Meal Prep Hacks for Easy Lunch & Dinners that save time! Stress Free Mealtimes, Fuss Free Cooking and more using these easy Meal Prep Hacks.
You can save so much time by Meal Prepping! Check out this list of Meal Prep Hacks for Easy Lunch & Dinners to keep your mealtimes stress free!
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15 of the Best Meal Prep Hacks
If you haven’t tried Overnight Oats yet, you should! Pick your favorite fruit, nuts, or whatever else you love to add to oats and then store in Glass Jars. All you have to do is add HOT water or Milk and they’re ready to eat!
My family lives off Freezer Meal Cooking. With a full work schedule, 3 kids and lots of family and extra curricular activities Freezer Meals save me so many headaches over dinner! All of these recipes can be made in a Ziploc Bag or prepared and Frozen to pull out on busy nights. All the information is included so check it out here.
3.) Use Dishwasher Safe Containers to Store Food
My friend and I did an eating challenge before a big vacation we had planned and she told me about these Bento Boxes she was storing Salads in for she and her husband. She made these up all at one time and then her husband took one to work and she ate hers at home. The best part is that you can throw them in the dishwasher!
4.) Make Ahead Hamburger Patties
I can’t wait to try this Idea for Freezing Meat. You combine all your spices with the meat and make hamburger patties. Then you lay each patty in between parchment paper to avoid having them all stick together when they are frozen.
5.) Pre-Wash Favorite Fruits and Veggies and put in Zip Lock Bags
I’ve noticed when I get home from the grocery store and wash my fruits and vegetables right away and package them into single servings it helps so much! Everyone eats more of them and we waste a lot less! These are perfect to throw into a lunch bag for my kids or in my purse when I’m headed out to run errands.
Onions are one of the most called for fresh ingredients in every recipe. Just chop your onions, put them into a zip lock bag and freeze. You don’t even have to thaw them, just thump the bag on the edge of the counter to loosen them up and get out the quantity you need!
Just put your ground beef in the slow cooker (usually about 5 lbs at a time) and set on low. I check mine about every hour to stir it so no part gets more cooked than another. Depending on your slow cooker it may take 4 to 8 hours. When it’s cooked, drain the fat out, cool the meat and put into labeled freezer bags. It’s perfect to add to casseroles or make Spaghetti Sauce or Tacos with!
Mix together 12 eggs and your favorite meat and veggies of your choice. Bake, cool and freeze in labeled bags. Reheat to enjoy!
This meal prep hack is one of the best for healthy eating. It’s so much easier to make a PB&J than prep salads each day, but by planning ahead and doing all the salad prep at once and storing in a Mason Jar, it’s much easier to grab and go!
Cut fruits and vegetables into small pieces so they will be easy to blend even after they’ve been frozen. Seal this in a freezer bag and then when you’re ready to make your smoothie you just add your liquid to blend!
11.) Create a Color Coded Recipe Bank
Write the name of each recipe on the end of the tab and color code recipes by meat type (chicken, fish, beef, etc). Write the ingredients needed for each recipe on the sticky note to easily add those items to a grocery list. For full details go here.
12.) Batch Cook and Freeze Bacon
I’ve started cooking bacon in my oven. Here’s why. It tastes better to me and I have ONE mess to clean up. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray it with cooking spray and lay the bacon on the foil. Cook, cool and freeze with parchment paper in between so bacon doesn’t stick together.
13.) Pre Cook Chicken in your Slow Cooker to Use in Recipes
Put frozen or fresh chicken breasts in your slow cooker, add chicken broth and season if you wish with salt, pepper and any other spice you may like. Cook on high or low depending on your schedule for the day. Just let it cool and slice or chop it up and store in labeled freezer bags. It’s perfect to add to casseroles or soups!
14.) Freeze Soup in Individual Servings
If you like soup, but your entire family doesn’t, make a large batch of your favorite soup, cool and pour into plastic cups. Freeze the cups of soup and then cut the cup to get the nice formed single servings to then put into a freezer bag. I can’t wait to try this one!
15.) Make Pancakes Ahead and Freeze Them
My kids absolutely love pancakes. Mix up a big batch of your favorite pancake batter, cook on a large surface and allow pancakes to cool. Load them into freezer bags and store. We do breakfast for dinner every Monday night so these would work perfect for us!
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