It’s astir a caller year, which means you mightiness beryllium reasoning astir ways you tin up your repast prep game. That doesn’t mean you request to hop into 2024 acceptable to walk hours each Sunday prepping meals for 5 days a week. It’s besides not lone for radical connected value nonaccomplishment oregon bodybuilding journeys, oregon for radical who unrecorded by their macros oregon a strict repast plan.
In fact, I didn’t genuinely observe the “magic” of repast prep until I became a mom. It’s the clip saved for me. Sometimes yes, I bash prep a week’s worthy of lunch. Most of the clip though, my repast prep is stocking my freezer with bite-sized pancakes for my kids, oregon prepping bowls of chopped effect that they tin easy grab.
Even if you’re not a parent, repast prep and repast readying tin prevention you a batch of clip and energy. If you’ve tried it earlier and felt overwhelmed, instrumentality smaller steps. It really is the small things, adjacent erstwhile it comes to readying meals.
My favourite repast prep tools
Having the close tools helps too. Here are immoderate of my favourite room tools to marque beingness easier successful the kitchen. Of course, these aren’t “must-haves” and you don’t request each azygous one.
I’ve collected these implicit clip (read: YEARS) arsenic I physique my repast prep game. Hopefully this database gives you an thought of wherever to start!
1. Glass containers
Let’s commencement with the basics – Food storage. Having an assortment of different-sized containers volition prevention a batch of vexation later. I urge going with solid if possible, for harmless reheating consecutive from the fridge. Glass besides seems to past a batch longer than integrative retention containers. If you can, it’s worthy spending a small much for prime containers alternatively of replacing them each twelvemonth oregon two. Here are immoderate of my favs:
- Pyrex – Trusty, budget-friendly, oven-safe
- Glass containers with clip-on lids, to forestall spills
- W&P Porter Bowls – Pricey, but aesthetic and I emotion the signifier and size
- Jars for sauces, dressings, storing nuts and seeds
2. The viral chopper
I’ve been burned galore times by products that spell viral connected TikTok, but not this one. This chopper instrumentality truly is life-changing. I usage it to marque full chopped salads (that I past devour consecutive retired of the container). I besides usage it to dice apples for oatmeal and potatoes for murphy soup.
3. A crockery spinner
I’ve owned this Tiktok-viral instrumentality for adjacent to a year, and tin confidently accidental it’s worthy the hype. I tin besides confidently accidental that if I don’t person lettuce washed and prepped for myself, I americium NOT making a salad.
With this small tool, I tin lavation and adust my lettuce arsenic soon arsenic I bring it location from the store truthful it’s acceptable to go.
4. A planner
SHOP MEAL PREP PAD AND FIT PLANNER
Sometimes readying is what scares radical distant from repast prep. It feels overwhelming but tin commencement arsenic tiny arsenic penning down what you program to devour for meal each week.
I’m a database idiosyncratic and a Millennial, which means I similar to physically constitute things down. This Meal Prep Pad helps maine constitute down the meals I’m readying for the week, and I emotion that I tin physique my market database close connected the aforesaid page.
You tin find this instrumentality successful the 2024 Fit Planner too. And a workout planner, a extremity planner, recipes, and more. If you similar to support your beingness successful 1 book, get this option.
5. Measuring tools
Nothing is much frustrating than digging done a drawer searching for a circumstantial measuring cupful oregon spoon, oregon realizing the 1 you request is missing successful the sink. These small hurdles earnestly adhd up, taking your clip and adding stress.
It’s clip to physique a implicit acceptable of measuring tools, starting with the basics: A measuring cupful and spoon set, and liquid measuring cups. Yes, they’re different!
Do you request a kitchen scale? It feels intense, but they’re not lone for radical who meticulously measurement their portions to deed their macros. A standard mightiness beryllium truly adjuvant erstwhile you’re dividing up adjacent portions of protein, oregon erstwhile you’re baking and ingredients request to beryllium precise.
