Let's MEAL PREP together! Meal Prep 101 - learning as I go!
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- While I've definitely done a little meal prep here and there over the years, I'm now more motivated to do it more often to keep us eating healthier lunches at home and not going out for lunch as often. If you have any meal prep tips please leave them in the comments below! This will be a trial and error situation for us and I've already made an error! Check out the comments for that update!
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WANT TO KNOW OUR FAMILY'S FAVORITE MEALS? Watch these: • 🌟BEST OF🌟 WHAT'S FOR D...
0:00 Hey y'all
1:01 Easy Egg Salad
5:51 Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
11:14 Pesto Chicken and Veggies www.budgetbytes.com/easy-pest...
EGG SALAD
6 eggs, hardboiled, peeled and chopped
1/4-1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp finely diced red onion
salt and pepper to taste
Mix together and refrigerate. Will last 3-4 days in the fridge!
AIR FRYER CHICKEN FAJITAS
1 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced into 2 in strips
1 each red, green, yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 packet fajita seasoning
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
Preheat air fryer to 390. Add chicken to a large bowl, toss in about 1 Tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with about half of the fajita seasoning packet, toss well. Add all veggies and remaining olive oil and toss. Sprinkle remaining seasoning and toss. Add the mixture to the air fryer basket (spray basket with a little oil first) and air fry at 390 for about 15 minutes, shaking halfway through. If your chicken is thicker, it may take an additional 5 minutes. Just make sure your chicken is 165 degrees F in the middle.
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#mealprep #mealprepping #mandyinthemaking - Навчання та стиль
Mandy this is brilliant especially for those of us who live alone. Shortly after being widowed 23 years ago I stopped being overwhelmed at the grocery store by the size of portions of meat, bread, veggies etc. Now I confidently cook like I had others to feed. I put at least one serving of leftovers in a vacuum seal bag and freeze then after frozen I vacuum seal those bags. This way I have prepared meals for later and they are made just the way I like them. It can be intimidating to have to prep for a single meal so having prepped items ready to use is a brilliant idea. Thx so much for all you show us and for taking the time to research before filming. Some people may not realize the research and preparation for what you film is far more than the actual video.
Thank you for sharing. It really helped me to hear this. Sorry for your loss. I too became widowed 2 years ago.
I love my weekly meal prep. Every Sunday, I turn on 70’s rock, put on my apron and spend 1-2 hours in the kitchen. I make meals/snacks/dessert for the week. It’s a huge time saver and I can regulate for my dietary needs. I also shop from my pantry/freezer first and develop a plan. And to top it off, I was eating my egg salad today when I watched this video. Great minds think alike :). Thanks for another great video!!
That is awesome! My music of choice is 90's country when I'm cleaning or cooking (off camera, of course).
We listen to 80 classic rock. lol.
I like to listen to 70s,80sand 90s❤
Turning the egg on an egg slicer. Who knew?
Hey Mandy, we tried this homemade Fajita seasoning a while back and it tastes just like your favorite Mexican restaurant. I was so surprised! I think y'all might love it. The ingredients are -
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
It’s gluten free too! That’s good!
I make a batch of sloppy joes, pulled pork bq, and use a muffin tin, line with the paper cups and fill each with what ever you choose. I then slide into the freezer and let it freeze, pull back out and pop in a gallon freezer bag. Then when anyone wants one you lay it on microwave dish and nuke it around 45-50 seconds and then put on your bun. This kept my bunch from always hitting the mcdonalds on the way home for a quick something. I also do the chicken salad, and I make one with jalapenos, one with cranberries and walnut. That works for a wrap or on crackers or in the sweet peppers.
That’s a great idea
Try tuna in egg salad, really good
Thanks for the tip❤
I am diabetic , meal prepping my lunches helps me not skip a meal. Means I eat a good protein meal also.
Oh that's great! I'm sure that's a huge help.
Hi Mandy!
Pro Tip for egg salad... use your meat masher utensil or crack the eggs into a glass baking dish without mixing and bake in a water bath.... then pop out and mash! So easy!
We both work full time with long commutes, I meal prep for both breakfast and lunch. Tortilla Espanola, Frittata, yogurt granola parfaits and wraps for breakfast. Lunches are soups, stews, crockpot meals (many from you!) , salads with protein on top, stuffed peppers, for lunches. I'm an enigma to all my nurse colleagues who think I'm crazy, but while they're spending their hard earned money on crappy cafeteria food... I'm eating a lot better!
