Meal prep doesn’t have to mean cooking all day
For me, meal prep is less about spending Sunday afternoon making a week’s worth of meals and more about making the busy days a little easier. One of my favorite ways to do that is the crock pot. Put a few simple ingredients together in the morning, let dinner take care of itself, and come home to something that actually feels like a meal.
A few things that make meal prep easier:
Make one thing ahead. Cook a batch of chicken, rice, or taco meat that can become more than one meal.
Use your crock pot. Salsa chicken, shredded BBQ chicken, taco meat, soups, and chili are easy to throw together and can give you dinner plus leftovers.
Prep the basics. Wash fruit, chop a few vegetables, or portion out snacks so the healthy choice is also the easy choice.
Let leftovers work for you. Last night’s chicken can become today’s wrap, salad, quesadilla, or bowl. You don’t need a completely different meal every night.
The goal isn’t to have the whole week perfectly planned. It’s to do a few things ahead of time that make the rest of the week feel a little lighter.