I have never felt like meal prep,is worth it. You need to simplify your meal planning and Ladd in things like crock pot recipes and meals that can be used twice.

Anonymous wrote:We tried this but found that it's cheaper to eat out. Paying for groceries + meal prep is super expensive.

OP said they can’t eat out due to her son’s food allergies...

Our DC has now outgrown his food allergies, but I totally understand the time it takes to do this this, OP.
Things I do:
Make slightly larger batches of food and freeze them so I have a quick way to heat up a meal
Buy family packs of meat, prep all of the meat (seasonings), and divide into family-sized portions stored in freezer bags. I pan-sear chicken and pork chops and then finish cooking them in the oven. Takes about 20 min (or less). Again, I sometimes do a few extra pieces and freeze for a night when I don’t have as much time.
Tuesday is always taco night.
Salmon in the oven takes 20-25 min and I cook it straight from the freezer. Easy to time rice (takes 20 min) and vegetables to be done at the same time
For recipes that require a lot of chopping, I buy double (or triple) and make up another 1-2 freezer bags of veggies ready to go for the next time.
Sometimes we do breakfast for dinner

I'd say, lower your standards. If you enjoy the prep and the cooking, then it is worth it. But since you don't, find 5 meals that are easy to make and just rotate. Or if you have room in your budget to outsource, do so. I don't do much prep on the weekends, but I do take advantage of being home to cook meals that take longer. Roasts that need more time. Dishes that take multiple bowls or ingredients that need fine chopping, that kind of stuff. Gives us some variety, and allows me to cook healthy and interesting meals at least some of the time. I try to avoid going out to eat on the weekends, because I know it's easier to cook dinner when we have more time.

During the week it's: meatballs and pasta (I do make the meatballs in advance); anything in a crockpot (BBQ chicken, Taco meat, stews or chili); burgers or chicken on the grill; salads from a bag; chicken nuggets; frozen pizza; mac & cheese; sandwiches; always with a side of fruit and a vegetable, but often the veggie comes from the freezer.

That is really it. Some meals lend to a leftover, or a new way to use it, for instance grilled chicken with a salad one night, and then leftover in a quesadilla the next night.

Find some reliable restaurants that can cater to your allergies, and go once a week. Bonus if you can order online before you leave work and then pickup. I do this with Cava, District Taco, Panera, and Moby Dick, just to name a few. You can keep it somewhat healthy and cheap, and at many places can share an entree or 2, and fill in with fruit or quick sides at home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a personal chef once a week who makes four reheatable dinners for us on Monday afternoons.

Do you mind telling me what you pay for this service? I would do the menu planning and shopping (with my son’s allergies it’s just easier to do this myself)

$400 a week. We are in Los Angeles so I imagine it is about the same in DC. The chef does the shopping for the meals she makes and can handle any restriction. You just tell her what you want.

You serious? That is an insane amount of money to pay for someone to cook just four meals!

It doesn’t seem that crazy to me. I live in Dover, OH, population 15,000, and I pay $50/meal from a woman who is just a good home cook. It seems reasonable to me that a chef in LA would charge double that. Especially considering what a pain it is to get anywhere, including the grocery store, in LA. You can’t just walk out into your backyard for vegetables like you do here.

Galley isn't going to work for some food allergies.

We grill a lot. It's fast and we make enough for a couple nights. We also do a crock pot meal or soup once a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a personal chef once a week who makes four reheatable dinners for us on Monday afternoons.

Do you mind telling me what you pay for this service? I would do the menu planning and shopping (with my son’s allergies it’s just easier to do this myself)

$400 a week. We are in Los Angeles so I imagine it is about the same in DC. The chef does the shopping for the meals she makes and can handle any restriction. You just tell her what you want.

You serious? That is an insane amount of money to pay for someone to cook just four meals!

Hmmm...not that bad if it includes cost of food and travel to buy it, is custom-prepared for a family with restrictions, and the chef does the meal-planning.

My brother is in S. California (San Diego), and he pays less than that. But the chef prepares large batch meals and he gets what he gets without much customization.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a personal chef once a week who makes four reheatable dinners for us on Monday afternoons.

Do you mind telling me what you pay for this service? I would do the menu planning and shopping (with my son’s allergies it’s just easier to do this myself)

$400 a week. We are in Los Angeles so I imagine it is about the same in DC. The chef does the shopping for the meals she makes and can handle any restriction. You just tell her what you want.

You serious? That is an insane amount of money to pay for someone to cook just four meals!

Agree with the post about just putting an ad asking for help specifically with what you want. But $20-25/hr sounds crazy to me for a few loads of laundry and meal prep at your direction. If you want an actual chef who comes up with meal plan and recipes, that's different.

Anonymous wrote:
I don’t have anyone doing this at the moment, but I have had housekeepers who have done al lot of the cooking in the past.

I would just put in an ad on care.com. I would pay $20-25/hr for 6-8 hours and include shopping, meal prep, cleaning the kitchen, and a couple of loads of laundry. You can probably find a sahm of kids in school willing to take this for extra money.

In this area? The SAHMs of DMV are the ones who are hiring help.

We tried this but found that it's cheaper to eat out. Paying for groceries + meal prep is super expensive.

Any good websites for the weekly prep?

Meal services like Go Ready Made or Galley have saved my sanity on weeknights. Well worth it!

Why not just preheat the over when you walk in the door, pull something out of the freezer and cook it? Or breakfast for dinner? Or Crock Pot meals? Or take out/delivery/restaurant once a week. I've never spent any time on the weekend prepping meals.

I don’t have anyone doing this at the moment, but I have had housekeepers who have done al lot of the cooking in the past.

I would just put in an ad on care.com. I would pay $20-25/hr for 6-8 hours and include shopping, meal prep, cleaning the kitchen, and a couple of loads of laundry. You can probably find a sahm of kids in school willing to take this for extra money.

Hard to give tips as you are cooking what your kids and you will eat, and you are cooking what you know how to cook.

I would suggest looking into a hot pot or pressure cooker to cut cooking time.
Hire an hourly person to prep food for you.
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