Healthy meal prep for beginners

What meal prepping is & why to do it

What is meal prep & why do it?

Meal prepping means preparing some or all of your meals in advance. That could be chopping vegetables for the week, or cooking entire dishes and portioning them out for each day. The goal is healthy meals ready to eat with minimal effort later. You might cook a big pot of soup or a tray of roasted chicken and vegetables on Sunday, then pack them into containers as lunches or dinners for the next few days.

Amid a hectic schedule, that's what keeps you on your eating plan instead of grabbing whatever's quickest. A hungry person at 6:30 p.m. makes different choices than a person who already has dinner in the fridge.

The evidence is observational, but it points in a consistent direction. In a study of 40,554 French adults, summarized here by the University of Iowa, 57% said they planned meals at least occasionally. Planners ate a wider variety of foods and had lower odds of obesity: 21% lower among women and 19% lower among men. People who plan may differ in other ways too, so the authors say no cause and effect can be claimed.

Cooking points the same way. In a US survey of 9,569 adults, people who cooked dinner 6 to 7 times a week ate about 135 fewer calories a day than people who cooked once a week or less, along with less fat and 16 fewer grams of sugar. A 2020 review in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine calls home meal preparation a medical intervention in its own right. That's a strong way to put it, but the direction holds.

Healthy meal planning tips

How do you plan your meals for the week?

Successful meal prep starts with good planning. These five tips cover most of it:

1. Start small and be realistic. Don't try to prep breakfast, lunch and dinner for seven days straight. It's fine to start with a few meals. Aim for enough dinners for 2 to 3 nights a week at first. A manageable scope builds confidence and keeps you from burning out.
2. Plan for variety. Eating the same thing every day can lead to menu fatigue and tempt you to abandon the plan. Mix cuisines and food types through the week: maybe a stir-fry on Monday, a whole grain pasta dish on Tuesday and a hearty salad on Wednesday. Vary your fruits and snacks too. Variety makes your diet more enjoyable and gives you a wider range of nutrients.
3. Choose easy meal prep recipes. Favor recipes that are simple to prepare and store well. One-pot or one-pan recipes with no complicated last-minute steps are ideal. Good beginner options include chili or stew, baked chicken with vegetables, quinoa or rice bowls, overnight oats and salads in a jar. They're straightforward, and they either reheat nicely or can be eaten cold.
4. Make a detailed grocery list. List every ingredient you'll need. Check your pantry for staples, then write down everything else. A list helps you avoid impulse purchases and keeps you from forgetting a key ingredient. Organize it by store section to make the trip faster.
5. Prep for your schedule. Consider how much time you can give this and plan accordingly. If your Sundays are free, do one big session then. Some people split prep into two sessions so food stays fresher midweek. Put it on your calendar and treat it like a work meeting or class. Over time, it becomes part of your weekly routine.

Remember to account for leftovers and spontaneous changes. If you expect a dinner out or an office lunch meeting, plan fewer meals for those days. A meal plan is a guide, not a contract.

Efficient meal prep cooking strategies

How do you cook a week of meals efficiently?

With your plan and groceries in hand, it's time to cook. How you approach the session can make a big difference in how long it takes. These strategies help:

• Cook in batches. Meal prep usually means making large quantities that can be split into servings. Pick recipes that scale up well, such as soups, stews or sheet pan meals. Eat one portion the day you cook, then pack the rest for upcoming meals.
• Multitask wisely. Start with the foods that take longest, such as roasting meats or baking potatoes, so they can cook in the background. You might put a whole grain on the stove or in a rice cooker, roast a pan of vegetables, then chop fresh ingredients or assemble salads in the meantime. Harvard's Nutrition Source gives the same advice: focus first on the items that need the most cooking time. By the time they're done, you'll have finished everything else.
• Use time-saving appliances. A slow cooker, pressure cooker (Instant Pot) or oven can cook large quantities without constant supervision. A slow cooker can simmer a stew or curry for several hours while you prep other items, or even overnight. A sheet pan can roast vegetables or chicken pieces all at once. These let you run several recipes in parallel.
• Prepare components for mix-and-match meals. You don't always have to cook full recipes. Grill or bake some chicken breasts, boil a large batch of whole wheat pasta or quinoa, and chop a variety of vegetables. One day, toss the chicken and vegetables with pasta and sauce. Another day, put them over greens or into a wrap. This keeps meals from feeling repetitive.
• Season and taste as you go. If something is under-seasoned, it will be underwhelming all week. Taste as you cook and adjust the salt, spices or herbs. You can always add a dash of fresh lemon, hot sauce or a sprinkle of herbs when reheating to brighten the flavors.
• Portion everything out. As soon as each dish is cooked, divide it into individual portions. Use containers that match one meal for you, and use measuring cups, spoons or a food scale to keep portions consistent. Pre-portioned meals mean no extra work when you're in a rush, and they make overeating less likely because the portion is decided in advance. Label containers if you need to.

A bit of organization turns a few hours of effort into a week's worth of healthy meals, with less stress along the way.

Meal prep storage tips

How do you store meal prep safely?

As soon as your food is cooked, get it into the refrigerator. Don't let prepared dishes sit out on the counter for hours. FDA says to refrigerate perishable foods within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if it's above 90°F outside, and to divide large amounts into shallow containers so they cool faster. Time at room temperature is the thing to limit.

