Posts tagged “meal prepping”

Meal prepping is a great way to save time during busy workdays and get a head start on healthy eating. By planning a bit ahead of time and even cooking ahead of time, you can enjoy healthy, satisfying meals without the exhausting effort each and every night. Because of meal prepping, you can simplify your cooking and eating habits and spend less time cooking and cleaning up every night. Plus this helps with saving money by avoiding eating out.

What is Meal Prepping?

Meal prepping simply means to plan, prepare, and sometimes cook what you’re going to eat ahead of time. This can be a week ahead of time or even the night before. Although it’s considered a trendy idea, it’s quite a basic process that people have been doing for decades and centuries. There are many different ways you can meal prep – some more simple than others! 

Purchasing prepared foods to eat later for low effort meals

A popular favorite is Rill Foods’ prepared soup mixes like Tacoma Tortilla, Columbia River Corn Chowder, or Miners Minestrone. These products are already set to go with pre-measured ingredients and instructions.

Preparing an entire week’s worth of meals for quick and easy dinners

Simply cook and prepare your meals on a Sunday and store in tupperware! This allows you to reheat accordingly during the week, saving you time and cleanup. Make sure to label the tupperware with the date it was made and enjoy the meal before it goes bad. Check out this guide for a reference on how to safely store and reheat “leftovers” by the USDA.

Many people who practice meal prepping choose to do most of the planning, grocery shopping, and prepping or cooking on the weekends so they have a week’s worth of food ready to go when they’re busy on workdays. At Tacoma Boys, a wide selection of kitchen staples and speciality foods will keep you stocked with whatever you need every day of the week.

How to Meal Prep

Learn how to meal prep with a few simple steps.

1. You’ll need basic healthy ingredients like fruits, vegetables, seasonings, proteins, and whole grains to get started
2. Once you’re home with your ingredients, get to prepping!
3. Pre cut your vegetables and store them in an airtight container, mix seasonings, and trim and marinade meat, until you’re ready to use it all

Optional:

• Prepare the entire meal and cook all of the meal’s components. Protein, fruit, vegetables, and whole grains like Ancient Harvest Quinoa or a starch like Baby Red and Gold Potatoes, can all be cooked at once. Just store it in a tupperware and reheat it when you’re ready for a satisfying meal. 

Variety is Key

Some people learn how to meal prep by cooking a large batch of something that is good for multiple meals (like a big pot of hearty soup) and dividing that into several containers. This leaves you with several servings ready to go for meals throughout the week. But if you’re one to get tired of the same old thing every day, mix it up a bit. Try preparing two or three meals and alternating throughout the week. To get you started, try one of Tacoma Boys’ various organic dried pastas like Scialateilli’s Gentile or Montebello’s Farfalle paired simply with jarred tomato sauce and fresh Portobello, Crimini, or Shitake Mushrooms. Then, consider something with different flavors like this simple Vegetable Stir Fry recipe by Once Upon a Chef.

Meal Prep Ideas

Breakfast

• Overnight oats in a jar, breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, scrambles

Lunch

• Salad in a jar, classic protein & veggies, sandwiches, turkey roll ups, stir fry

Dinner

• Marinated protein, burrito bowls, meatballs, enchiladas, pasta sauces

Snacks

• Protein or bliss balls, pre-cut veggies and hummus, pre-cut fruit, chia seed pudding

Local Seasonal Produce for Meal Prep

Grocery shopping is the first step after deciding what you’d like to eat during the week. Tacoma Boys’ variety of local fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season for the winter include fresh Fuji and Honeycrisp Apples, Roma Tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Parsnips, and much more! Local, in-season produce stays fresh for longer and tends to be a notch or two less expensive than foods that have had to travel to get here. But no matter what you crave this week, Tacoma Boys is sure to quickly stock the freshest nonlocal produce from regions where it is fresh and seasonal. Learn more about shopping and eating local, seasonal produce at Tacoma Boys here. 

Grocery Shopping for the Week at Tacoma Boys

Meal prepping is an easy way to get ahead of the game and prepare yourself for a successful week with healthy meals and time saved. With just a little bit of planning and a lot of cooking at once, you can eat your favorite healthy recipes without the last-minute stress. Cooking and eating should be enjoyable and rewarding, so have fun with it! Keep the momentum going with regular grocery shopping and get creative with new recipes. To stay up-to-date on the latest insider deals and specials, including seasonal produce, sign up for Tacoma Boys text list. Just text (253) 246-1661 to tell Paul you want to be on the list!