Can someone please help me- meal prepping

[PrepMeUp]

So I’ll start by saying I’m a terrible cook, I’m a fussy eater and a vegetarian. I’ve put on loads of weight and I’ve recently started to change my diet. I’ve lost nearly a stone so far so feeling motivated and my heads in the game. My main issue is once I’ve sorted the kids out (I’m a single parent) or got home from a long shift (I’m a nurse) it’s just easier to ring a takeaway or eat some junk. So I’ve decided to start meal prepping but I’m confused. These may seem like really basic, stupid questions but I’ve always struggled with food.

So I was thinking I’ll batch cook some meals/veg/prepare a salad/fruit salads on a Sunday ready for the week ahead. I’ve brought some special meal prep things off Amazon and have written down what I’ll put in them to try and stick in my macros and things.

So my plans are for example
-Veggie wrap, cheese squares, fruit

• Quorn chicken/ ham, salad, fruit, some protein
• Jacket potato, cheese
• Quinoa salad, veg, yogurt
• cold veg pasta, baby tomatoes, boiled egg, cheese

Things along that line. But do I just prep it, put it in the containers and it’s good for the week? Won’t it go off, or go soggy or just taste horrible? I’ve been looking at meal prep on Instagram and people do 7 days worth of meals (so 21 meals!) and prepare them. Does this work? I’m worried I’m going spend all afternoon preparing food for it to go off, especially the fruit? I won’t put banana In because it goes black so quickly .

Anyway if anyone has any advice that would be brilliant, I’m really trying to change my habits rather than diet and being able to just go to the fridge and have my dinner ready to go would be a massive help!

Plan for alternatives for when you fancy pizza.

Instead think :

Omelet
Porridge
Soup
Tapas I. E. Can be a random selection of stuff form the fridge.

I find making a quiche is a massive help as it's easily 4 portions, filling and contains veg.

Soon reaching to order a pizza will just seem bizarre.

If you're on Instagram, look up @themealprepking

I would start batch cooking and freezing in individual portions. So, curries, pasta sauce (not cream, that doesn't work that well) or veggie versions of a cottage pie/veggie chilli. Pots of soup work as well.

They can defrost during the day and just need reheating. That should cover 2-3 days per week.

Jacket potatoes need around 1 hour in the oven, could you put that on while dealing with bedtime and it's ready when you are? Just heat up beans and add cheese for a full meal.

"Cheat" by bying ready cut stir fry vegetables, add some protein and make rice which doesn't take longer than the stir fry.

If you manage 3-4 days with something like that you could do a takeaway one night and cook for the family at the weekend.

Cheating soup - liquidise a tin of tomatoes with a tin of beans (not baked). Put in saucepan with chopped herbs. Heat.

Puff pastry block meals - get leftovers together, put in Pyrex bowl, throw tin of soup in that is of a matching flavour, roll puff pastry out to cover.

Or fry stuff together with onions (any veg and bits) then roll the pastry out, put filling along one long half, add grated cheese then fold pastry over. Like a big pasty.

Skewers. Get a pack of wooden skewers then you can thread on anything you like e.g tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, pineapple chunks, halloumi. Put on baking tray, put sweet chilli sauce on (buy a bottle or make a marinade) and cook in oven for 20 mins.

I agree with pps that salads, wraps and chopped fruit won’t last and will likely be pretty unappetising after a couple of days.

Some of the things you’re suggesting really only take minutes to prepare fresh anyway so you’re not really saving a lot of time preparing them in advance but you risk getting to Wednesday, looking at the soggy salad made on Sunday and reaching for the takeaway menu. I know I would !

I take your point that you’re starving by the time the dc go to bed but I think you have to accept that if you want to eat healthy, nutritious meals you’ll have to allow some prep time most evenings even if it’s only 5 or 10 minutes. Could you have a piece of fruit, some nuts or popcorn after work to keep you going?