I'm a batch cooker high-bred. I often make a huge batch of a main protein such as a big batch of meatballs, bake them all, and then package and freeze them. Or we cook a big roast as taco meat, shred it, and portion it to freeze. Then those things come out of the freezer and I make sides the day of the meal. On a side note...I use my onion chopper to cut my eggs, fast and easy, and can cut several of them at a time.
It's just the two of us now and some recipes make so much that we cant eat it all. I freeze them in individual portions in containers like you used and put them in the freezer. Hubby just grabs one for his lunch at work and when he's ready for his lunch its thawed and he can microwave it. The only thing I've found is my casseroles with potatoes in them, the potatoes dont freeze well. He just takes the leftovers the next day. I also give the bowls to eldery neighbors when, or if, I get a few too many and they say they love them. We have a running deal that they have to return my bowls if they want more meals. So far I've only lost one or two of my prep containers. It is something that I love doing. I also love getting on the computer and seeing a new vidoe from you. You and your family have blessed me more than you can know. When it's time, I'll meet you ......one day.
When i took care of my mother for 3 years with alheimerz, i over cooked on purpose made trays ( like the containers mandy has ) of individual meals , labeled them. froz them that way i cud rotate meals easier , just pop in the microwave . Saved so much time and struggle. 👍 also another tip for caring for tgose with alheimerz, she reached a stage where sge didnt want to eat anything with a fork, so i cooked up and froz many muffin meals .anything you cud think of spaghetti . Bisc and gravy just added a little egg in with each muffin to bind them, worked perfectly👍
Yes, I’ve just discovered the need at church for a couple of my elderly friends needing meal verity. They just do simple microwave meals, nothing fresh. I’m going to meal prep for them with mine and my husband’s leftovers, no waste. ❤
@@marleneclark4186 excellant👍
I meal prep every Sunday. I work 80+ hours every week and the hubby is blind so he needs to heat his food in the microwave. I usually make 3 full meals and portion them out for the week for him to allow variety or him. I would be lost without meal prepping. Thanks for the videos ... I thoroughly enjoy them, your musical wit, Steven's expressions, and Gracie Lou advocating for herself.
when I was a busy working single mom of one child, I would take one weekend every month and spend Saturday and Sunday making soups, stews and casseroles etc. that I would then freeze and that would be meals for at least 3 weeks. Everything could be dug out of the freezer and thawed overnight, so all I had to do was either throw it in my crockpot before going to work or let it finish thawing on the countertop and just heat my oven and put it in the oven to bake while I prepped a salad or whatnot while it cooked
I don't do that anymore since it's just me now. I just make something small for myself
I love a good "learn along with me" ❤
The way I started with meal prep containers was to keep leftovers even if I just have one serving. I put the serving in a meal prep container and put it in the freezer labeled. Later as I have more leftovers, I add it to the container. Sometimes we each have a different meal but we don't throw away food.
I meal prep w/ my daughter. We usually do a couple of fully cooked entrees (like sweet & sour chicken and honey garlic chicken) packed single serve w/ rice & steamed veggies for easy lunches. While cooking those, we'll prep several freezer bag meals for the instant pot or stovetop. In the winter when I make chili or soup, I'll freeze a few single portions.
I prep several proteins on Sunday and use those to build meals during the week. I’ll grill chicken breasts, pressure cook a pot roast for shredded beef and brown up several pounds of hamburger. Then I can use those proteins in salads, tacos, enchiladas, wraps, soups, ect. Cooking up several pounds of hamburger and freezing it saves me the cooking and clean up when I want to make spaghetti, tacos, ect. I’ll also try and have a plan for veggies and side dishes as well. Any chopping and dicing I do on Sunday as well. It’s just my husband and I and we’ve been on a healthier eating plan. Love your videos Mandy. 😊👍
I do the same thing
I do ground beef too sometimes
I meal prep every Sunday- usually main meals. Each week I buy the largest amount of 1 meat I can afford and bulk cook. Then I portion it up, keep 2 meals in the fridge and freeze the rest. Now I’ve been doing it for a while I can have lots of variety because I have lots of prepped meals in the freezer. It’s a life saver when working full time and caring for my husband who’s recovering from a stroke x
I sort of do the same thing. I live alone, so one large meal goes a long way. I also end up with a few different things in the freezer. When I'm out and feel tempted to grab something, I remind myself there's prepped food at home. I don't need to spend the extra money, and it'll take less time to heat up than waiting in line/drive thru. (Works about 90% of the time.)
