From hard boiling eggs in the OVEN to ready-to-go smoothie bags: The genius meal prep hacks guaranteed to save you time and money
- Mastering the art of meal prepping has become a cooking ritual for millions
- Every Sunday, super-organised home chefs cook up large batches of food
- Next they individually proportioning them into plastic containers for the week
- FEMAIL rounds up the best meal prep tricks to make your morning seamless
Mastering the art of meal prepping has become a cooking ritual for hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.
Every Sunday, super-organised home chefs cook up large batches of food from scratch before individually proportioning them into plastic containers.
For the next seven days, all the healthy ready-to-go meals are on hand – and you will save yourself time and money in the kitchen.
And with more than 8.2 million hashtags of vibrant meal prep creations on Instagram, FEMAIL has rounded up some of the genius meal prep hacks that will make your week seamless.
By preparing all your smoothie ingredients in zip lock bags, you will save yourself a lot of time every morning
Prepare ready-to-go smoothie bags
By preparing all your smoothie ingredients in zip lock bags, you will save yourself a lot of time every morning.
Simply pull a bag out from the freezer and throw all the ingredients into a blender.
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‘Save yourself some time and piece of mind by pre-assembling and freezing the ingredients,’ Emily Bowie said.
‘By measuring out your berries, superfoods, yogurt (frozen in an ice cube tray) and greens ahead of time, your shake will be perfectly portioned, every time.’
Hard boiling your eggs in the oven is an easy – and faster – alternative to boiling them in water on a stove when you need to make a large batch at once
Hard boil your eggs in the oven
Hard boiling your eggs in the oven is an easy – and faster – alternative to boiling them in water on a stove when you need to make a large batch at once.
Simply pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees – reduce the temperature if your oven runs hot – and place a whole, unbroken egg in each muffin cup.
Next, bake the eggs in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and immediately place them in a bowl filled with ice water.
Once they’re completely cooled, peel and add them to your containers.
Grilling avocados not only adds flavour but prevents them from turning brown
Grill avocados to prevent them from browning
Grilling avocados not only adds flavour but prevents them from turning brown.
‘A cool trick I discovered is that these babies will not turn brown and disgusting after being grilled,’ nutritionist Teresa Hansen said.
‘Simply cut the avocado in half, remove seed and brush with avocado oil and lime juice. Grill for three to five minutes and brush with lot’s more lime juice.
‘Eat immediately or for meal prep storage, put two avocado halves together and wrap in foil or plastic wrap-store in fridge. Eat within two days.’
Wake up to a delicious ready-to-go oats by preparing them overnight
Make overnight oats for breakfast
Wake up to a delicious ready-to-go oats by preparing them overnight.
‘I love making overnight oats for breakfast because they’re highly nutritious, quick and easy to make and I can dramatically change the flavour by just switching the fruit or type of milk I use,’ Katie Scarlett Lolas previously told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Don’t be afraid to come up with your own creations and change the amounts to suit your taste and needs.’
To prepare overnight oats, add four to five tablespoons of rolled oats to mason jars. Next add any fruits you prefer. Katie said her go-to fruits are mangoes, blueberries and raspberries.
‘You can use any seasonal fruit combination you enjoy,’ she explained.
To prepare overnight oats, add rolled oats, fruits, nuts and seeds and milk to mason jars
Add one teaspoon of chia seeds, a small handful of cashew nuts and sprinkle of coconut flakes.
Next, fill the jars up with milk, and ensure everything, including fruits, are covered. Close lid, then shake. Set in fridge overnight.
‘Eat in the morning. Heat up or eat cold, whatever you prefer,’ she said.
Katie explained the fruits last all week in the fridge – and she adds the milk to all the jars on the same day she prepares the oats.
‘A combination of the milk and refrigeration helps preserve the fruit perfectly,’ she said.
Not knowing the right order can lead to soggy salads. But once you understand how ingredients work, preparing salads in mason jars will help save you a lot of time and prevent you from having mushy greens
Layer salads in mason jars in order
Not knowing the right order can lead to soggy salads.
But once you understand how ingredients work, preparing salads in mason jars will help save you a lot of time and prevent you from having mushy greens.
The trick? Add the salad dressing first.
‘Pour your dressing into the bottom of the jar, then layer with dense vegetables that won’t absorb the dressing like peppers or carrots,’ Emily said.
‘Followed by all your other favorite ingredients like whole grains, nuts and seeds and beans. Save the top half of the jar for your leafy greens.’
If you’re prepping your salad several days in advance, Emily suggested putting a thin paper towel between the salad and the lid because that helps absorb any extra moisture.
To save yourself time, roast all your vegetables on a large baking pan at once
Buying meat in bulk can save you a lot of money
Roast weekly vegetables at once
To save yourself time, roast all your vegetables on a large baking pan at once.
Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with your favourite herbs before roasting them all at the same time in the oven.
Once all your vegetables are cooked, simply divide them into your containers for the week ahead.
Control portions of proteins
Buying meat in bulk can save you a lot of money.
And, if you want to control your eating portions, measure up your servings of meat and freeze them.
‘I buy huge packets of meats,’ Desiree Sewall said.
‘Weigh and mark them for individual serving sizes. Freeze. I only pull out what I plan to eat the following day which for me is usually a bag of chicken thighs and a steak.’
By cooking once every week, or fortnight or even month, can save you a lot of time, convenience, money and any stress
Cook in bulk
By cooking once every week, or fortnight or even month, can save you a lot of time, convenience, money and any stress.
‘I tend to prep double batches of meals, portion and freeze. There’s the convenience of always having fresh healthy meals on hand,’ Simone Harbinson previously told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I will generally keep four to five days worth of meals in the fridge, which are kept well in sealed containers.
‘I also do a top up meal prep on a Thursday which gets us through until the next Sunday meal prep.’
Whether it’s leftovers, pesto, pasta sauce, curry paste, garlic or ginger, turning these into ice cubes can add extra flavour to any dish
Have your breakfast sorted for the week by baking delicious frittatas in muffin trays
Freeze leftover pasta sauces, curry pastes and pesto
For most of us, we’ve all been guilty of binning our mouldy pasta sauce after finding the jar hidden at the back of the fridge a month later.
But you can save your leftovers by freezing them in ice cubes.
Whether it’s leftovers, pesto, pasta sauce, curry paste, garlic or ginger, turning these into ice cubes can add extra flavour to any dish.
Bake frittatas in muffin trays
Have your breakfast sorted for the week by baking delicious frittatas in muffin trays.
Add egg whites, cheese, bacon and any vegetables you want to each muffin cup.
‘Now breakfast is ready for the two of us all week,’ AnnieB_health said.
‘I cook the egg muffins in silicone moulds for easy clean up plus they are reusable. I love my griddle for cooking turkey bacon and eat the bacon for breakfast or as a snack all week.’
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