Realistic Meal Prep for Homemakers: Because Feeding People Shouldn’t Be This Hard

Inside: You’re busy. Freezer meals are gross. I get it. But meal prep is a homemaker’s secret weapon for way easier days. Really.

Hate freezer meals? Me too. But meal prep goes way beyond that. Thinking of little divided containers filled with chicken and broccoli? You don’t have to do that either.

We aren’t adding another thing to your plate. We’re making your life easier. And the busier you are and the more you think you can’t do it… the more you need it. Meal prep works for everyone. I’ll show you how.

Remember: Think Outside the Box + Step by Step

Sometimes, meal prep means a freezer full of ready-to-bake casseroles. Sometimes, it means dividing a bag of chips into snack bags at the beginning of the week. Every little bit helps and adds up. Really!

Meal prep is especially helpful for homemakers because you manage multiple people’s food needs. You’re often responsible for many people’s three meals daily, plus snacks. Some are at home; some are on the go. It’s a huge job. A personal chef would be paid a full-time salary to manage this. So don’t roll your ideas and think you don’t need meal prep. You do.

Like all time-management strategies, this seems like it would make life harder, but quite the opposite happens. Over time, doing everything on this list will make life easier. Master one thing at a time, and build. Trust me.

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Strategy 1: Wash and Prechop All Produce for the Week

A small step with a big impact. Wash and chop your produce right after you buy it. It’s a simple step, but it’s a game-changer. Have you ever skipped using broccoli or bell peppers because you didn’t want to wash and chop them? By doing this prep work in advance, you cut that barrier.

We often have good intentions with kale and carrots, but they often wilt or get forgotten. You’re more likely to use them when they’re already prepped.

And don’t worry about them losing freshness too quickly. Store your chopped veggies in airtight containers or ziplock bags to keep them fresh. Add a paper towel to soak up any extra moisture. This little trick helps keep them fresh and crisp for longer. As a bonus, your fridge will be pretty and colorful instead of filled with produce bags shoved in a drawer.

Specific Tasks to Prep Produce:

• Leafy Greens: Wash them well and most importantly, spin them dry. Chop or tear into bite-sized pieces that are ready for salads.
• Snacking Veggies: Slice carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and celery into sticks.
• Stir-Fry Veggies: Chop broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and snap peas. Store in separate containers for quick stir-fry or steaming.
• Salad Toppings: Dice tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions. Keep in separate containers or in a divide snack container.
• Herbs: I typically keep these in the fridge, upright in a mason jar filled with water (like a bouquet!)
• Onions and garlic: Dice onions and mince garlic that you’ll use up in the next week or so. Don’t do this too far in advance.

Strategy 2: Plan for Leftovers

I hate leftovers just as much as the next person, but wasting them means throwing away your time, money, and effort. So let’s use ’em up. This is meal prep, in a sense, because you have already prepped food and it’s waiting in your fridge.

I like to plan 2 leftover nights per week: 1 where were are just reheating straight-up leftovers, and one that’s a little more creative. Some of the best recipes (burritos, casseroles, etc) are intended to use leftover meats. Don’t make your life so hard so cooking a roast chicken, throwing some of it out, and then cooking chicken for tacos 2 days later. No, no.

Think of ideas to use beforehand as you plan the week’s meals. If I have a container of roasted veggies with no plan, I’ll end up reheating them or throwing them out. But if I know those roasted veggies are in a soup, they’ll get used to them.

Specific Ideas for Pre-Planned Leftovers:

• Grilled or roasted meats: use in tacos, wraps, or as a salad topping.
• Cooked grains and pasta: make a cold salad by adding vinaigrette and chopped veggies, or stir-fry with veggies.
• Cooked veggies: Mix into pasta dishes or add to scrambled eggs.

Strategy 3: Prep Your Snacks

This sounds like more work for you, but it isn’t! You’re already doing a lot of this, inefficiently or expensively.

