Make Meal Prep Less Stressful
Feel like there are never enough hours in the day? Do meal times stress you out? Come join me in the kitchen and let’s talk about some ways you can save time when it comes to meal preparation.
As a Mom, I know that is such a common issue. In this post I will show you a few helpful tips on how to make meal prep less stressful and help to maximize your day!
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Before we get into the meat of this topic, I want to be sure that you understand a few things.
I love tips on organizing, planning, and making life more efficient. But the truth is, these things do not come naturally to me.
It has taken years of learning, growing, fighting the urge to be a free spirit, and most of all, resisting change. New things can be scary. Learning can be tough. Change can be hard.
You may be thinking: What if I fail? What if I’m just wasting my time? All these other moms and wives seem like they have it all figured out, but that’s not me.
But what if you succeed? What if you get to have the home, the family, the life you hoped for. What if you get to make a home with your own to hands. And friend, let me just tell you…no one has it all figured out.
The compare snare of social media may make us feel that way sometimes but there is no truth in it.
What is Meal Prep?
Meal prep, short for meal preparation, can be as quick and simple or as extensive as you like.
The best thing about utilizing this tool in your kitchen is that it is completely customizable. There is no right or wrong way to meal prep, as long as it is creating more time in your day.
The idea behind meal prep is to set yourself up to easily put meals together so that most of the preparation is done ahead of time. Especially if you can batch some of the prep.
You may think, “okay Christen wait a minute, if I’m doing the prep ahead of time I’m spending the same amount of time making my meals, it’s just spread out over my day.” And I can understand that.
But what you are actually doing is utilizing the margins of your day to accomplish even more. Honestly, it feels like a huge savings of time when I have all of my ingredients prepped ahead of time and can just drive right in to making the meal.
I love cooking, but I could do without the prep work and clean up. So this is why I love meal prep. I can prep for a few meals at one time, and then there is one less step when you go to cook the meal.
Because ideally, when you are doing your meal prep, you are also preparing for other meals and maximizing the time you are spending in the kitchen to create space later in the day or even the next few days.
Examples of Meal Prep
For instance, if you make a meal plan for the week, take a look at all of the ingredients you will need.
Do multiple dishes call for onions? Chop all of those onions at once, put them into containers in your fridge, and now you are once step ahead for several meals in that week.
Do you have more than one meal this week that uses ground beef? Fry it all up at once and store it in the fridge or freezer.
You are now another step ahead to making your meals less a little more quick and easy!
Really want to get ahead? Think about the ingredients you use on a regular basis that need preparation.
Could you cook up or chop a bunch at one time and freeze for later use? Maybe even devote a certain day each week to prepping your meals!
Do you make pancakes every Saturday morning? Could you mix up the dry ingredients into a few storage containers at a time? If so, you just created a little more time for your next few weekends.
This process will completely streamline meals and create space in your days for the things you would rather be doing. Or even the things that need to be done that may be falling by the wayside. Trust me, I get it.
But Why Should I Meal Prep?
Simplicity, ease, creating margins of time, lowering your stress levels, mastering this thing we call home making. Okay, maybe that last one is a stretch.
But you truly will feel like you can conquer your tasks when you see how much easier it can make meal preparation three times a day.
Especially if you make most if not all meals from scratch. Now if only we could streamline washing all the dishes that come with cooking at home.
Preparing a meal three separate times a day takes up a huge chunk of time! If you could some how whittle that down, what could you do with the time that could create for you?
We know that as homemakers, there is always a long list of tasks to accomplish in our days. Why not take steps to create processes and routines that will make these tasks less complicated and less time consuming?
I hope that you can find a way to incorporate some of these ideas into your
I would love to tell you that I stick to a strict schedule of meal prep and planning. The truth is that life can get busy and chaotic some times, and some days you just need to throw in the towel and order take-out.
And you know what, that is perfectly okay too. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself grace to make small changes and give yourself permission to believe you can.
one last thing…
I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below! If you loved this article, I would love it if you gave it 5 stars!
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Snap a photo and use the hashtag #thecultivationofcozy to join in the community! I can’t wait to see it!
Additional Resources
The Best Budget Meal Prep Storage Containers
Fewer dishes is always a plus in my book!
I agree with you 100%! Thanks for stopping by!