Meal preparation may be the best-kept secret of individuals who follow a steady, healthy eating regimen—knowing how to meal plan effectively will allow you to pack your fridge and freezer with dozens of excellent foods that will last the whole week.

This habit might differ between staying on track with your diet, achieving your wellness objectives, and turning to last-minute cooking improvisations.

You know how meal prep reduces the time you spend cooking on weeknights, loading your dishwasher, and worrying about meeting your macronutrient requirements.

Learn the art of food preparation to support your ketogenic diet effortlessly.

What Is Meal Prep?

Meal prep is selecting, planning, and cooking a large quantity of food that can be stored in the fridge for up to a week (or frozen for several months or more).

Regardless of how you apply this strategy, the primary aim remains: to have easily accessible, healthy meals that meet your diet and nutritional goals while reducing culinary burdens.

You may tailor your weekly food planning session to your specific requirements and schedule. You’d prefer to go out on Saturday night and cook on Sunday afternoon or evening. Or Monday is your day off, which is more convenient for you.

Whatever you decide, you can quickly learn how to meal prep healthy recipes. If you have children, meal preparation may be fun to include them in the cooking process and teach them the value of producing their meals.

Plus, there’s something strangely satisfying about opening your fridge and seeing all the meal prep containers neatly lined up and filled with delicious, keto-friendly food you’ll enjoy throughout the week.

Why Should You Meal Prep?

Aside from avoiding stressful situations in the kitchen during the work week, meal preparation is beneficial for a variety of reasons:

• Save money: You will save by not ordering takeout and preventing food waste.
• Save time: You won’t waste time (or hours) faffing around in the kitchen or attempting to invent last-minute meals.
• Complete control over the ingredients and portions: You may deliberately divide the necessary macros for a healthy keto meal by meal preparation.
• Eat healthier: Meal planning might help you avoid eating less healthy or high-carb items.

How to Meal Prep: Planning, Shopping, and Storage

This guide will set you up for success if this is your first time meal preparation. Here are six pointers to help you get started.

1: Choose One Meal

You don’t have to be concerned about cooking every meal for the entire week. Instead, choose one meal daily: breakfast, lunch, or supper. Choose the one for which you need help finding the time to cook.

Breakfast meal planning, for example, can be for you if you get up early and frequently hit the snooze button. Lunch meal prep is the way to go if you enjoy lunch at your desk while perusing emails. Alternatively, if you work nights and want to leave something ready for the rest of the family, dinner meal prep may be your primary focus.

2: Pick Your Method

To begin meal planning, you may adopt one of two approaches: complete or meal element prep.

• Full meal prep: This approach entails putting a complete meal into a container. This choice is fantastic for portion control and simplicity; all you have to do is heat and enjoy it.
• Prepping meal elements: This technique entails preparing the most frequently used components throughout the week, such as roasted zucchini or chicken breasts, and batch cooking each individually. Mix and match them as you see fit to keep things interesting.

You may also combine meal planning methods to prevent repeatedly eating the same dishes.

3: Start Meal Planning

One of the most crucial aspects of meal preparation is meal planning. During this step, you select the recipes for batch cooking.

Choosing the best meal prep recipes isn’t difficult, but there are a few factors to bear in mind:

• Choose recipes that can be readily portioned — for example, Crock-Pots produce enormous portions that may be divided into meals.
• Choose dishes that use foods that will keep longer, such as the cabbage in this low-carb romanesco.
• Choose meals that can be frozen and easily reheated.
• Make large amounts of the most adaptable keto dishes and experiment with different combinations. For example, you may create cauliflower rice and serve it as a side dish with this crispy skin salmon, combine it with your favorite roasted vegetables, or utilize leftovers to make a keto pizza for Sunday lunch if you have more time.

Keeping your keto meal plan varied is critical to stay involved in your low-carb diet. Try a new dish to experiment with different ingredients each week and learn more about keto meals.

4: Make Your Shopping List and Head to the Grocery Store

The next step is making a grocery list based on your meal plan. Here are a few hints for making grocery shopping simple and cost-effective:

• Make a master grocery list.
• Check the items you already have on hand. Examine your cupboard and refrigerator; you may already have some things on hand.
• Organize your shopping list by sections (fruits, vegetables, meat, etc.) to prevent passing through the same aisle more than once.
• Choose seasonal ingredients because they are usually less expensive and taste better.
• Check for future sales or coupons at your preferred grocery shop and adapt your meal plan appropriately.
• Please religiously stick to your shopping list to keep it under your monthly budget and prevent extra purchases.

Finally, before you go grocery shopping, eat a keto-friendly snack. Going shopping when you’re hungry may cause you to seek a high-carb indulgence, jeopardizing your keto aims.

Read next: Keto on a Budget: Tips, Meal Plan, and Foods to Eat.

5: Pick Your Food Containers

Once you learn how to meal prep, food storage containers will become your new obsession.

• Airtight containers: These are intended to preserve food for extended periods. Airtight containers are ideal for protecting the unique tastes of foods (such as coffee beans and spices) and preventing biscuits and crackers from getting stale.
• Mason jars: If you don’t have time to make your keto smoothie in the morning, mix it the night before, keep it in a mason jar, and grab it as you leave for work the next day.
• Glass containers: Even though glass containers are breakable, this practical solution may be used to store and reheat meals safely. As a result, if you intend to use both your oven and microwave to reheat your meals, they might be a sensible purchase.
• Plastic containers: are only used as a last resort, but plastic is lighter and easier to transport than glass. These go well with salads, snacks, and nuts. Look for the BPA-free label, as this compound is commonly used in the production of plastic and can be harmful to your health[*]. Never heat any plastic.

6: Label Everything

When you’re finished cooking, label the food container with the dish’s name and the date it was prepared. This is especially critical if you’re storing your meals in the freezer. You’ve undoubtedly found yourself looking at a frozen food package more than once, trying to figure out what’s inside and when you prepared it.

Labeling items is also essential while cooking for guests. Make a note on the container if anyone in your household has food allergies or follows a special diet (such as vegan or vegetarian).

Knowing How to Meal Prep Will Support Your Ketogenic Journey

Hopefully, you can see why meal planning is essential for staying on track with your healthy eating goals. Starting this regimen is especially vital if you have a hectic weekly schedule and struggle to keep to your keto diet.

If you follow the basic suggestions and recommendations in this beginner’s guide, you’ll be well on your way to being a meal prep pro. You could even find yourself food planning more than one meal every day.

Keto meal planning is one of the most excellent strategies to stay in ketosis and meet your macronutrient needs. Check out these simple keto-friendly recipe ideas for more meal prep ideas:

• 300 Low-Carb Recipes to live your keto lifestyle and never look back.

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