Such a smart way to do it! I pray your husband's recovery is going well. ❤
@@MandyintheMaking you are such a sweetheart. My husband had his stroke 6 years ago. He went to bed fine and woke up completely paralysed down the right side of his body. He is now working as a passenger assistant for special needs children so they can get to school. I love the banter you and your husband have. One day I’ll send a subbie supper x
In eggs salad i put sweet pickles in too. Yummy!💕 . Love ya'll!💕
I meal prep every week, so there are things already made and ready to eat. You can freeze just about anything Pancakes, meatballs, and meatloaf , soups, and stews breakfast egg bites , The possibilities are endless!
This makes life so much easier, healthier ETC.😊
I sort of meal prep. I am single so I am usually cooking for one and most recipes, even if you half them, are too much to eat for one person w/o eating the same meal 3 nights in a row. I usually make enough for one night and then leftovers the next and then I package the rest of the recipe for the freezer for cooking later or package the leftovers for a quick microwave meal. I prep casseroles, crock pot dinners, sheet pan dinners, soups and such along with leftover meals. Also, I am disabled so cooking for a long time is hard for me and some nights I don't feel up to cooking at all. Meal prep allows me to set things up when I am feeling better for those days when I don't feel so good. I have a little egg chopper like yours and I always chop my eggs the same way you do.
I meal prep every week. But my meal prep usually involves cooking in larger batches and freezing half for another meal. I love those weeks when I clean out the freezer and don't have to cook at all while having a variety of meals that week.
I have a tip from a local chef in Dothan, Alabama, Kathy's Southern Kitchen. I thought I'd share it with you. Red onions can be very strong, but they are delicious and give great color in recipes. Soak the onion in cold water before cutting or placing in your recipe. It works and calms the strong taste of the red onion. I peeled and cut the onion in half before placing in a bowl of cold water. Let it soak while you are doing your other prep work, and the onion will be ready to chop or slice. Enjoy.
I batch cook/ meal prep my kids' lunches. With 4 kids, it gets expensive buying school lunch. I will batch cook things like taco meat, mini pizzas, and breakfast food ( just a few examples) and freeze them. Then, in the morning, they can either microwave or airfry the food and take it to school for lunch. Thermoses and microwavable rice also come in handy for this.
😂😂 all about that bass......eggcellent!!! You crack me up and you make my day 👍😁
I seldom meal prep but maybe I will with these recipes. I have used the egg cooker for years. So much easier than cooking in a pot of water. Thank you Mandy for adding sunshine to this cold and windy day.
Yes, the egg cooker is a life-saver! Love it! I hope you have a wonderful day. :)
I never meal prep mainly because I love the process of getting ready to cook a meal…the chopping especially! I find something soothing about chopping fresh veggies. There’s also just 2 people at my house and meal prep doesn’t really make allot of sense for us. It’s me and my son and we have weird eating habits😂 for instance, we don’t like pasta! When I make homemade spaghetti sauce I just make cheesy garlic bread and we use it as a dipping vessel.
Lol. We do that, too.
I like chopping veggies too. Just something about the knife cutting into them is very cathartic to me. 😊
I occasionally meal prep. Usually I just cook twice as much as I need and that does me 2/3 extra lunches. However, when I mentioned that this is what I do fairly often, my mother ( who is 86) declared that when ever I do this she wants one of the meals. So far, her favorite ones have been a pork biriani and a chicken with broccoli and pasta in a garlic and cheese sauce. She reserved a meal of herby meatballs and linguine for later this week. Only one she wasn't too keen on was the sweet potato Mac n cheese, she didn't like the sweet potato. She'd never had it before! X
All of those sound so good! Would you share the recipes?
Note for your egg cooker. I always have the measuring cup filled with a few ounces of water. As soon as the eggs are done, pour the water into the cooker to prevent that burn spot.
I love my egg cooker. Not just because its so easy and I don't really have to babysit it, but when it comes time to peel those eggs...perfection!
I am retired and love to cook. While I don’t find it necessary to meal prep to save time these days, I do always make extra when I cook. We will skip a day and eat the leftovers, or I will share some with our neighbors if I make a lot of something. In the summer when I am busy outside, it’s nice to have those leftovers in the fridge ready to heat up in the microwave. It comes in handy when I come in tired and hungry and don’t want to heat up the stove or oven and cook from scratch.
It's really good when the summer comes and it's too hot to cook over a hot stove/oven that you can just pop a dish of something you prepped , put it in the microwave and have to eat with out dying with the heat .