6. This 3-in-1 blender
I person owned an older mentation of this Ninja strategy for astir a decade, and I inactive usage it consistently. I usage the cupful for the evident thing, smoothies, but besides to marque crockery dressings and tiny servings of different sauces. I’ve adjacent utilized it to marque seed butter.
I usage the nutrient processor to rapidly chop broccoli into good pieces, pulse unneurotic a crust oregon crumble for desserts, and (my favorite) marque vigor bites.
I usage the larger blender attachment to prep ample servings of smoothie that I past frost into cubes to velocity up the process aboriginal (my kids emotion smoothies truthful I marque them often). I besides usage it to blend chunky pasta sauces for my somewhat picky husband, oregon secretly blend veggies INTO the pasta sauce. You tin usage the blender for soups too.
The blades connected this happening marque everything ace smooth. So creaseless that nary 1 volition observe spinach successful a smoothie oregon carrots successful their pasta sauce.
7. Immersion blenders travel successful useful too
This is 1 of those tools you don’t recognize you request until you person it. You could puree soups successful a large blender, oregon you could usage this immersion blender close successful the pot. No mess, nary hazard of spilling blistery crockery connected yourself.
I emotion that this blender comes with a mini nutrient processor and whisk attachment, too.
8. A vacuum sealer
This is my favourite money-saving repast prep tool. If you devour meat, you cognize it’s EXPENSIVE. I similar to bargain it successful bulk (I mostly bash this with chicken), trim the gross pieces, and measurement it retired into the portions I typically request for cooking. This is usually 1 to 1.5 pounds for me! Then I vacuum seal each portion, constitute the value and day connected each battalion with a Sharpie, and freeze.
Not lone does this prevention money, but I don’t person to woody with touching and cutting earthy nutrient aboriginal (my slightest favourite portion of cooking).
If you’re consenting to enactment successful a small enactment upfront, aboriginal you volition convey you.
The database of vacuum-sealable foods is endless, adjacent if you’re not a meat-eater.
9. Prep bowls
There’s conscionable thing astir a matching acceptable of mixing bowls that makes you consciousness acceptable to get successful the kitchen, right?
I emotion these. You tin grate cheese, carrots, oregon zucchini, oregon thinly portion veggies close into the bowl. And mixing bowls with lids are a game-changer.
10. A ail peeler
Peeling ail is the worst. This silicone ail peeling instrumentality is inexpensive and worthy each penny to prevention yourself from stubborn ail tegument that sticks to everything.
While you’re astatine it, drawback a garlic press to prevention yourself adjacent much time.
11. An crystal cube tray
Sometimes I usage these for ice, but I mostly usage them to frost pre-made portions of smoothie and leftover pasta condiment oregon chickenhearted broth.
12. An Instant Pot
Another crippled changer for repast prep. If you don’t ain 1 yet oregon find it intimidating, I committedness it’s easier to usage than you think! I usage it to rapidly navigator ample portions of atom and a fewer of my favourite crockery recipes. I besides emotion that you tin sauteé the basal of a look (garlic and bulb for example) and past adhd your different ingredients, which to unit navigator mode, and locomotion away. No manning the stove, nary other soiled dishes.
It’s a learning curve, but worthy it.
13. Flat-top grill
I americium wholly alert that this is simply a large acquisition and not conscionable a speedy “add to cart.” Like I said, you tin repast prep without thing connected this list, and that is surely existent for this griddle. But it’s a favourite of excavation and it has genuinely changed my repast prep game.
If you’re cooking for a household oregon aggregate portions for yourself, having a griddle eliminates the request for aggregate pans oregon cooking successful batches. I tin navigator 12 pancakes astatine erstwhile connected this, oregon adjacent a full meal spread. We tin navigator stirfry insanely accelerated connected this excessively and it doesn’t permission maine with a wok to clean.
14. Shaker bottle
Finally, a trusty shaker vessel to instrumentality your macromolecule connected the go. This vessel has saved maine truthful galore times erstwhile I’m caught up successful a engaged time and conscionable request thing speedy to debar hanger betwixt meals. It fits successful my car cupful holder (major win) and has a built-in filter to drawback immoderate lumps. The iridescent plan makes it amusive to carry, too.
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