Top 10 Tips for Meal Planning and Prepping

Below are my top 10 tips for meal planning and prepping. If you follow these tips you won’t be flying by the seat of your pants for supper every night, and your family will eat healthier, home cooked meals.

Lately, I haven’t wanted to make home cooked meals.  My kids have eaten more boxed macaroni and cheese and hot dogs in the last six months than I would like to admit. I blame Covid, but I am ready to get back to cooking and baking from scratch every day. I want to help you do that too, because I know you will realize that if you get organized and plan out your meals, it is actually much easier.  Plus, it’s healthier and tastes so much better. 

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1. Buy my two favorite cookbooks; From Freezer to Table and From Freezer to Cooker. 

I know, I know, I rave about these cookbooks all the time, but, seriously, they have changed how I feed my family. These cookbooks will inspire you to cook more and freeze more meals, which will make your life easier.  They may also inspire you to have your own freezer meal party. I will talk more about freezer meal parties in tip number 6. I promise, it is worth it to buy these cookbooks.

2. Have a clean and organized kitchen

When you are busy with kids and work, it seems impossible to keep a clean and organized kitchen. My kitchen is not always picture perfect, but I am telling you, you will not regret taking the extra time to get things organized.  Here is a list I created for how to clean and organize your kitchen.

Go through every cabinet, every drawer and your pantry at least every 4-6 months.  

• Throw out any food that is expired. (Admit it. You know there are at least 3 expired things in there right now).
• Get rid of any kitchen item that you haven’t used in a year. (Aunt Karen isn’t going to know that you got rid of that crystal bowl she got you for your wedding.  If you really have a sentimental attachment to something, but haven’t used it in a year, start using it.  It doesn’t do any good sitting in the cabinet collecting dust).
• Organize every drawer, cabinet and your pantry in a way that is the best use of space.  Place items that you use the most in an easily accessible place. It might help to buy some drawer organizers like this one. There are so many sizes. You can pick the ones that fit best in your drawers.

Declutter your countertop

• It’s tough to do this, but it will make you feel more organized and make you more likely to want to cook.  I have 4 kids, so I understand how hard this is, but it’s easier to prep and cook when you have enough counter space to work on.  Plus, clutter just causes stress and anxiety, and it makes you unmotivated to cook if you have to clean before you cook, and then clean again after you cook.

Deep clean your refrigerator every 4-6 months. 

• Throw out any food that is expired (and any leftovers that have mold on them.  There’s at least one thing with mold on it in your refrigerator right now, isn’t there?)
• Take out all drawers and shelves and wash them
• Wipe out the entire inside of the refrigerator
• If you still feel like your refrigerator doesn’t smell fresh, get a deodorizer like this one.
• Organize your refrigerator. You can do this however you feel is the most efficient use of space. There are a lot of storage solutions out there for the refrigerator, like these storage bins. You could also label your refrigerator, using a label maker, so everyone knows where things belong.

Deep clean and organize your freezer at least once a year

• This is best to do in the winter.  That is, if you live where it gets below freezing outside.  You can store the food from your freezer in laundry baskets, Amazon boxes (you know you have a bunch of these), or totes outside in the snow while you wipe down the inside of your freezer. 
• If you have a deep freeze, it is a good idea to thaw it out completely.  That way you can get off all of the ice that has built up. 
• I recommend these storage baskets for more organization in a deep freeze. If your deep freeze isn’t organized, you will have no clue what’s on the very bottom and it will go to waste.
• Throw out anything that is expired. Food in the freezer doesn’t necessarily go bad, it just loses it’s flavor and/or becomes freezer burned.

Always wash dishes right away

• I still remember a conversation I had with a coworker a couple of years ago.  She was telling me about how she washes her dishes every night and never leaves them for the next day.  (I thought she was kidding.  There are actually people who wash their dishes right away?)  She said it makes her feel accomplished, less anxious and more organized the next morning when her kitchen is clean.  I am notorious for leaving dishes for the next day, but I decided to try washing them right away.  She was right.  It made me feel better and it made me more motivated to cook the next day.  It takes 20 minutes, or less, plus they are easier to clean right away. You know, before they get all crusty.  The more you let the dishes pile up, the more you don’t want to do them. 

