How can you fuel yourself while balancing a demanding schedule? Two words: meal prepping. Meal prepping means planning, preparing, and packaging meals in advance. One of the best parts about meal prepping is not having to think about what to cook every day. After you get everything ready, you don’t have to worry about making meals throughout the week, making this the perfect solution for someone with a shifty schedule.
Getting started on your meal prep journey can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of experts to give you inspiration.
Love & Lemons
Created by food-focused couple Jeannie and Jack, Love & Lemons highlights nutritious meals that are quick, easy, and built around seasonal fruits and vegetables. This food blog is an excellent resource if you’re looking for meal prep ideas that are quick, easy, and nutritious. This food blog is jam-packed full of tips, strategies, and recipes for simple, healthy, and flavorful meals. (Bonus: Love and Lemons released their latest cookbook in April 2023 and the NSW team LOVES it! Find it here (Canadian link) or here (US link)).
Pinch of Yum
Created by Lindsay, Pinch of Yum is a food blog that is full of fresh, flavorful, and healthy recipes. All of the recipes on this website are approachable and beginner friendly, meaning you can get started without any prior experience! From sheet pan chicken pitas to spicy tofu peanut bowls and everything in between, Pinch of Yum is full of tasty inspiration! Find Lindsay’s round-up of meal prep recipes here. She also opens up free meal plans—with weekly menus, grocery lists, instructions, and prep steps—a few times a year. (We can’t recommend them enough!)
Gimme Some Oven
Created by Ali, a food enthusiast, Gimme Some Oven focuses on recipes that are quick, easy, seasonal, and healthy. If you’re looking for variety, Gimme Some Oven is for you! This food blog has it all, from side dishes to sauces, noodles to tortillas, salads to stews and so much more!
The Girl on Bloor
If you’re a beginner and aren’t sure where to turn, The Girl on Bloor offers a ton of tips, tricks, and recipes in addition to a free five-day challenge that teaches participants how to meal prep with confidence. From making your plan to filling out your grocery list and preparing your meals, Taylor covers all the basics of meal prepping. Featuring appetizers, breakfasts, snacks, drinks, and everything in between, The Girl on Bloor will serve as an endless source of inspiration for all your meal prepping needs.
Downshiftology
If you’re looking to introduce variety and flexibility into your meal prep routine, Downshiftology is for you. This awesome blog (and Youtube channel!) focuses on preparing ingredients as opposed to meals. These prepped ingredients can then be used throughout the week to prepare a variety of meals, ensuring you always have many delicious options to choose from.
Budget Bytes
Budget Bytes is a beginner-friendly resource that offers step-by-step guides and easy-to-follow recipes that are as delicious as they are economical. Recipes are categorized by protein, making it easy to find a recipe that caters to your unique taste, whether it be beef, chicken, or vegetarian protein. The best part about this website is that each recipe is priced by batch, so you can choose recipes that align with your taste and budget.
SweetPotatoSoul
Looking for vegan-friendly recipes that are easy to meal prep and reheat? SweetPotatoSoul is a YouTube channel hosted by Jenné Claiborne that offers several uber-delicious, budget-conscious recipes. Not only will you find content that is dedicated to meal prepping, but you will also find a comprehensive list of simple vegan recipes as well as a beginner’s guide that takes the guesswork out of vegan cooking.
Sweet Peas and Saffron
Sweet Peas and Saffron is a meal prep beginner’s haven. In addition to easy-to-follow recipes, you will be able to find helpful tips and tidbits, like how to best assemble your meals, which containers are best to store your meals, and how long your prepped food will keep. Jam-packed with fresh, decadent recipes, this website has over 26 meal prep categories to choose from, including air fryer, eco-friendly, and slow cooker, to name a few.
Integrating meal prepping into your weekly routine will provide you with the structure and framework you need to make delicious, nutritious meals that help you sustain your shifty schedule. Whether it be batch-roasting vegetables on a sheet pan, or preparing protein in bulk to save money, there is no shortage of cheap meal prep ideas online that will help you take your meal prep game to the next level.
