Low-cost meal prep concepts – The Fitnessista

Sharing a roundup of meal prep concepts you can also make on a budget.

Hello pals! How are you? I hope you’re having a fantastic day to date! I’ve a morning packed filled with appointments and am wanting ahead to household dinner tonight.

Immediately, I needed to speak a bit about meal prep, as a result of it’s been savin’ my bacon these days.

Meal prepping is one among my favourite methods to remain on observe with wholesome consuming objectives but additionally lower your expenses on the identical time. When life will get hectic (which it all the time does), having finances pleasant meals able to go is a complete gamechanger. I really feel like whether or not you’re feeding a household, attempting to eat more healthy, or simply need to spend much less on the grocery retailer, meal prep can severely simplify your routine.

Immediately, I needed to share a roundup of low-cost meal prep concepts which can be scrumptious, tremendous simple and fast to make, and received’t break the financial institution. I like that meal prepping helps get rid of the “what’s for dinner?” stress and retains us away from dear takeout. Most of those meals use pantry staples or reasonably priced elements, they usually make sufficient for leftovers.

Low-cost Meal Prep Concepts

These recipes are good for weekly planning, batch cooking, and ensuring you all the time have a pleasant meal able to go.

Whether or not you’re new to meal planning or a seasoned professional, I hope this put up provides you contemporary inspiration (and saves you a couple of bucks! Let’s be actual, groceries are 1,000,000 {dollars} proper now.)

What Is Meal Prepping

Meal prepping is the follow of making ready meals or elements prematurely to avoid wasting money and time all through the week. It might imply chopping veggies, cooking proteins, or assembling full meals in containers. The concept is to have meals able to eat or prepare dinner shortly, so that you’re much less tempted to seize one thing unhealthy or costly.

Meal prepping will help scale back meals waste, streamline your grocery purchasing, and make your week smoother general. Plus, it typically results in more healthy selections because you’re planning meals prematurely.

Is Meal Prepping Cheaper?

Completely! If you plan forward and prep your meals, you may benefit from grocery gross sales, purchase elements in bulk, and keep away from impulse purchases or last-minute takeout. By cooking in batches, you additionally use your elements extra effectively and waste much less meals.

Some individuals suppose wholesome consuming is pricey, however meal prepping exhibits which you can eat properly with out spending a fortune.

How To Meal Prep On A Price range

Store Your Pantry First

Earlier than you propose your meals, take stock of what you have already got. It’s simple to miss canned items, grains, or frozen gadgets that may make nice foundations for a meal.

Select Price range Pleasant Proteins

Assume beans, lentils, eggs, canned tuna, natural sprouted tofu, natural floor beef, and hen thighs. These are nutritious and infrequently cheaper than different protein sources.

Purchase Seasonal Produce

Fruit and veggies which can be in season are often cheaper and style higher. Bonus factors if yow will discover them at native farmers markets! Additionally, don’t be afraid to go for frozen fruit and veggies. They’re typically cheaper and frozen on the peak of freshness.

Prepare dinner in Batches

Make massive batches of soups, stews, casseroles, or roasted veggies. These meals stretch far and are simple to portion into containers for the week. I like to freeze everything in these Souper Cubes after which come out to retailer within the freezer.

Preserve the Recipes Easy

Don’t really feel like it’s essential to prepare dinner elaborate meals. A protein, a veggie, and a carb can go a great distance when it comes to vitamin and satisfaction.

Store properly

This can be a little inconvenient however I do store round somewhat. I attempt to get as a lot as I can at Dealer Joe’s as a result of the costs are higher, get something I can from Thrive Market (<— this hyperlink will get you 40% off your first buy!), and the remainder from Complete Meals.

Low-cost And Wholesome Meal Prep Concepts

Southwest Hen Bowls

Shredded hen, black beans, rice, sauteed veggies, + cheese and/or salsa.

These bowls are tremendous customizable and nice for lunch or dinner. Make a giant batch and portion them into containers. It’s also possible to use leftover hen or rotisserie hen to make it even simpler.

Price per serving: ~$2.50

Vegetarian Chili

This hearty, one-pot meal is full of fiber and plant-based protein.

Price per serving: ~$2.00

Components:

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can diced tomatoes

2 diced, cooked candy potatoes

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 can of inexperienced chilies

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper to style

Directions:

Step 1: Sauté onions, inexperienced onions, and peppers in olive oil.

Step 2: Add remaining elements and simmer for half-hour.

Step 3: Let cool and portion into containers. Squeeze some lime on prime earlier than serving.

Greek Pasta Salad with Chickpeas

A chilly salad full of protein and fiber. Good for meal prep lunch!

Price per serving: ~$2.25

Components:

1 field of standard or gf pasta

1 can chickpeas

1 cucumber, chopped

1/2 pink onion, thinly sliced

Cherry tomatoes

Feta

Recent mint

Olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and somewhat honey

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare dinner pasta and let cool.

Step 2: Toss with chopped veggies, mint, chickpeas, feta, and dressing.

Step 3: Portion and refrigerate.

*Typically I’ll add in sun-dried tomatoes, feta, basil, olives, no matter I’ve available.

Extra of my favorites:

– Grilled hen thighs (simply slice and preserve within the fridge)

– Seasoned floor beef. Simply season the heck out of it as you prepare dinner and retailer within the fridge

– Mediterranean egg bites

– Air fryer tofu (simply season with Tamari, garlic, salt, pepper, and somewhat sriracha and air fry)

– Healthy meal prep for a week

You may additionally like these high protein meal prep recipes or these meal prep salad recipes for extra concepts.

Let me know within the feedback: do you meal prep every week? What are a few of your favourite issues to make?

xo