3. Type up a calendar for your meal plan for the entire month

A meal plan helps you feel less frazzled and more organized.  Check out my blank calendar for 2021 here.  (Okay, so it isn’t really life changing, but I’ve already done some of the work for you. You just have to decide what meals you are going to make and type them in).  Now your family will know what they will be eating for supper every night.  This doesn’t mean you have to stick to this 100% of the time.  For example, sometimes the grocery store is out of the ingredients you need, or you just don’t have it in you to make supper and want to order food. That’s okay.  We’ve all been there, but it feels awesome when you have a plan so you don’t feel stressed about what to make for supper every night.

4. Have the right tools 

It is so important to have the right tools in the kitchen.  It makes things so much easier.  One particular story comes to mind when I think about having the right tool in the kitchen.  

It was the potato peeler debacle of 2011. I hosted my first Thanksgiving at my house with my family.  My brother, my sister-in-law, my husband, my mom and I were all prepping the food for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.  My brother was peeling the potatoes.  He asked me if I had another potato peeler because the one I gave him didn’t work well. (He is pretty blunt, so his actual words were probably something like, “This potato peeler sucks.  Do you have another one?”)   I looked at him as if he was crazy, thinking that the peeler I gave him worked great. (I was very adamant about this at the time and was almost offended that he said my potato peeler sucked. Ha!)  My sister-in-law tested it out also and confirmed it wasn’t very good.  My husband chimed in and said that we had another one in the drawer. (Like he ever uses it).  They found the other one, which clearly worked better. (Although, I still continued to act like the first one worked great.  I was in denial). 

At Christmas that year my brother, being the hilarious guy that he is, bought me a new potato peeler.  This continues to be a running joke in my family.  Moral of the story, having the right tool, or a tool that actually works, makes any task easier.

If you are wondering about the best tools, you can check out a couple of my previous blog posts, My 20 Favorite Kitchen Tools and Gadgets and 15 of My Favorite Necessary Kitchen Products.

5. Cook meat in bulk ahead of time and freeze it

I find that this is a huge time saver.  Occasionally, I will buy a 10 pound tube of hamburger from Sam’s Club.  I know what you’re thinking.  What do you do with a 10 pound tube of hamburger?  Well, I cook it right away.  I make half of it into taco meat and half of it I cook up and season a little bit.  Then I freeze it.  Some in ½ pound increments and some in 1 pound increments.  The seasoned hamburger can be used for spaghetti, Stuffed Shells, Chili or Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.  I also cook up 2 to 4 pounds of sausage at a time and freeze in ½ pound and 1 pound increments.

Cooking up a bunch of chicken breast, shredding it and freezing it saves time too.  This Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe is super easy. (I encourage you to click on that link and watch the video that shows the best way to shred chicken.  If you didn’t already know this, it will change your life). Once it’s cooked and cooled it is ready to freeze in ½ pound or 1 pound increments.  It’s awesome to have it ready in the freezer when you want to make Creamy Chicken Enchiladas or Turkey and Stuffing Casserole (substituting the turkey for chicken).

6. Have a freezer meal party

Freezer meal parties are the best.  If you want details on exactly how a freezer meal party works, the From Freezer to Table cookbook goes into great detail. You can also check out Throw a Freezer Meal Party: Planning and Prepping and Throw a Freezer Meal Party: How to Host the Event.  These two links are from the blog of the authors of my two favorite cookbooks. The From Freezer to Table cookbook even has an email template for you to type up to send out to anyone who will be participating in your party.

There are a few ways to host a party.  When I have a party I choose to have each person who comes to the party bring enough ingredients for their assigned recipe to make a batch for each person at the party, including themselves.  Everyone brings all of their ingredients to the host’s house and then you prepare all the meals together.  (I often give instructions on what prep work each person should do before they come to the party. For example, browning hamburger, chopping vegetables, or cooking rice). Each time I have had a freezer meal party, I have gotten 4 or 5 freezer meals out of it.  It’s fantastic. I can not wait until Covid is under control so that I can have freezer meal parties again.  

