produce for each recipe, you’ll save 20-30 minutes a day during the week.
And as busy as I know you are, gaining 20-30 minutes a day would be priceless.
Now, if you’re like me, you are either gone most weekends or don’t have time to meal prep.
That’s a-ok.
Instead, you can batch meal prep.
During the week when you are preparing ingredients for dinner, go ahead and prepare an ingredient for the next night’s meal.
What I’ve found to work for my family is that I’ll chop up everything I have of one ingredient.
So, if we’re having something with tomatoes that night, I’ll chop up all of the tomatoes. If we’re having something with onions, I’ll chop up all of the onions.
It may not be as time-saving as spending 1 hour chopping everything up, but it’s what I can manage right now.
The key to meal prep is to find a system that works best for you.
If making several meals on the weekend and portioning them out for the week is what works for you, do it.
If batch prepping while you’re waiting for the noodles to boil works for you, do it.
Or, if not doing any meal prep is better for you, then that’s fine too.
It’s just that the more you’re able to prep ahead, the more time you’ll have during the week and the better you’ll be able to clear out your fridge without wasting anything.
If you’d like more meal prepping ideas, here are some resources for you…
6 MONTHS OF FOOD PREP on Lean Green Bean
Top 10 Food Prep Ideas on Lean Green Bean
How to Meal Prep for Beginners on Lors Living
30 Ways to Meal Prep on Fit Foodie Finds
18 Ways to Start Meal Prepping in 2018 on Project Meal Plan
50 Best Meal Prep Recipes on Prudent Penny Pincher
How I Prep Food for the Week on Wholefully
To Sum Up Meal Plan and Prep
Taking a little time to plan and prep your meals ahead is going to save you time and money in the long-run
Make your grocery list and stick to it
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store
Spend 1-hour chopping up produce for each recipe to save 20-30 minutes a day during the week
Or, spend 10-15 minutes every night batch prepping for the next night’s meal
Now that the summer is coming to an end, it would be a good idea to start meal prepping before the craziness of Fall hits. It may take a little kick in the rear to get going but once you start, it’s easy to turn it into a habit.
I’m curious… How do you plan out your meals? What do you do to prep your meals in advance?