Mandy when I make egg salad I use my insta pot. Then ice water bath but when it comes to slicing I put eggs in a bowl and use a hand held pastry blender
I have meal prepped for years. When I taught school I would make out our menu for the week and fix the main entrée. Then I would just have to add veggies and salad. After I retired I still do this but on Mondays. Since we our own meat it helps me keep things in the deep freeze cleaned out and you only have one big mess to clean up. I have a menu board on our counter so we know what we're having and hubby knows what leftovers to eat for lunch when he's not doing field work. 😊
I "meal" prep when I feel like I can stand up long enough. Usually I cook a crockpot meal and divide into servings for the freezer. Crockpot meals are easier for me because I can throw everything in and do something else while it is cooking. I like to cook an extra serving of breakfast and the other half in the fridge for a morning that I don't feel like cooking.
I am a handicapped senior that lives alone, so I pretty much do what I want to. I can be pretty snarky if someone try to tell me what I should or shouldn't do/eat.
I cut up all of my bell peppers when I buy them I make strips and I put them in Ziploc bags and put them in the freezer. Also, I cube them and put them in the freezer that way whenever I need them I don’t have to chop up bell peppers.
I didn’t always meal prep, but recently, since I have been in and out of the hospital a lot and having a lot of surgeries, I find meal prepping to be a really good idea because my three kids can just grab and go for dinners when I am not capable of doing it, I love your ideas, they are awesome, keep up the amazing work, love watching you and your family
Meal prep on Sunday for the next 5 supper. It's in the oven from the freezer by 4:30 and on the table by 5:30. It's a great budget helper. Thank you for the great lunch ideas!!
I meal prep breakfast for us and freeze it. I am exhausted by the time I’m done, but we have grab and go breakfasts usually for 3 months when I’m done. I do bacon and eggs, sausage and eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, breakfast burritos, bacon egg and cheese biscuits, sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffins, ham, egg, and cheese croissants. Whew! Makes me tired just commenting it all! For biscuits and gravy use evaporated milk. Works awesome.
I make a meal or two extra of many meals and freeze the extra meals one per a 16 oz deli-style freezer container. Like homemade TV dinner situations. I also get these huge, delicious green salsa topped carnitas burritos from a local panaderia taqueria, cut those big burritos into three and freeze each piece in the same way as the extra meals. Thank you for sharing!
I need to start doing this again . I used to do it when I was a working mom for the kids . Would make up meals that could put in the crockpot 😋 so when they got home from school it would be ready for them as I worked from 1pm to 7am y'all have a amazing Day stay safe, stay healthy, stay positive always make it fun Love from Tucson Arizona 💗🦎🌵🌻🦉👩🌾🌵🦎💗
My grandson is on a weight lose journey, so I’ve been prepping his meals he’s really enjoying
i work mon-fri and can’t come home for lunch, so my meal prep is also mostly lunch! every sunday i spend 1-2 hours making salads, snack trays, and breakfast sandwiches that i can just heat up in the microwave at work. i always put in my headphones, put on some youtube and get to it!
I make my own "TV dinners". I work 2 jobs, my husband is a teacher and coach as well as a tutor. My adult son works overnights so no one is ever home at the same time except Sunday. So I cook 2-3 meals at a time, casseroles, stir fry, and everything else. We eat buffet style for lunch/supper then package and let all the meals cool. I add a veggie to the small side, usually frozen peas because they heat up well this way and the guys prefer them. Painters tape for the win to labeling - it stays on through the freezer, microwave and dishwasher but easily peals off when pulled. These are our meals that we pull from all week long. Portion control, healthier choices, and not junk. I'm ADHD/autistic and when I'm tired and hungry and have forgotten to eat again if there aren't any of these ready to grab I end up eating chips and fries or the nearest thing I see. Sorry for the long comment but this is a really important part of our weight loss and health plans as well as my "unique" issues. I invested in a large amount of those containers and they hold up for years so far. Occasionally one dies but that's ok. Everything is in the second fridge. Drinks and snacks in the fridge side and frozen meals in the freezer side. My grandkids even use the fridge when they come over. It's in the dining room since we don't use it that way very often. I chose practicality over decorating in order to help my brain. Anyway, we never miss an episode and love Gracie. Keep sharing the daily normal of your faith and know it's appreciated!
In my egg salad I add a tablespoon of dill relish and a teaspoon of litehouse salad dressing herb blend. It has freeze dried parsley, red onion, chives, shallots, garlic, and dill weed.
