Anyone meal prep?

[Hope54321]

Do any mumsnetters meal prep?

How many days worth of food do you prepare for?

Do you eat the same thing every day?

What do you cook?

I meal prep every week for every evening. Occassionly lunch if we are all together. I cook something different frequently because I like cooking and I get bored. I cook from scratch most days. A: its routine for me, b: I find it relaxing.
This week: yaki udon, pasta puttanesca, courgette tart, a middle Eastern flatbread thing, turkey burgers , bouillabaisse (sister coming for dinner) and roast.
Everything on that list are actually quick things and easy.

It depends how much time I have (or don't have!). I might make a soup on Sunday to have for 2 or 3 lunches in the week then put a couple more portions in the freezer. Similarly I might cook a pasta sauce or similar to split between a couple of portions to leave in the fridge for later in the week and a couple for the freezer. I quite often chop veg the night before so I can cook quicker when I get in. I often have "leftovers" for lunch the next day so that's one less meal to prepare from scratch. I'm lucky that we have a microwave and toaster at work.

I hate cooking but like home-cooked meals so I only cook once a week but make enough for 5 days and freeze 4 days' worth.

Each week I have a portion of whatever I made this week on day 1, a portion of whatever I made last week on day 2, a portion of whatever I made the week before last on day 3, etc. (day 6 is an omelette and day 7 is a treat, i.e. eat out/takeaway/ready meal). That way I still get some variety.

Yes. I do a full week (6 meals) although saw a great tip oh here recently about planning one less. There's ALWAYS something to scrabble together and you end up with less waste.

During the week I'll make a quick note if I see something that takes my fancy then on a Thursday I'll do a plan and a shopping list and a cupboard/freezer inventory (that takes about 15-20 mins)

We tend to eat lots of different things and one or two favourites often get repeated.

I usually prep for 5 meals as there's usually something we can put together for the remaining 2 nights of the week (takeout for example).

I use the free app Paprika, you can save recipes that appear online, add your own, and then add them to a calendar. You can also add a note, so if you just want to add 'fish & chips' one day for example you don't have to attach an actual recipe.

I meal prep and have done for years.
Most weeks I’ll think of 6 or so meals that I’m going to cook, 2-3 of them will be for the kids that I can also heat and put in their school lunches, and the others that me/husband will eat (I don’t eat meat/pasta/dairy).

So for the kids I’ll make sure I have ingredients for bolognese/meatballs/soup/curry etc and prep one on a Sunday, and defrost chicken for curry on Tuesday.
For our own meals I’ll make cauliflower/walnut taco meat for burritos, or do a vegan lasagne and a big mushroom/wild rice soup so that we’ve got something to grab and go.

Both DH and I don’t mind leftovers or eating the same thing for a few days so it works for us.

I also always make sure I’ve got easy things in fridge/freezer for busy days - eggs for egg on toast, chicken tenders, frozen shrimp, pizza so that I can throw something together.

We live in a tropical climate and vegetables don’t last so long in the fridge so I mainly buy frozen veg for ease.

Why are you asking op?
If you want advice it's easier if you state your circumstances.

@MinesAMassiveSalad

Why are you asking op? If you want advice it's easier if you state your circumstances.

Just interested to see how other people meal prep. I sometimes do and sometimes don’t, but I find it so much better when I do as I tend to eat much healthier and don’t need to worry about cooking whilst looking after baby.

I never found it too helpful as I hated too much cooking at once! Did bits of prep during quiet times through the day. Plus I had a small freezer which dictated what I could store. I did shop frequently so lots of fresh food but kept to simple meals.

The most I managed was doubling up ingredients to have say pasta with a sauce followed next day by the chili version of the same with rice. We also as a habit cooked enough on Sunday to leave leftovers for Monday. And a big pan of soup to last a couple of days and maybe put a portion in the freezer.