Want to meal prep but don’t have time? Yeah friend, I’ve been there! Today I’m giving you my 5 best tips on how to find time to meal prep regardless of how busy you are!
1. Time your prep!
The first thing I always recommend is actually knowing how long prepping takes you. Whether it’s just for the week or for the month actually taking a timer and knowing a roundabout number will show you how much time you need to have.
I find that many people are shocked that it really doesn’t take that much time to prep, it just feels like it in the moment.
Now if you are new to prep you might not have a solid process so it may be taking you a bit longer- we are talking about that too 😉 Don’t worry!
2. Start small or break it up!
When you first start doing any kind of food prep starting out doing short preps can be a great way to dip your toe in.
If you need to do a longer prep (like I do with Freezer Meal Guides) then I’m always a big fan of breaking it up!
The Freezer Meal Guides take about 4 hours to make 20 meals. At this point, I almost always break up those preps into two, two-hour sessions because I enjoy them more that way! (Yes I do show you in the step-by-step instructions where you can stop if you want to do the same!)
I am a BIG proponent of doing things the way that works best for your family, long preps don’t work well for my life right now. So I don’t do them!
Finding a time that works for you is important. Even if you prep for 15 minutes and call it done, that is still a step in the right direction.
3. Be efficient
When you are pressed for time being efficient is KEY! When I do a weekly prep session I will literally tackle all the things I can at one time.
Let me give you a little example. In one hour I can prep a TON of food for our week like this:
- Cook rice and Chicken for lunches in Instant Pot #1
- Boil eggs for salads and snacks in Instant Pot #2 ( or on the stovetop)
- Mix then Bake mini muffins (with hidden veggies) for the kid’s breakfasts
- Cut up veggies and clean fruit
This is just a tiny example of a typical week for us and it helps SO MUCH!
If you are interested in short weekly meal prep like this for dinners The Budget Meal Guide could be your best friend.
4. Prioritize the important stuff.
This one is a little tough because it doesn’t fit every person’s situation. BUT for me I know I didn’t have enough time for meal prep because I simply did not prioritize it.
Once I started putting meal prep near the top of my list it got done most of the time, but other things did have to be put off till later. In the end, meal prep saved me time overall it actually helps me get MORE done.
Your priorities are going to vary based on what is going on in your life right now. Sometimes meal prep just can’t happen. But when you can prioritize it, it makes a MAJOR difference in the way your week or month goes!
5. Set a schedule and stick to it.
Last but certainly not least is to make a schedule (if you want to learn more about how I use schedules check out this post)!!
Pick a time every week that you are going to meal prep. Make sure it is a time that you don’t have a lot of barriers. (As in things that might stop or distract you, like children).
I always do my monthly freezer meal prep after my kids go to sleep. When they are big enough to not slow me down they will be pitching in, but for now I like getting it done fast.
My weekly preps are done when they are doing quiet time or my husband can be in charge. Don’t be afraid to switch this up as you figure out what works and doesn’t work for your family.
If you want even more tips on finding more time in your day check out my post right here.