6 Easy Meal Prep Tips For Busy Parents

I am not generally a meal prepper, but I would like to become one. Meal prepping can make your life so much easier and add some organization to your life and make meals less of a stress. Here's some meal preps from a reader that'll hopefully improve your quality of life.

Being a parent can be quite a challenge because there is a lot of work and responsibilities involved. One particular task that could be daunting for most parents, is cooking for your kids. 

Although it could seem simple at first, it may soon get difficult because kids can get picky with what they eat. This is especially true for kids who don’t eat fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. They may find the taste unpleasant and refuse to eat the meals you prepare. There is also the fact that most parents have a nine to five job, and finding the time to cook your children’s meals could be tricky. So you’ll have to learn how to prep your meals beforehand. This will not only make food preparation easier, it will also make it a lot more pleasurable. Here are 6 easy meal prep tips for busy parents.

Plan Out Your Meals For The Whole Week

Before you start cooking your meals, it is important that you plan them out for the week. If you just cook whatever you feel like cooking on the day, then the whole concept of meal prep is useless. So make sure that you have a set meal for each day.

When you plan out your meals, it is important that they are as nutrient-dense as possible. Stay away from ingredients that have preservatives in them. These types of foods include canned goods, processed meats, and canned fruits and vegetables. If possible you should always strive to buy fresh produce. This will ensure that your children’s meals have the necessary vitamins and nutrients.

Kids are usually very picky when it comes to food, and it could be difficult to cook for them. Having them eat fruits and vegetables is particularly difficult because most kids don’t like the taste or are not used to eating them.

However, you should make it a priority to add vegetables to their diets. One effective way to do this is to incorporate them into all your prep meals. If you feed them porridge, then add bits of fruit into it. If you feed them a chicken dinner, then add a side dish of broccoli as well. This will help them develop a taste for fruits and vegetables in the long run.

Prep Your Meats an Hour Before You Cook

If you want to prep your meals, it is important that you make the process as easy and efficient as possible. The most important being how you prepare your meat products. Remember that your meat products will be inside the freezer for a long period of time. So it will take the meat product a long period of time before it is ready to be used for cooking.

Prep and Freeze Dry Your Vegetables

Aside from your meats, yet another time-consuming part of cooking is prepping your vegetables. So you should make sure to prep your vegetables and freeze-dry them for ease of use. That way should you need these vegetables, you could just take them out of the fridge and use them in your cooking. By doing this, you won’t have to waste time cutting or paring your produce.

Get Good Quality Plastic Containers

If you are going to prep your meals beforehand, you should make sure that you use good quality plastic containers. Remember that your packed foods will have to last for over a week. They are not only supposed to stay fresh, they should also still retain their flavor. Remember that you are cooking for kids. So if your containers are faulty in any way, then all your work would have been wasted.

When you purchase plastic containers you should make sure that they are leak-proof and they have a lock system. This is essential because you may drop them accidentally, and the lock will help them stay in place. You should also choose microwaveable containers. That way you could heat up your meals in no time.

Have a Set Day to Cook

It is very important that you have a set day to cook your meals. Although it is important that you prepare the ingredients beforehand, you will need a good amount of time to cook your meals.

This is why you should schedule your cooking day on either a Saturday or a Sunday. Avoid putting them on a weekday because you’ll be mostly tired after a long day, and you won’t be able to work on your meals as efficiently and effectively as possible. It is also important that you start early in the morning. That way, you will have more time to cook throughout the day.

Pack-Up Healthy Snacks

Apart from cooking full-size meals, it is also important that you also pack healthy snacks for your kids. Remember that kids are constantly hungry, and they will ask you for a snack every now and then. So instead of giving your kids the usual junk foods such as chips or cookies, you could make healthy snacks such as carrot sticks, raisins, and nuts to name but a few.

When you pack up these snacks, it is a good idea to use quality packaging such as flexible packaging containers. These types of packaging are perfect because they are not only durable and spill-proof, they are also easy to pack and store. Aside from these key features, these types of packaging are also made of eco-friendly materials that are sustainable and recyclable. Companies such as Logos Pack offer a wide selection of these containers at very competitive prices. If you're interested in purchasing flexible containers, you could visit this website to assess your options and get a quote.

Conclusion

Cooking for your kids could be quite a daunting process, especially if you’re working a nine to five job. However, if you prep your meals beforehand, you’ll be able to save a lot of time. With these 6 tips, the meal preparation process will be so much more efficient.