Make a meal plan to make your healthy living aspirations a reality

“If I couldn't meal prep, there's no way I'd be able to keep on top of cooking meals containing actual meat and vegetables every single day- I'd devolve into just eating stuff like boxed mac and cheese or Lean Cuisines every day. Dealing with raw meat is annoying and most raw vegetables go bad if not used up within a week, so it genuinely helps a lot to be able to get it all cooked and safely into the freezer in one session, instead of having to dirty my kitchen every day. And when your vegetables are already cooked and/or ready to eat, you're way more likely to eat them.”

“Started meal prepping about a month into my first job- a summer internship with full-time hours during college, when I was living with my parents. I tried stuff like Easy Mac or cup ramen for the first couple days, only to find that processed pasta wasn't going to keep me going for a job where I actually needed to think. I started out doing "mini preps" where I just made 1-2 items that needed actual cooking or work in the kitchen and then padded out the lunch with no-prep sides like fresh fruit, crackers, or prepackaged stuff. I graduated to traditional full meal preps like what's most common on this sub about three months into that job.”

“I have a template I follow for my meal preps that includes a base (greens usually but can be rice or pasta), meat protein, veggies/fruit, a nut or crunchy item, a cheese, and dressing. one of my favorites is beef, apple, raisins, walnut, celery, blue cheese and a vinaigrette. It's not quite McD's and not quite Low-fat or Low-calorie either. But I enjoy what I make and look forward to having them. Otherwise it won't work and I'll be spending $15-25 a day on take out food when I can spend $30 for 4 to 5 lunches.”