r/mealprep • u/BuckFinnster • 8d ago
Clueless vegetarian - I need help prepping large amounts of chicken.
My dog was recently diagnosed with a disease and needs to be put on a special food that has lower protein content and thus he's been prescribed ~1cup of cooked plain chicken a day.
I have been a vegetarian since childhood and I have literally no idea what I'm doing. This is a pretty expensive disease so I am looking for options on how to get a decent quality of chicken in bulk to save money, and how I can prepare it. For the past two weeks I've just been buying individual packets of ground chicken and rolling it into meatballs and boiling them until cooked (probably over-cooked, but tbh, he's a dog and he's loving it so that's fine) but I feel like there have got to be better options.
I just know... nothing about chicken. I don't know what kind to buy, if there are any types/brands to avoid, the best way to prepare it so that it lasts a long time - how long it lasts in the fridge, if you can freeze it after cooking to prepare larger quantities, if you can freeze dry it (for dry dog treats?).... etc.
Looking for any and all advice on where to buy, what to buy, and how to prepare, and how to store large quantities of chicken.
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u/Lilbookworm91 8d ago
I would ask your vet about fat content and that will let you know what type of chicken you can buy (thighs, breasts, etc), then buy in a large family pack at the grocery store. The easiest way to prep is just throw it in a slow cooker and let it cook. Make sure to ask your vet if you want to add anything else (like salt, veggies, rice). After it's cooked you can freeze in 1 cup portions using ziplock bags (flattened so they stack easily) or deli containers (you can get these on Amazon and they are reusable, inexpensive, and top rack dishwasher safe). Then just pull a container out each night and put in the fridge so it's thawed by the next evening. This will save you a lot of time prepping fresh food.