The meal prep It is a very popular method in recent years that allows divide and prepare the meals of the week in advance in a balanced, organized and fast way so you do not have to be too much in the kitchen during the day. Just get busy a bit 'on the weekend and then have 5 lunches and dinners available for the days to come.

The menu day by day

First, sit down and set up what would you like to eat from Monday to Friday, days when you work and do not have time to think too much about the kitchen.
On Saturday, then, make the food plan of the coming week balancing all the menus so as to have always present all the nutrients that you can not do without.
The vegetables will be present in every meal, the fruit twice a day, lor yogurt, milk, cereals or porridge for breakfast and some snacks.
Meat, fish, eggs, legumes and cheeses they are to be distributed in a balanced way, while i carbohydrates like bread, cereals and pasta will be present in two daily meals.
The breakfast will obviously be prepared day by day, or the night before for the next day if you love porridge or pancakes and the same thing applies to snacks that could consist of a fruit, a handful of dried fruit or a yogurt and chocolate dark. So do it buffer stock of all these things.
As for the lunches and dinners, instead, organize by setting out exactly what you will eat on Monday, Tuesday and the following days and try to respect the plan.
So, for example, Monday at lunch you will eat a cold salad of whole grains with tuna and zucchini and a salmon dinner with steamed broccoli. on Tuesday for lunch of grilled vegetables with grilled chicken and bread and for dinner red rice with hummus and Brussels sprouts, and so on.

Free days

Saturday and Sunday are the days that you have to keep out of the meal prep both because in the weekend you can also indulge in some mud, and because what you cook on Sunday night is unlikely to arrive in good condition on the following Sunday.
And then, if you have a lunch or dinner out during the week organize yourself accordingly because those meals should not be covered by the program.

Shopping

Once the menus have been established, make a shopping list and buy what you need.
Go to the supermarket only on Saturday (or Sunday), or in any case one day only per week.
Avoid buying anything else, either for not having useless things that you probably never consume, either for not eating and spending (and wasting) more than necessary.

How to organize for the preparation and sharing of meals

You could buy some containers to divide your meals, but we do not want to force you to organize yourself to this point. It will also be good to simply have a mental organization for dividing into portions of the things you have prepared. Do you have a baked vegetable pan available? Divide it into four portions.
Did you cook 500g of cereal? You will have from 5 to 8 servings.
You can put everyone away the meals you will consume in the office and prepare them already portioned so as not to have thoughts during the week, but remember to do not add seasonings of no kind except at the time of eating the meal.
Leave everything you need for dinner in the fridge or freezer, not necessarily divided by portions.
But how are these menus cooked? We explain it, ingredient by ingredient.

Vegetables

Cook them all in large quantities and then keep them in the fridge.
You can prepare grilled vegetables such as zucchini and aubergines, baked vegetables with pumpkin, Brussels sprouts and potatoes, and then you can divide broccoli, cabbage and carrots into different floors of a steamer. You will have so many contours for 5 days.
If you prepare flans with eggs and cheeses, cook them immediately and then put them in the fridge if you intend to consume them in the short or in the freezer if they are destined for the last days of the week.

Cereals

Precisely because it will be difficult to preserve the already cooked pasta without it becoming glue, we advise you from Monday to Friday to consume Whole grains, more practical and with a longer storage time.
You can cook them individually or make a mix of barley, spelled, rice and whatever you prefer.
Once cooked in large quantities, cool them immediately with running water to stop cooking and lower the temperature, drain well and then store in the refrigerator. They remain good for up to 5 days.
Whole grains should always be accompanied by vegetables for a perfect balance of nutrients, but you can also combine them with meat, fish, cheese and vegetables.

Meat and fish

The meat can be cooked and stored for up to three days so if you do not eat it immediately freeze it.
If you want to prepare a stew or other very seasoned seconds, do it, but then freeze them.
What we recommend is certainly the turkey (or chicken) because once cooked it is well preserved and you can add it in many dishes. Also there salted meat it's a great idea and with cold cuts like bresaola and turkey always go on the safe side.
The fish should not be frozen, so, once cooked, consume it as soon as you can.
A slice of salmon or swordfish baked or in a pan is ideal. Obviously avoid shellfish and molluscs. Smoked salmon is a great solution if you do not want to cook fish because it is preserved for a long time.

legumes

Excellent protein alternative to meat, fish, eggs and cheeses.
Buy them if you do not want to cook them, but choose those stored in the glass jar, drain and wash them very well before use.
They are excellent both for preparing hummus-like creams that you can use to stuff a sandwich, or added to cereals for a cold salad. Avoid soups, or keep them in the freezer.

Eggs and cheeses

Boiled eggs are an excellent solution, but be careful with conservation. They can stay for a maximum of two days in the refrigerator as well as the omelette.
The cheeses are instead perfect for the last days of the week because they are kept longer.
So buy some feta, Parmigiano and also ricotta that can be consumed even at breakfast.

Bread

We advise you to buy bread once a week and to portion it.
A little 'you can consume it immediately and a little' will be frozen. Just put it a moment in the oven to make it return fragrant as just bought.

Sauces

If you can not do without pasta prepare the condiments in advance.
A ragù for example can be divided into portions and then stored in the refrigerator or freezer and the same applies to a tuna sauce or pesto for example.
The pasta obviously you have to cook it at the moment because storing it without seasoning is impossible. However, you could think of a baked pasta like lasagna and cannelloni. In that case prepare it, cook it only until half cooked and then freeze it. When you want to consume it, just go back to the oven to finish cooking.

Did we convince you? You are ready to prepare your menus.
Scroll through the gallery to find out more ideas on how to prepare your meal prep