You might have heard a lot of buzz about meal prepping the last few years. Meal prepping is an extremely cost-efficient way to cut back on eating out, but still being able to eat tasty meals at home. It’s also very convenient, when you meal prep in advance all you have to do is take something out of the fridge or pop something in the microwave and chow down. Meal prepping is also really effective if you are on the go most of the day, whether that be on the go at work, school, or at home. It can work especially well for people living on their own or even people with very active families. Why do people start meal prepping? What should you know before starting? What are your options? 

Before you start, it’s important to know why you want to do this in the first place. Well, why do most people start? For example, many people start meal prepping for their own personal fitness goals like weight loss or muscle building. While others start simply to cut down on expenses or to save the time and energy of making a meal every day. Meal prepping is very popular because of that money-saving aspect. Personally, that’s part of why I’ve recently started meal prepping for myself. Also, this past year I’ve had a bit of a problem with eating out or ordering delivery. For a college student who has tuition and rent to pay that can really start to put a strain on the ol’ wallet. That’s why I think meal prepping is a great option, especially for college students. 

Another important thing to know is that it’s okay to start out simple. What I mean to say is that sometimes it’s easiest to prepare only a day or two worth of meals when you’re just starting out. It helps you figure out how long the process of meal prepping will take, generally speaking. It will also help you calculate how much food you need per portion, and make sure you aren’t wasting anything by over prepping. Pre-prepared meals will generally only last about a week in the fridge. For maximum freshness, you should only prep a week’s worth of meals at most. Another good point to think about is not every meal needs to be prepped in advance, generally only lunch and dinner. Unless you like a full hearty breakfast, most people usually stick to cereal or something smaller in the mornings. 

There are a lot of simple and healthy options out there for you to make each week. If you want to stay within a budget you can do the same meal for a whole week. However, you can always throw in another option or two to keep things exciting. I understand that it can eventually get really boring eating the same thing day in and day out. There are a ton of meal prep ideas available to you online via social media like Pinterest, health blogs, or even YouTube. A good website/ YouTube channel I would recommend is called Tasty, they have a ton of great videos and a lot of quick simple recipes. If you don’t have the time for that I’m sure you can always borrow one of your grandma’s recipes or cookbooks. Or if you already know some great meal ideas that will work too! 

Meal prepping is relatively easy, inexpensive, convenient, and can help reduce food waste. If you’d like to start meal prepping just be sure to start simple and make sure you have a solid plan for what you want to accomplish with meal prepping; and the meals you want to make themselves. Have you thought of meal prepping? Do you have a busy schedule that doesn’t allow much time for cooking? Are you looking to cut back on eating out? Then meal prepping might be the right choice for you! As always, feel free to reach out via email with any comments you may have pertaining to today’s article or even just feedback about what I could have covered better. I enjoy hearing back from readers with their own opinions or personal thoughts. Stay tuned for new articles every Monday and Friday, and stay safe out there!

Demetria Slyt is a Dakota Student Staff Writer. She can be reached at [email protected]