Did you know that pre-packaged snacks are one of the most expensive things per pound at the grocery store? That’s silly and we can do better. Cut all that nonsense from your grocery budget and spend an hour a week getting snacks ready.

Okay? Okay.

• Portion out chips and other snacky treats: Stop wrestling with that giant bag of veggie straws. Divide it all up when you get home from the store.
• Make muffins and cookies to freeze: I don’t recommend adding this as a big production to your schedule. But if you’re baking already, wrap them individually and freeze them. Put them in a big bag or container labeled “snacks.” Now, you have a mix of homemade treats.
• Yogurt parfaits. Layer yogurt with fruits and granola in mason jars. I add frozen fruit and protein powder to mine and it’s my lunch.
• Pre-cubed cheese. Not too much, but grabbing some cubes of cheese feels way easier than unwrapping it and getting out a cutting board.

Remember, start with what your family already eats. Don’t make a ton of granola and wish and hope that it gets eaten.

Strategy 4: Batch Cooking (For the Fridge)

Batch cooking is just what it sounds like: cooking larger quantities of food at one time, which you can then portion out and use throughout the week. You spend the same amount of time cooking but get multiple meals out of it.

Pick recipes that scale up well and that you won’t get tired of after a few meals. I do not like casseroles for this, but usually soups, stews, or chicken salad.

I can hear you now… “but my family won’t eat the same thing day after day!”. Well…they need to learn.

This isn’t a technique you use every week. But if you have a busy week and everyone needs to eat chicken noodle soup for lunch for three days, they’ll have to accept it.

Expecting anyone to produce 21 unique meals per week is insane.

Strategy 5: Freezer Meals

I know; I already said I hate them. But I still make them.

They are perfect for those days when you can’t muster the energy to cook. I also like to have them in the freezer if I get sick.

Soups, stews casseroles, and smoked meats are all decent options. To freeze your food, make sure it’s completely cooled. Use containers that are safe for the freezer. Squeeze out as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. And don’t forget to label everything with the date and contents. Even if you think you’ll remember, you won’t.

Having a backup plan is comforting, even if it’s one I don’t like to eat 😉.

Strategy 6: Make-Ahead Breakfasts

I don’t eat breakfast, and thus I hate to make it. But my kids do, so I deal with it ahead of time.

Here are some ideas. I don’t have all of these all the time!

• Overnight oats
• Breakfast burritos/wraps (premade and frozen)
• Baked goods: muffins are great, but I prefer to bake a quick bread, then slice and wrap individually.
• Pre-portioned smoothie packs

Weekday mornings are crazy. Don’t add making breakfast to your plate!

Strategy 7: Prepping Food Ahead of Time for Cooking Later

I know, duh. We’ve already been talking about this. The whole article, right? No, I mean prep now, cook later.

• Slow cooker meals: put your ingredients in a large ziplock bag or container. Include your base (like meat or beans), vegetables, and spices. Pop in the freezer and it’s like a ready-to-go meal kit
• Deep fryer prep: Bread everything, flash freeze it, then store in a plastic bag. Most foods can go straight from freezer to fryer.
• Marinated foods: if you’re making a marinade, double it and freeze the meat with it. I don’t recommend doing this with frozen meat, do it with something you’ve bought fresh.

This is such a relief when it comes time to cook dinner. All the hard work is already done!

Going Deeper

It’s a big world of meal prep out there, friends.

• For more help and lots of specific recipes, I have a mini meal-prep workshop available here.
• If you love meal prep, check out Budget Bytes. They have a whole section dedicated to it. They even have a guide for beginners and many recipes grouped by type. It’s perfect for readers looking for practical, budget-friendly meal prep ideas​​.
• Here is a great list of easy freezer meals at a glance!

Go in order and start with your produce. Add things that feel helpful to you, not because I’ve written them down. If you have a hard time sticking to this (I do!), set aside a time in your schedule where you knock a few of these out. There will be weeks where everything goes smoothly and others where life gets in the way. That’s completely normal. You’ll get there, and you’ll be glad you did ❤️.