I do meal prep in several ways... I usually meal prep breakfast and lunch every week (unless I have leftovers from the previous week I'm eating for lunches). I love meal-prepping breakfast casseroles or sandwiches... the sandwiches are SUPER easy... pop 1-2 eggs each into jumbo muffin tin cups and poke the yolk to get it flowing, bake it at 350 for about 12ish minutes (depending on your oven), and then on the morning of I just toast an English muffin, warm up the egg pucks in the micro for 30 seconds with some cheese and a slice or two of Canadian bacon or ham and you have a protein-packed very filling breakfast.
Mostly I just do "ingredient prep" so... if I have to work early in the morning I will get together all my seasonings and sauces the night before and get my multi-cooker on the counter and ready to go... if I don't have to sear the meat then I will put all the ingredients into the insert and keep it in the fridge overnight so I can pop it in and turn it on in the morning. It saves me the time and excuses not to do it in the morning. 🥰🥰
Yes...we live a ways away from stores..I'm known for my soup packs...lol
I buy 2 packages of celery. 2 lb bag carrots .1 large onion..2 bulbs fennel...chop it all up..saute ...cool..put 2 cups in baggies and freeze...
Pull out put in chicken broth and left over chicken.. you can have soup made in 20 minutes..
And your cinnamon roll french toast...I made 2 the last time..cooled and cut squares wrapped ..freezer..my husband pulls one out and micro...yumm..
I haven't seen the cinnamon roll French toast. Going to have to search her videos for that now! Sounds delicious!
We are obsessed with it..
It's the...2 *Amazing recipes for Christmas..we love the hashbrown one too..
That recipe is SO good!
Years ago I worked weekends at a tv station from 4am to 3pm. And Sundays I was the only person in the station so I couldn't leave ;) ;).
Friday nights I would make a Prego pasta bake and garlic bread. Divide in four portions. Eat the first for dinner Friday, take two to work for lunch Saturday and Sunday, and the last was dinner Saturday night.
I follow a few people on TikTok who make meal prepping easy. It's changed my process, and it's a time saver too!
Just 2 empty nesters here, but meal prep helps keep us from eating out. I wash and chop my veggies for breakfast omelets or burritos, and divide them as you did for your lunches. Anything we plan to eat farther than 2 days out goes in the freezer with the marinade as a freezer meal or crockpot meal. Any chopped veggie not used by the end of the week can go in a soup, stir fry or frittata. No waste!
LOVE meal prepping! For breakfast I do “egg bites” of different flavors & a batch of French toast or pancakes. I make a batch of quinoa or rice and flavor chicken with different spices and cook different veggies & make nourish bowls. I try to make them customizable so it everyone can eat what they like & it doesn’t feel like your eating the same thing.
I love the idea of meal prepping and these look ideal! I love to always make an extra casserole or lasagna, etc. , when I decide on one of those and divide them into containers for the week. Thanks, Mandy for sharing your learning journey with us. I am going to try these three recipes in the coming week for my lunches. Have a great week!❤😊
I will batch cook certain things, especially grains and starches and reheat as needed. Such a time saver when you don't have to make potatoes or rice every day.
I also do a lot of ingredient prep on the weekends. It's great to not have to spend the extra time during the week to cut onions, spinach, cucumbers, etc. whenever you need it. I can throw my meals together very quickly when my ingredients are already prepped.
I only meal prep dinner. Family of four here with two teenage boys. They go through SO much food. When chicken breasts are BOGO, I make marinated freezer bag chicken. Teriyaki and cilantro lime are family favorites. To battle drive-thru temptations, I cook a whole chicken in my crockpot at least twice a week. We have a Japanese rice cooker (best investment EVER), so fresh hot rice is always available. My 18yo son loves the rice maker so much, he’s bringing one to college next fall. He’ll probably be the only Gator with a rice cooker in his dorm room 😂 💙🧡 🍚
Yes I'm a senior, working two part-time jobs. I do 'large' meal on Sunday and pack and freeze portions. So when I get home tired, I can pop one of my freezer meals in the microwave. Sorta making my own TV dinners. I have a choice.
😇
My favorite way to meal prep is just to double a recipe I’m already planning on making. When I make a dinner that I know my family likes, I will make a double batch and freeze half. It doesn’t take that much extra effort as all of the dishes I need are already dirty. I will pull out a freezer meal on the nights where I don’t feel like cooking, my husband is out of town on a business trip and I am home alone with the kids, or when we don’t have very many leftovers to eat for lunches throughout the week.
