Unlock easy back to school meal planning, here's my top tips
Food prep requires good food storage containers here's my essential guide;
If you want to try and do a bit more food prep you will need to invest in some good food storage containers and jars, it can make all the difference and it will save you time. Meal prepping has become extremely popular in recent times, as many people see lots of benefits to it. One of the key benefits it will allow to get ahead as much as possible and minimise the extra effort later on in the week. There are lots of ways to food prep so don’t feel like you have to follow just one approach and you can food prep as much as you like given the amount of time you have to do it. Simple things like pre chopping vegetables for the week ahead dinners all save you time in the evenings. Here are a few different approaches you can adopt to help get you onto that food prep cycle and reap the many benefits;
1. Choose to food prep one meal for the week for example your breakfasts or lunches for the week ahead, this will help ensure you are having nutritious meals and you won’t need to prepare them when you get in from work each night! This will save you a fortune as well if you have the tendency to run out at lunch to grab a sandwich etc
2. Pre chop vegetables for your dinners that you have planned for the week ahead, or even just pre chop vegetables so you have them in the freezer to hand. This works for fruit too, it’s a great idea to pre chop fruit so you can make a quick smoothie in the morning if your short on time and you can drink it when your commuting to work!
3. Batch cooking at the weekend when you have a bit more time, for example make double the quantity, therefore having a stash of standby suppers in the fridge or freezer is a great time-saver on busy weeknights. Buying ingredients in bulk for batch cooking often works out cheaper than buying smaller quantities, so it will definitely save you money as well!
All these approaches require you to have containers to put the food into! You will need to invest in some good sturdy containers that are leak proof, air-tight, freezable, microwaveable and are dishwasher safe (helping you save time on the washing up). There are lots of things to consider and buying a robust and hardwearing design that is easy to care for is key. Also you might want to consider the space you have to store the containers, as generally space is at a premium in the kitchen/freezer/fridge. Choosing containers that nest together will take up less storage space, so it is worth investing in a set rather than picking up individual pieces, as most of us all have that drawer or cupboard stuffed with random containers that don’t even have lids for them!
I’m a big advocate of glass storage wear, although it is heavier and pricier than the plastic counterparts, there are many benefits to glass and not just being kinder to the environment! Glass containers tick all of the above, but it does have some more advantages than plastic, with the biggest bonus being that it is oven safe too. This means you can heat your food without transferring it to another dish so less washing up! Glass will not react with your food, so the glass container will not stain or scratch unlike plastic. This is especially bad when you are microwaving plastic containers, but as a rule of thumb you should NEVER microwave in plastic due to the toxic chemicals leeching into your food and that includes all BPA free products that have been popping up in recent years. Also don’t throw away those glass jars you have from the likes of jams, honey, nut butters etc these are great to hold onto as you can make up overnight oats in them, store homemade dressings, toasted nuts, granola etc and best of all they are free!
If your not keen on the glass option there are plenty of stainless steel and plastic containers, again these are great for lunches, as they are lightweight and easily transported. There is lots of lovely features with them as they have separate food compartments within the box so you can have your lunch and snacks all in one!
Overall when deciding on your meal prep container these are the things I would recommend considering;
1. What are you going to be mainly using it for?
2. Design – so is it robust, leak proof, can the containers nest together to save space when storing?
3. Temperature range – can you use them in the freezer, fridge, microwave, oven? And are they safe to use in the dishwasher?
4. Value for money – are they multifunctional so can use for a few different things, will they stand the test of time? Are they worth the higher price if they are more durable?
Meal prepping will without a doubt save you time, it is more convenient and can be extremely helpful especially when you are on a budget. The whole meal prepping process will help you to streamline your shopping lists, so you know exactly what you are eating and when you are eating it. This will inevitably make you feel more in control of your food choices, help you to eat more well balanced nutritious meals, and if you are trying to eat a bit more healthily or watching your calorie intake meal prepping is a great first step in helping you achieve these goals! Here at magic meals all our meal plans are based around helping you to have well balanced, healthy and nutritious meals and with the addition of the streamlined shopping list. This will help you to get on board the food prep style approach, that is growing extremely popular as our lives get busier, helping you to bring back the family together around the dinner table.