The Ultimate Guide: Secrets to Budget-Friendly Meal Prep

In today's fast-paced world, eating healthy while sticking to a budget can be challenging. However, with some smart meal prep strategies, you can save time, reduce food waste, and enjoy delicious meals without overspending. Below are the top cost-effective meal prep hacks that will help you make the most of your ingredients and simplify your weekly meal planning.

Our Favourite Meal Prep Hacks

1. Plan Your Meals

Start each week with a meal plan. Decide what dishes you want to make and create a detailed shopping list based on that plan. This will help you avoid impulse purchases and reduce food waste by ensuring you only buy what you need.

2. Invest in Quality Storage

Airtight containers and freezer bags are essential for keeping your prepped ingredients fresh. Investing in a good set of storage solutions will ensure your meals stay tasty throughout the week and prevent spoilage.

3. Portion Control

When batch cooking, immediately portion out your meals into individual containers. This not only saves time during the week but also helps with portion control, ensuring you don’t overeat or waste food.

4. Utilise Freezer Space

Make the most of your freezer by storing portions of cooked grains, proteins, and even some veggies. Freezing these items in individual portions allows you to have ready-to-use components for your meals, especially on days when you’re short on time. Or you can purchase our pre-prepared meals like Butter Chicken or Chicken & Corn Soup and divide them into individual portions before freezing. This hack ensures you always have quick, delicious meals on hand, especially for those nights when cooking from scratch isn’t an option.

5. Use Versatile Ingredients

Choose ingredients that can be used across multiple meals. For instance, roasted vegetables can be added to salads, mixed into wraps, or served as a side dish. A batch of roasted chickpeas, for example, can be used in salads, wraps, or as a crunchy snack. This reduces the number of different items you need to buy and helps prevent waste.

6. Prep Ingredients, Not Entire Meals

Instead of preparing entire meals, focus on prepping key ingredients that can be mixed and matched throughout the week. Cook large batches of grains, chop a variety of vegetables, and prepare proteins. This approach gives you flexibility and variety without extra cooking time each day.

7. Label and Date Everything

Always label and date your prepped ingredients and meals before storing them. This helps you keep track of what needs to be used first, preventing food from going bad and reducing waste.

8. Blanch and Freeze Veggies

Blanching vegetables before freezing them helps maintain their texture and colour. This is a great way to preserve fresh produce bought in bulk, ensuring you always have fresh-tasting veggies on hand.

9. Make Use of Your Slow Cooker or Instant Pot

Slow cookers and Instant Pots are perfect for batch cooking with minimal effort. You can prepare large quantities of beans, grains, or soups in one go, then portion them out for later use.

10. Create Salad Jars

Use our Lentil Salad or Herby Quinoa & Broccoli Salad w/ Green Tahini Dressing as a base. Add extras like tomato, cabbage, avocado or your protein if choice. Finish with greens and sprouts on top to create a delicious, quick salad jar for lunch on the go. Layer dressing at the bottom and greens on top to keep everything fresh.

11. Freeze Herbs in Olive Oil

Fresh herbs can spoil quickly. To preserve them, chop your herbs and freeze them in ice cube trays filled with olive oil. These herb cubes can be added to your cooking or thawed to bring fresh flavour to your salads.

12. Double Up Recipes

Whenever you’re cooking, double the recipe and freeze half for later. This hack saves time on future meal prep days and ensures you always have a backup meal ready to go.

13. Pre-Marinate Proteins

Marinate proteins like chicken, tofu, or fish before freezing them. As they thaw, they’ll soak in the flavours, making your meal prep even easier when it’s time to cook.

14. Stock Up on Pantry Staples

Keep a well-stocked pantry with items like grains, beans/lentils, oils, spices, nuts, and seeds. These ingredients have a long shelf life, can be added to salads for extra protein and crunch, and allow you to whip up delicious meals with minimal effort.

15. Plan for Leftovers

Intentionally cook more than you need for one meal so you can repurpose leftovers. For example, roasted vegetables from dinner can be tossed into a salad the next day, or leftover grains can be turned into a quick stir-fry. This approach not only saves time but also ensures nothing goes to waste.

By incorporating these meal prep hacks into your routine, you can enjoy fresh, delicious meals every day while staying within your budget. Whether you’re an experienced meal prepper or just getting started, these tips will help you make the most of your ingredients, reduce waste, and keep your meals exciting all week long. Happy prepping!