Love this video!!! Great recipe ideas too. I meal prep for my 82 year old mother every Sunday. Also, I have found that using my meat chopper thing that has the 4 portion with handle, used to stir and separate ground beef works really well chopping eggs. Did that even make sense 😂
Oh well…I love your channel and all content ❤️👍👍
I make larger quantities. Left-overs on bread, buns, or tortillas or in soup. Rice for today’s recipe & day-old rice for fried rice. I add left-over egg salad to potato salad or tuna fish salad. (Egg salad: ‘Zatarain’s Creole Mustard' & regular mustard, dill relish, & ‘Lawry's Colorful Coarse Ground Blend Seasoned Pepper’ added to your recipe to spice it up.) Love watching you & yours!
Mandy you were getting the side eye. I don't thing your fajita will be there tomorrow. ha ha
The Pesto Chicken looks yummy. Love egg salad. No onions please. My meal prep is cutting peppers for the freezer. I will saute a batch of mushrooms. Freeze break off what I need for omelet or pasta. Onions, all kinds of vegetables. Just grab a hand full and stir fry with meat or rice. I cook and have left overs or I turn into a different meals. We had left over spaghetti pie yesterday and pancakes and bacon for supper last night. Love me a good breakfast anytime of day. Thanks Mandy.
Oh yes to meal prep. I bake a loaf of quick bread or muffins on Sunday for breakfast at the start of the week. Fry a small batch of onion, peppers for eggs later in the week. I cut up and prep salads for my husband’s lunch and veggies for the kid. Wash and if needed cut fruit for breakfast/lunches for the week. I usually make some kind of cookies or cake for desserts too.
I meal prep all the time. It's just me and it's nice to come home from work and just heat the food up and not have to cook.
I will either make 2 of every recipe I make and freeze one for later and make one for the week or I batch cook for the entire week and put them in single serving containers in the fridge with a label that corresponds with the menu I put on my fridge.
when meal prepping don't make one big dish and eat the same thing every day all week. Make two or three smaller dishes and rotate them. For instance, dish number one you make a casserole dish, dish number two you make steam vegetables and baked chicken, meal number three you make a small pot of spaghetti. Then get you some lettuce and rice. Take your meal prep containers and fill them up. So Monday, you have the baked chicken and veggies, Tuesday you have, a salad with the lettuce and some ham or turkey lunch meat with a boiled eggs, sliced up, or whatever you like in a salad. Wednesday You have your casserole. Thursday you have your spaghetti Friday you eat one of the other dishes, number one or two dish or you make a ham and cheese sandwich in your skillet or you make another big salad. The key to not getting bored is to rotate what you've cooked and the dishes in between the hot cooked meals can be easy throw together cool meals like salads or turkey sandwiches or ham and cheese sandwiches.
GOOD for you Miss Mandy!!! I love that you are expanding horizons to save some money! I love doing the weekly meal prep. Hubs will go for a boiled egg or 2, or starve. So if I have a few things prepped, he has choices other than deli ham slopped on a piece of bread or eggs. I have found that if you refrigerate pasta it will soak up all the water or liquids, same with rice, so, when you go to reheat, it may need a teaspoon or two of water. I usually meal prep just for 5 lunches (so 10 total for me and hubs), however, I also ingredient prep for dinners. (Wash and cut the veggies, make the pico do gallo so it has time to marry into all the flavors, I marinate the meats then freeze until the day I need them, etc.) I will also make dinners for 3, saving the 3rd serving in the freezer when hubs is out of town I don’t have to cook for 1. 😅
I have a diabetic sister that lives with me and she doesn't cook. this is great for me to make for her for lunch and saves me time every day to do other things that i need to get done. It would be really nice if you could come up with more lunch meals to not only help me but her as well. I usually take a day to prep meals and prep her meds for the week. Thanks in advance.
Love this video! I meal prep in any way I can. That always looks different for me though. I chop veggies ahead of time to make suppers faster. I go through the fridge and prep ingredients that need to be used, so I’ll look for freezer meal ideas to use those ingredients up. Sometimes I meal prep by placing leftovers into individual meal servings to put in the freezer to send with hubby or my son’s lunch at a future date. Since I have began doing these things I have zero waste with food nor leftovers going bad in the fridge.
Smart way to do it👍
So smart!
Have been meal prepping for a while. Found the easiest way is that when I cook I just cook double batch. Then portion and freeze for later date. Doing this over a couple of weeks you will end up with a good number of grab and go meals in your freezer.
