Meal-prepping (don't freak out)

In a recent survey by the Soymates editors, a large portion (84%) of respondents said they cook meals at home several nights per week- but over half of that same group reported that they rarely ever meal-plan.

We get it. Not everyone is a type-A organizer, and meal-planning can feel like it's yet another chore you have to do as an adult. HOWEVER: If you get in the habit, you'll not only stop struggling to figure out what to eat on a daily basis, but you can also save a lot of money by actually eating all of the food that you buy. And the best part? It's all guaranteed to be food that you like, because you're the one in charge!

There are tons of different meal-planning lists, apps, and tools out there. We like using these "What To Eat" and "All Out Of" planners from Knock Knock (not affiliate links), because you can update during the week as needed, rather than having to sit down and plan your entire grocery trip all at once. You can also design your own system if you're feeling creative.

Here's what our process usually looks like, along with some tips on how to make your meal-prepping easy and stress-free:

• First, we only plan a week out. That way, we can plan for foods that are in season (more affordable and fresh!), and won't have produce going bad in our fridge. 
• We start each week's process around the middle of the week, typically looking at local grocery store ads on Wednesday or Thursday to see what will be on sale that weekend. If it's Farmer's Market season, we'll also check their sites to see what we can expect at the market on Saturday morning. 
• With these ads, we choose items that are on sale, but will also help in several meals. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen items that can be spread across meals, and bulk items (super important!). 
• While meal planning, we use both of the above notepads: "What to Eat" helps us plan what we eat, and when. "All Out Of" helps us make sure we actually have all of the necessary ingredients to make the selected recipes. 
• Where do get our recipes? Some are old favorites, some are our original creations, some are from some of our other favorite food blogs (shoutout to Cookie + Kate, Skinnytaste, Damn Delicious, and Gimme Some Oven), and some are from cookbooks- loving Plant Based Protein and the Vegetable Butcher (a local 614 book!). 
• Do we always make the recipes as stated? Nope. We typically change them to meet our meat-free lifestyle, as well as swap out ingredients due to seasonal availability. 
• Grocery day! Only put things in your cart that are on your list...or at least try. Sometimes things slip in the cart, like the apple fritters that snuck in yesterday (THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS). But it will help you with not overbuying and keeping the bill low. 
• Have a bad day? Recipe not go as planned? It happens. Sometimes we go grab food out. Sometimes we use back-up boxed mac and cheese- we know you secretly eat it, too. Moderation is good. Don't feel obligated to follow every single detail of the plan as you go through the week.
• What do we do after cooking? COMPOST. But that's for another blog post. 

Other Cookbooks We Like:

• Simply in Season
• The Tucci Cookbook
• The Vegetarian Cookbook
• Pancakes, Crêpes, Waffles, and French Toast
• The Frugal Foodie Cookbook
• Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Annual Recipes
• Inspiralized

All recommendations are strictly based on our own home kitchen use, and are not compensated by the companies or individuals they mention. (More info here).

How do you like to meal-plan? Leave a comment below or hit us up on Soy-cial Media!

Tags

Basics

Breakfast

Entrées

Dessert