You can definitely eat reasonably healthy meals without having to do everything from scratch. You can buy ready chopped Mediterranean style veg to just stick in the oven, prepared stirfry (add microwave rice or straight to wok noodles). I’m happy to make a bowl of salad to do for two days (don’t add the dressing until you’re eating it). Maybe have it with falafel and hummus (shop bought) one day and eg a cheese omelette the next. Fresh tortellini with sautéed veg takes less than 10 minutes. Likewise veggie egg fried rice.

The food & recipes section on MN has tonnes of threads that might help with some inspiration.

Fellow veggie / vegan here and this is what I do. I work 4 days so only have to cover that but I do a base of 2x salads and 2x crudités - carrot and celery chunks, cherry toms, mini cucumbers, radishes, pickled beetroot or onions, basically anything either whole or in big bits as that doesn't seem to do dry as fast. Leave the crudités alittle damp so they don't dry out. Then add whatever - cold pasta, Quorn ham, cheese, tofu quiche etc. I mostly do 4 the same, but you could vary it. Keep dressing in the fridge at work. Then I take whole fruits or the packs of prepped melon / mango.

I found meal-prepping takes ages anyway. What’s faster is relatively healthy stuff you can shove in the oven. So a fillet of fish/Quorn (with lemon/whatever) and a microwaveable veg pot. Not especially good for the environment but a quick, easy dinner. Sometimes I throw mushrooms, tomatoes, courgette etc in the oven to bake too. Or baked sweet potato with a tin of refried beans and a quick chopped salad – the actual prep time of that is about five minutes.

Agree that planning these meals is more efficient than prepping! And I reckon saves more time as you’re not spending an entire day off putting stuff in Tupperware. I’ll often have fruit for dessert as a bonus towards the five a day.

Thanks again everyone! I genuinely really appreciate it, I felt so stupid asking this question. I’m a genuinely competent person but when it comes to diet/food it’s a lifelong habit to break and change!

I’ve spent this evening writing out a meal plan for the next 2 weeks and a shopping list. I’m going to do a few jackets and freeze them, batch cook a couple of things to shove in the freezer and I’ve started to put an online shop together with loads of things suggested on this thread.

You’re right (sorry to who said it I can’t scroll up) that I’ve got to make 10/15 minutes time after the kids have gone bed to just prepare something even if that’s just chucking it in the oven whilst the kids are getting in bed or whatever, I need to make the time in the evening for myself.

Hi OP. I always keep a bag of McCain's frozen jacket potatoes in the freezer. Can microwave in four minutes or else finish off in the oven. There is nothin on them except a bit of oil. I tried freezing my own jackets but they never seem to taste as good. Saves you putting on the oven at high temp for ages

I also find that if I wash my lettuce and keep it in the salad spinner in the fridge it stays crisp and fresh for days. I just wash all my salad stuff and stick it back in the salad drawer of fridge. Then just grab it and chop when needed. I also make a tub of salad dressing that lasts two weeks.

I’m glad you’ve said that about jackets @QueenLagertha. I’ve always been mildly ashamed of buying those McCain jackets but it’s exactly the same for me. Mine are never as good.

Have you considered a meal prep company? If you're spending lots on takeaways already, it might be a good option as it will probs be cheaper. I've used Fresh Fitness Food before and they're really great :) I'm also veggie and their veggie meals are really great! Worth looking into :)

Firstly, congrats on your weight loss - I am on the same journey and I know it's not easy.

I like to make a big bowl of pasta salad. I made one yesterday that will do four portions.
Its
Fusilli pasta
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Spinach
Salad leaves
A smoked sausage sliced into rings
Goats cheese

And tossed in a light vinaigrette.

It's 330 calories a portion and when i'm working from home it's super quick to just serve myself a bowl of it (just had it now in fact :) )

Zombie thread, reactivated by a bot people

Oh ffs 😅 well enjoy the pasta salad recipe bot lol