It’s great to plan - something that I should have done earlier - I would have saved a lot of calories and money and reduced stress and felt more organized

Right now, I prepare all of my personal food that I bring to the office Sunday night. I have them portioned out in stainless steel containers.

For family meals, I just make a meal plan for the week and grocery shop Sunday. I don’t chop or cook this ahead of time. The dinners are fairly simple.

Good luck

i find dinners easier if i have some meat prepped. cutting veg is pretty easy, so i never really do that ahead.

chicken: you can make salads, bowls. soups, casseroles. you can eat it cold.

brisket or pulled pork: you can make sandwiches, nachos, loaded baked potato, mac and cheese with BBQ, tacos and probably a few other things.

I think cooking the beans, rice, lentils, ahead of time is a great idea. Roasting some vegetables, also good. Both of these things keep well and hold their structure.

But I wouldn’t cut the vegetables or cook the meats ahead of time. Those are easy enough to do day of or right before cooking.

Anonymous wrote:What are you going to make with them? The cucumber will definitely get slimy unless you give it a soak in salt water first.

+1 I don’t even cut cucumber the night before for my lunches. I bring it whole and cut it at work. If it doesn’t get slimy it gets dry.

You would be better off dicing a bunch of veg, minus tomatoes, and freezing in ziplock. When you get home throw them on a foil lined cookie sheet with a little olive oil and seasoning. 30 minutes later you have much better tasting veg that’s not slimy. Can throw the sweet potato in there too, along with rice and beans if you’re feeling adventurous

Buy cherry tomatoes, large sliced tomatoes don’t keep walk past a day or 2

Yes if you pre chop those they will get slimy. The peppers are fine for a day or possibly two but not all week. Better off with carrots and celery with cherry tomatoes if you are thinking about snacks. Onion you can chop ahead without an issue.

What are you going to make with them? The cucumber will definitely get slimy unless you give it a soak in salt water first.

I love roasted tomatos and carrots. Not a huge fan of roasted beets.
I would also make some good dressings because I probably wouldn’t eat any of that without a dressing.
I also prefer farro to quinoa.
Something like a farro, black bean, roasted tomato and roasted squash salad with Mexican green goddess dressing…so yum.

Sounds very healthy. What about protein? If you eat meat, maybe grill up some chicken or hard boil a dozen eggs?

Don’t buy and prep foods without having a meal plan. Otherwise you will end up wasting food and still eat junk

If you prep ahead, what do you do?

I’m going back to work in-person and full time next month. I have a family of 5 to feed and want to make healthy meals for everyone.

My plan so far:

Cook and store a bag of each of these:
- Lentils
- Quinoa
- Brown rice

Roast:
- Beets
- Brussels sprouts
- Sweet potatoes

Chop: (but will they get slimy??)
- Red pepper
- Red onion
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber [u]
- ???