If you love freezer meal parties like I do, you might want to start a freezer meal club. You just need to find a group of friends that can commit to gathering once a month. For all the details about starting a freezer meal club, check out this blog post from the authors of my favorite cookbooks.

7. Keep your kitchen stocked with staples for the pantry and refrigerator

Here is a list of, what I believe to be, the most important staples in any kitchen.

Olive oil

Apple cider vinegar

White vinegar

Basic herbs and spices: Basil Cinnamon Cumin Garlic powder Ginger Ground mustard Italian seasoning Nutmeg Onion powder Oregano Paprika Parsley Poultry seasoning

Baking soda

Baking powder

Cornstarch

Pure vanilla extract

Flour

White sugar

Brown sugar

Honey

Pure maple syrup

Rice: white, brown and/or wild rice

Black Beans

Bread crumbs or panko crumbs

Pasta

Tomato sauce

Chicken broth

Beef broth

Worcestershire sauce

Soy sauce

Russet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Onions

Milk

Eggs

Unsalted butter

Heavy cream

Sour cream

Cheese

8. Order your groceries online for pick up once a week

I will always order groceries online.  Besides the fact that I don’t want to take my kids in the store because of Covid, I just don’t want to take the kids into the store period. Ha!  Plus, ordering online for pick up saves me so much time. If you have never ordered groceries online then you need to read my previous blog post, Ordering Groceries Online is a Game Changer. I will admit, though, some things have changed, due to Covid, since I wrote that post.

I usually order both Sam’s club and Hyvee to pick up every Monday morning.  It really doesn’t matter what day of the week you do it. 

9. Batch cook.  

Batch cooking is a life saver. If you are making a recipe that you know you and your family won’t eat all of, freeze half of it. (I usually make two 8×8 pans when the recipe calls for a 9×13.  We won’t eat the whole 9×13 for one meal).  Soup is also a great thing to make extra of and then freeze in individual containers. 

You can also make a double batch and freeze the extra batch. Getting twice the amount of ingredients is simple. Plus you are already making your kitchen dirty, you might as well make the most if it.  Just think, if you did this every night for two weeks, you will stock your freezer with at least 14 meals. This is truly brilliant.  

If you can spare a day or two every month to dedicate to batch cook breakfast freezer meals, this will make busy mornings so much easier.  I usually only do a monthly meal plan for supper, but it’s amazing to have a ton of options in your freezer, ready to go, for breakfast too. (And if you are like me and love breakfast for any meal, you have breakfast food ready to go for lunch and supper). 

Some great breakfast freezer meal recipes are Banana Nut Muffins with Streusel Topping, Banana Pancakes, Breakfast Burritos, Baked French Toast Sticks, Homemade Waffles, Mexican Egg Cups, Fantastic Lemon Blueberry Scones, English Muffin Bread, Pecan Banana Bread, Pumpkin Scones with Dark Chocolate Drizzle, Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches, Easy Breakfast Casserole Muffins, and Breakfast Quesadillas.   

10. Clean and prep fruits and vegetables right away

In my house, if the fruits and veggies don’t get cleaned right away, they don’t get eaten. My husband and kids aren’t the only ones guilty of this. If I don’t wash and prep the strawberries and cantaloupe the day I buy them, it doesn’t get done and they go bad.

As for the vegetables, I usually have broccoli, cauliflower, celery and bell peppers to wash and cut. We eat a lot of fresh veggies with ranch dip in our house. (My kids are not big fans of cooked vegetables).

If you prep your fruit and vegetables the day you do your grocery shopping, they will be ready to go for the week. (If they last that long. My kids usually polish off the strawberries in a day). Prepping your fruit and vegetables will save you some time when preparing supper each night.

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Meal planning and prepping can seem overwhelming, but in the end it saves you time and frustration. I promise these top 10 tips will get you started on the right track. First things first, start with an organized and clean kitchen. Then, use my calendar template to type up a meal plan each month. Last, it’s just about actually prepping and preparing the food. Enlist the help of your friends by hosting a freezer meal party. You can also get your kids involved in the prep work. They will appreciate the meal so much more when they know the hard work that goes into making it. Best of luck, and have fun, on your meal planning adventures. I would love to hear about them!