I take care of my elderly mother and the freezer and slider bags is my best tool in the kitchen. B4 she wasnt able to eat them, pintos limas and soups/chili cooked in the Instant Pot was a main staple. Now that she cant have them I do a lot of casseroles and browned ground beef as well as all kinds of stuff on the grill.
Hi Mandy. I've been watching you for a few months and love the recipes! I wanted to give you an onion chopping hint I've been doing for 50 years, yes I'm old. The hint is, Breathe trough your mouth ONLY! Pretend you have a cold and you can't breathe through your nose. It'll be difficult if you're narrating, but any other time, it works like a charm!
I don’t meal prep but I should. Ham and cheese sandwiches get old. Prepping as you did allows you to have a hot meal in minutes. And I so agree about the cost of fast food and the fact it isn’t healthy. Especially on a regular basis. Thanks for making us think. Grocery planning may be a pain, but when I do, it is so rewarding.
I live alone and have meal prepped for years. I cook big batches of soups and various casseroles and package them in small casserole dishes. I freeze the meals in the dishes, and once Frozen, I transfer just the food to a vacuum sealer bag. When I'm ready to cook, put the frozen meal back in the dish to thaw and cook.
I've done exactly that for years as well. I share with my family so that I cut down on the fast food my grandchildren eat.
I love having meals ready. Saves so much and I know what we are eating. I have three at home right now as well but I continue making dinners for six. I just have those leftovers fixed up in containers for lunches throughout the week.
I do freezer meals. Makes it easy for me. And having an instant pot makes it easier when I forget to take something out to thaw. I have one of those egg cutters. It makes cutting the eggs so much easier!!! I do it both ways, too. So simple!
Mandy & family...I just love your videos!! Thank you so much for sharing!! I do lots of meal prep...we were spending WAY TOO MUCH money on food and so I started out making breakfast items: breakfast burritos, breakfast bagels, breakfast English Muffins and our favorite is breakfast waffle sandwiches. So easy to heat and eat for everyone!!! I also have started making a meal and freezing a meal so it is not so overwhelming but would love to do a lot more.
I don’t have a particular schedule for doing meal prep. I cook for myself (hubby makes his own food!), and when I get a hankering for a yummy casserole like chicken and broccoli, or chicken spaghetti or ground beef meatball casserole, I will make the whole recipe, then portion it out in freezer containers to pull out for lunches. I eat my biggest meal of the day at lunch. Then supper is something small, like half a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. Now that I’ve gotten older, I just don’t need as much food. I love having the frozen entrees available--so handy! Not many fast food restaurants cater to my gluten free diet, so this meal prep is my “fast food”.
I hope you like this new concept for making more meals at home…😊
❤-Brenda
I’m a member of 5 dinners in 1 hour. I have the combo plan which gives you lunches to prep as well. I love that I can prep in 1 day and have food for 5 . I have access to 120 meals a month. They have the grocery list planned out and the directions for prep and cook day. They have free recipes as well on their blog. A Facebook group and a webpage. It’s makes life a little easier.
I'm a soup person. Winter, summer, fall or spring it doesn't matter. I love to make double batches and freeze half in portions.
My family loves fajitas. It's so easy to prep, throw in freezer. Then take out and cook the night we want them.
Hello Mandy!
Just popping in to say yes, zucchini is a squash. And! The egg chopper thingie? Try slicing mushrooms with it, too.
I dont meal prep as much as meal plan for the week. But yes, when the opportunity presents itself? I absolutely get some things prepped for another day.
Take care, best to your boys
When i worked i meal prepped my breakfasts and lunches for 5 days. I would make an egg casserole and cut up for 5 days. For lunches it would be salads or sandwiches. Add fruit and other healthy snacks. Was a very good money saver for my budget. I am retired now, but i need to get back to meal prepping for dinners. It is only me and usually have to half a recipe as not to be eating the same thing for days 😂.
I meal prep lunches for myself on weekends. Then its quick and easy to grab for work. I havent meal prepped dinners before. The fajitas...yes please Mandy!
Tip to chop boiled eggs for a salad put boiled eggs into a bowl and using a pizza cutter go back and forth over eggs until they are the size you like in your salads😊
My husband and I batch cook two meals a week and reheat for lunch and dinner. We usually don't freeze as we batch cook every 3 days or so. If we aren't feeling leftovers we keep some frozen stuff we can heat, or some easy airfry options. This works well for us and so far we have kept our grocery budget at around $100 a week for 2 people (australia)
When I make homemade pasta I always make extra and freeze it. I also make and freeze extra casseroles and spaghetti sauce cabbage rolls Anything that is time consuming and easily frozen. It makes a great meal with no effort. I Also use them when company comes from to stay with me, I'm free to do last minute details for my guests and still serve a wonderful meal.