Store your meals in airtight, leak-proof containers. If possible, use BPA-free plastic or glass containers that are microwave-safe. Glass containers or mason jars are great for salads and soups, and sturdy plastic works for things like grain bowls. Make sure lids seal well, since air speeds up spoilage. If you're prepping salads, keep the dressing separate until it's time to eat so the greens stay crisp.

Even with refrigeration, prepared meals have a limited safe lifespan. Most cooked foods keep in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. FDA's storage chart and the FoodSafety.gov cold storage chart break it down by food:

How long cooked food keeps, from FDA's refrigerator and freezer storage chart

Freezer times are about quality rather than safety. FDA notes that food kept at 0°F stays safe indefinitely, but it won't taste the same forever. For the full list, see FoodSafety.gov.

Clean eating & balanced meal prep

What does clean eating actually mean?

One common reason people meal prep is to eat healthier. When you cook for yourself, you have full control over the ingredients, which makes a clean eating approach easier to follow. But what exactly is clean eating?

Clean eating generally means focusing on whole, minimally processed foods for most of your diet, choosing foods as close as possible to their natural state. Instead of heavily processed meals high in sugar, salt and additives, it emphasizes fresh vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats. Build your meal prep around those ingredients and you'll get a lot of nutrients without many empty calories.

These meals tend to be naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, which many heavily processed foods are short on. Clean eating also doesn't have to mean boring. A lot of people find their taste for fresh flavors grows over time, and homemade food starts to compete with the takeout it replaced.

One caution: "clean" isn't a regulated term, and no food is dirty for being convenient. Use it as a direction, not a test you can fail.

Tailoring meal prep to your goals

How do you fit meal prep to your goals?

Everyone's needs are different. One of the great advantages of meal prepping is that you can tailor your make-ahead meals to your own goals and preferences:

• Weight loss or low-calorie diets. Meal prep helps you control calorie intake. Use lots of vegetables, lean proteins and reasonable portions of whole grains or starchy vegetables. Our guide to healthy meal prep for weight loss covers portions in detail.
• Muscle gain or high-protein diets. If you're building muscle or supporting intense training, you'll want more protein and possibly more overall calories in your meals. In practice, that means cooking extra protein sources.
• Vegetarian or vegan meal prep. With a little planning, this works well. Make plant-based proteins your entree, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh or quinoa. Then pair them with a variety of vegetables or fruits for antioxidants and micronutrients. A large vegetable stew or curry, a batch of baked tofu with vegetables, or burrito bowls with beans and rice all make it easier.

The beauty of meal prep is its flexibility. Revisit your goals now and then and adjust your plan. If you reach a weight loss plateau, you might reduce portions or swap in lighter recipes. There are also plenty of easy meal prep recipes online, so you can keep finding new dishes. Our complete meal prep guide is a good next read.

Premade meal delivery options

What if you don't have time to meal prep?

Meal prepping is great, but some weeks you won't get around to cooking at all. That doesn't mean you have to abandon healthy eating. This is where premade meal delivery can fill the gap. These companies deliver fully cooked meals to your home. A professional kitchen does the prep, and all you do is reheat and eat.

Many of these services focus on health and nutrition, with meals tailored to various dietary needs. There are companies for almost every preference, from paleo to plant-based, so you can usually find one that fits your goals or restrictions. Some sell a weekly subscription menu, and others, like ours, sell one-time orders.

The main advantage is convenience: on a hectic day, you can grab a meal and have it ready in a few minutes, with no cooking and little cleanup.

When you're choosing a service, you'll think about taste, nutrition and cost. On cost, UVA Health's dietitian put meal kits at around $10 per person per meal in 2022, with readymade meals tending to cost more. The same dietitian warns that sodium can run high and suggests aiming for 500mg or less per serving where you can. That's worth checking on any menu, including ours.

One example is Clean Eatz Kitchen, which is us. We make chef-cooked, portion-controlled meals built by a registered dietitian, flash-frozen and shipped on dry ice, so you keep them in the freezer for up to 12 months and heat them in a few minutes. There's no subscription. Our Weight Loss Meal Plan works out to about $9.00 a meal for 10 and about $7.56 a meal for 30, with free shipping to the contiguous 48 states.

Credit where it's due: cooking from staples is cheaper per serving than any prepared meal, including ours. And our current menu runs from 360 to 1,550mg of sodium a meal (median 750mg), so check our Nutrition Info page if you're watching it. Every meal is listed there.

Using a delivery service doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. Some people meal prep most of the time and keep a few delivered meals on hand as backup. Others cycle between home prep and delivery, depending on what life throws at them. The goal is to maintain healthy habits when time or energy is limited. Treat it as a learning experience too: those dishes might give you recipe or flavor ideas to try in your own kitchen later.

Meal prep next steps

What's the key to meal prep success?

The key to meal prep success is consistency. With practice, what might feel like a chore at first becomes second nature. Eventually, opening your fridge to a row of neatly packed, colorful meals you cooked yourself will be the standard. And on the days when life gets crazy, you'll be grateful you invested the time upfront.

So pick your first session now. Choose two dinners from the recipe ideas above, write the grocery list and put an hour on your calendar. A missed week isn't failure. There's another Sunday coming.

If the part you can't get to is the cooking, that's a workload problem, and workload problems have different solutions than knowledge problems. Our Weight Loss Meal Plan sets the portions for you, or you can build your own plan from the meals you like.

Make it easy withWeight Loss Meal PlanFrom $89.95View plan