Meal preps for solo cooks?

Melanie Snyder

my mom buys her groceries then will repackage them to her portions meats get put into freezer bags and then freeze till needed. she will also buy a loaf of bread and then she takes the loaf puts 2 slices per sandwich ziplock and freeze till she wants a sandwich. bread thaws fast so it doesn't bother her. she doesn't eat a lot of bread and it goes bad by time she gets to it. so divide and freeze.

Seattle Girl

I do a little of both - some meal prep on the weekends and some cooking the day of. For me planning is key and I do all of my shopping weekly. Similar to @Melanie's mom, I buy in larger quantities, portion and freeze. When I'm planning I take things out of the freezer and thaw in the fridge a few days before I'm going to cook.

Onyx of DarkLite

I tried to prep meals, but it takes forever. I'm a cook now type. I will portion and freeze meats though. Makes things easier..... When I remember to take things out of the freezer that is. 😏

Megan F

I meal prep my lunches so I don't have to worry about them then keep a stock of easy things for dinners: frozen chicken or steak, frozen veggies, kraft dinner cups, rice, etc.

Megan F

because buying small amounts is more expensive, but you should try and get what you can from a bulk store (for spices you may not use often, or even the stuff you do) and take advantage of your freezer. Anything the size of a chicken breast or so will thaw in ~24 hours in the fridge so you just have to remember to pull it out the night before.

Okanagan

I repackage items into quantities I need, freeze them using freezer zip lock bags (washing. sterilising & reusing them, unless they've had meat/poultry/fish in them}. Breads, muffins, cakes etc., either go into containers or freezer bags in slices or squares which are easy to remove individually. I also cook in bulk & freeze in bags/containers in individual portions. It's as easy & also cheaper to prepare & cook in batches than in small amounts, especially if you have an instant pot or slow cooker. For vegetables, I freeze items like leeks, onions, butternut squash, celeriac etc in larger bags & just take out what I need as & when. I have lots of frozen homemade 'ready meals' like cottage pie, aubergine & chickpea stew, chicken/pork/beef curries & stir fries in small reusable containers, labelled & dated, which I can easily defrost & reheat in microwave. I also keep an 'inventory list' of what is in each shelf of the freezer, plus amounts, so I know where to find what, at any time. (As long as I remember to add/subtract the amounts when I put something in or take something out}. I keep my list on the door of the freezer with magnetic peg. For store cupboard items, I have yet another list, on the door of my stock cupboard for adding items that need replenishing, so when an item is getting low or is finished I can keep an eye out for the 'specials'. Also means I don't have to search through cupboards to find out what I need before shopping day. Sounds very boring & time consuming, however. once you get into it, it can be quite fun, easy to do & only takes a little while to replenish your stock once a month or so. I also use a weekly meal planner, so can look at it to see what raw materials I need to take out of the freezer in advance, this also allows me to check out the 'specials' on sale instore & plan for my weekly fresh ingredients, like fruits, salads, eggs etc.