I used to do more meal prep when I worked. Now that I am retired, I still do it but not as often. Now I have more time to cook.
This definitely peaks my interest in starting to meal prep. With all the price inflation I need to try something new to help cut costs in my home
I freeze leftovers for ‘instant’ lunches. Soups and stews w/o potatoes freeze great! Now that I work from home I rarely do a full meal prep.
I’m not a big fan of meal prep because I don’t like some things as leftovers but I do like to prep meal components! I chop veggies or marinate meats, so they’re ready to cook. I can make a batch of rice or beans or other things that take a long time to cook. That way the day I make the meal, it only takes a few minutes to get it in the pan or in the oven.
I meal prep lunches sometimes. I work a corporate accounting job from home. I get an hour for lunch but there never seems to be enough time! We live in a rural area so don't have fast food readily available. I meal prepped egg roll in a bowl for my lunches but my husband and son ended eating it! 😊
I meal prep weekly for my parents and take them over for them. For my lunch "meal prep" means having milk on hand, cereal, and maybe some pistachios/cheese for later snack. But your meals look great for a dinner😊
I like to make soups and casseroles ahead of time and put them in one serving containers to freeze so I just have to warm them up at meal time. I also bake several chicken breasts at one time and put them in the freezer so I can just take them out and thaw them or heat them one at a time for a quick meal. I like all three of the dishes you prepped and look forward to trying them.
I meal prep for weightloss because I work in a kitchen so temptations are high x
I like to meal prep for breakfast/lunch so I can just grab it and go when I’m heading to work! I also sometimes like to prep my ingredients for dinner ahead of time so cooking doesn’t take as long!
I do Sunday meal prep so that dinners are prepared for 3-4 days during the work week, so when I come home, I just “heat and eat”. This is very necessary for me to stay compliant with healthy eating habits because I’m diabetic. I love meal prepping.
We love fajitas in the airfryer.❤ I like to let mine sit in the fridge, marinating a while, with the seasoning mix and I add a a good splash of lime juice. 😋
I live alone and usually cook enough for leftovers. If I make enough, I will freeze individual servings for later. I need to get better about batch cooking breakfasts, that's the meal I usually skip if I don't have a plan. Thanks for the inspo!
Caren/Colorado
In the past, I "meal prepped" a week's worth of peanut butter and jellies for my 3 young kids. They loved it.
I used to regularly meal prep for lunch and breakfast prior to the pandemic. But once we were always home, then partially home, I never got back into the flow of things. I have gotten back to meal prepping for breakfast, but that's it. Sometimes I do try to do lunch or dinner. I'm trying to get back to my previous routine.
It's just me. I use to take just an egg sandwich with me to work, but that got really old after awhile. Not what I do..if I have any leftovers from supper, enough for another helping, then I put it in a ziplock baggy and toss it in the freezer. I date the bags, and try to use up older leftovers first. Sometimes, I'll just bag it, put it in the fridge and take it the next day. Then the night before, I'll take the bag out of the freezer, let it thaw in the fridge or however, dump it in a microwave safe container, grab a spoon/fork/knife, and I'm good to go the next day. So. I don't really go out of my way to just work on meals for the week, or make extra on purpose. It's definitely been an improvement over the egg sandwiches. (There is another channel that I watch occasionally. You want to see meal prep..she does casseroles, breakfasts, lunches, enough for a month or two in advance. She also has her own huge garden and chickens, and cans and stores alot of their own food.)
Meal prepping strictly for lunch sounds perfect!! Thank you for the inspiration and ideas! LOVE LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!!! I’m a long time subscriber and have never waivered from watching your videos and I have cooked so so many dishes from you! ❤Thank you for all you do for us!!
Before I retired, I used to make a crustless quiche on Sunday & would throw a slice in the micro at work for breakfast for 4 days. Only way I could get to work on time.😁
Thank you Mandy!!! This is just what I needed to see today!!❤️
I love ingredient meal prepping! I'll meal prep meat and veggies, maybe some rice/potatoes...When just meal prepping components, I can mix them together in different ways. For instance, diced chicken can be added to a salad, or mixed with cheese for a quesadilla!
I batch cook & freeze. This way I can take a container from the freezer the night before & just heatup. I freeze single & double servings so I can have it for lunch & supper.