How to Create a Nourishing Weekly Meal Prep Rhythm

If you’re wanting more peace at home with less stress, food waste, and overspending, building a simple weekly meal prep rhythm might be just what you need. This isn’t about perfect planning or cooking for hours. It’s about preparing a few key things that will really help you stay ahead of meals and snacks for that week. This leads to less stress, better food budgeting, and less food waste overall!

With a little intention, you can create a rhythm that meets your unique family season, feeds your people well, and brings more calm into your kitchen. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a professional chef to do this. You also do not need hours on the weekend either. Spending 30-60 minutes to meal prep for your family will bless your whole week.

For more ideas in meal planning, check out A Simple Approach to Family Meal Planning

Start With What You Have

When starting your weekly meal prep, start with what you already have in your pantry and refrigerator. This will ensure you’re not wasting food and you’re being smart with your food budget. Being frugal as a homemaker is just part of the gig! When you keep simple, nutritious ingredients on hand, you should be able to come up with 2-3 things to meal prep pretty easily.

After you have scanned your pantry, these ingredients will be your guide for what you will be prepping this week. Get creative with what you have if you have to!

Simple Meal Prep Ideas for a Nourishing Week

• Cook a batch of protein (like chicken or ground beef). I always try and make extra if I can. The dishes are already dirty, might as well!
• Prep a favorite snack (granola bars, power balls, smoothie pops)
• Throw together a casserole for easy lunches or baked oatmeal for quick breakfasts
• Start a pot of broth with veggie scraps and leftover bones
• Chop and/or roast vegetables for easy sides throughout the week
• Optional: prep something fun like cookie dough! I like to double my chocolate chips cookies recipe so I can bake some right away, and freeze the rest for quick treats throughout the week.
• Make a double batch of muffins or waffles for quick breakfasts.

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A Peek Into My Sunday Meal Prep

Once again, this will be entirely dependent on what I have left in my pantry and refrigerator that week. In this season, I am grocery shopping every week to feed my growing children, so by the end of the week, I really am down to kitchen staples and whatever is left in my deep freezer.

This week I was able to make:

• 6 pounds of chicken tenderloins
• Peanut butter powerballs
• 2 loaves of yeast bread

Part of finding your rhythm is also about the order in which you meal prep so that you’re efficient. This week I started the chicken in the oven first. Then I made my dough for the bread. So then while the chicken cooked and the dough rose, I was able to quickly make the power balls.

Now that I have protein, bread, and a snack for the week, I will spread those out throughout my weekly meal plan, taking note to choose meals that use up the chicken and to have eggs with toast or sandwiches to use up the bread. My children’s snacks will be fresh fruit and power balls the whole week.

For more kitchen ideas, check out 35 Practical Kitchen Tips for Homemakers

Grab our free 100 Weekly Meal Prep Ideas to help get started!

Why I Meal Prep (Even If It’s Just a Little)

There’s this saying. “Your future self will thank you.” This is why I meal prep! It makes future me less stressed and less frazzled when I am able to go into my week with even just a a few things prepared.

Don’t let all these people on social media fool you into thinking you can only meal prep if you have hours every weekend to reserve for it. Or that you can’t do it if you don’t have a bunch of fancy containers. You also may not like to eat days of leftovers! I understand! You only need 30 minutes to get ahead of the week, and to make a few things that will serve and bless your family! Thanks for being here!

I hope this resource blesses you and your family this year!

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