Does anyone meal prep or is that too much effort?

[TommyB_20]

Thought I would throw this out there.

Real answers from people here are usually more useful than search results.

I am not after the textbook answer - more interested in what people would actually do in practice.

What the documentation says and what people actually experience are two different things and I am more interested in the latter.

What would you do in this situation?

[Cheugy]

Not bad at all. I always calculate the actual saving rather than the percentage, percentage figures can be misleading.

Not a life changer but it adds up

[Northernah]

Can't argue with that. Ha, fair enough

[Owen84]

Not sure about that bit tbh. A lot of stuff sounds good until you actually spend a few hours with it.

Definitely worth picking up.

[Bright Hermit]

No real argument from me on that. Head to head record matters much more than people give it credit for.

We will see how it plays out

[Pilgrim]

Cannot disagree with that. Still think I am right on this.

[IronQuarry48]

Kind of what I thought yeah. Might go back to it.

[NeutrinoX74]

I am not sure that is always the case. That lines up with what I found.

Thanks for the thread

[Cheugy89]

I would probably do it differently. Proper useful that.

[NovaPrime]

Meal prep sounds like a huge job until you actually try a small version of it. Cooking five identical meals for the week would drive me mad, but making a big pot of chilli, cooking some rice and chopping vegetables for a few days is a game changer.

The biggest benefit for me is not saving cooking time, it is avoiding the "what do I eat now" moment when you are tired. That is when takeaway suddenly becomes very convincing.

[Paul_26]

Used to think meal prep was one of those things only super organised people did with matching containers and colour coded labels. Turns out it can just mean making extra dinner and putting the leftovers aside.

A Sunday afternoon spent doing basics saves a lot of hassle during busy weekdays. No need to turn your kitchen into a factory

[HangmanPage_WCW]

There is definitely a middle ground. Full meal prep where every breakfast, lunch and dinner is planned weeks ahead feels like too much effort for most people.

Making a few building blocks works better in my experience. Cook some protein, prepare some sides and then mix things up so you are not eating the same thing six days in a row.

[StoneCold]

The trick is finding meals that survive being reheated. Some things are brilliant after two days in the fridge, while others become a sad version of themselves. Pasta can be risky, but curries, stews and soups usually get better.

Also saves money because the random supermarket snack trips seem to disappear when there is already food waiting.

[QuantumLeap11]

Meal prep gets a bad reputation because people picture spending an entire weekend weighing chicken portions. Nobody needs to live like that unless they enjoy it.

A simple version is making enough dinner for tomorrow's lunch. That one habit alone can make a big difference without feeling like another chore.

[CosmicRay40]

Tried doing the full seven day plan once and lasted about three weeks. The problem was not the cooking, it was getting bored when Wednesday arrived and I still had the same meal waiting.

Now the approach is more flexible. A few prepared ingredients and some frozen options work much better for keeping things interesting.

[Modric]

My approach is batch cooking one thing rather than everything. Make a big curry, freeze a couple of portions, prepare some snacks and leave the rest flexible.

The freezer is basically the forgotten hero of meal prep. Future tired version of yourself will be very grateful.

[Restless Barrel]

The money savings are probably the biggest underrated part. Buying ingredients with a plan is usually cheaper than buying whatever looks good when you are hungry after work.

That said, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a spontaneous meal out either. Food is not just fuel, sometimes you want the experience too.

[Phoebe37]

Depends on the person really. Some people relax by cooking every day, while others would rather spend one hour preparing everything and forget about food decisions until later

The best system is the one you actually keep doing. A perfect plan that lasts two weeks is not as useful as a simple routine that lasts all year.