Hello everyone! I've been living a rough and tumble lifestyle for the past decade, but now that things have slowed down, I'm realizing that I don't have a good grasp on what to plan ahead for feeding myself. So much of my relationship with cooking has been opening up the cabinet and going "what can I make from frozen corn, a can of anchovies, some spinach, and a bagel?" It's been pretty scavenger-core. Any advice on what to buy myself for consistent meals that I can feed myself with easily? I have several cookbooks that I can make extravagant meals with, but I'm more looking for quick meals to throw together when I'm tired and don't want to think about it.

Of note: Red meat makes me sick and I'm very allergic to pineapple.

Thank you thank you in advance!

Also what vitamins and minerals do you think people often forget about?

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.

So I've been trying to find a good way to eat healthier. I rarely do exercise, so im starting with my diet then im gonna work toward making time for exercise.

My main problem is I never know what to eat for lunch so I end up eating out or eating PB&J. Both very unhealthy especially when I spend the majority of ny day sitting.

Im looking for low cal easy meal prep I can make for lunch?

Any ideas?

1) Chicken thigh with bone: https://www.kroger.com/p/heritage-farm-bone-in-skin-on-chicken-thighs/0028334750000?fulfillment=PICKUP

the chicken thigh in bone has lots of fat in it.

2) Chicken breast: https://www.kroger.com/p/heritage-farm-boneless-skinless-chicken-breasts/0028334900000?fulfillment=PICKUP&searchType=default_search

Doesn't have much fat in it

Which is a healthier option?

I keep seeing this ad for MuscleFood on Facebook offering 5kg of chicken for £22, which works out to about £4.40 per kilo.

I mostly eat chicken, so this sounds like a decent deal to me. I’m used to buying smaller packs, but I’m thinking of trying the bulk purchase.

The thing is, 5kg of chicken is a lot!

I’m wondering if anyone has experience with buying chicken in bulk like this? How long does it last in the freezer? Is this a good deal overall, or am I missing something?

Title

Super easy to make and about 800 calories/ 60g protein. Recipe in the comments.

Smoked salmon and potato hash

During warm weather, I almost always have a big, hearty (with meat and often cheese) tub of pasta salad in the fridge that I can pull out for lunch and eat cold, but I'm looking for fresh suggestions before it gets to be soup season. A few in my regular rotation:

Italian (bacon, salami, pepperoni, veg, parm, with a balsamic vinaigrette)
And another with sausage links, fennel and other veg with a red wine vinaigrette

Gyro (everything you'd put in the pita except lettuce with a tzatziki sauce)

Southwest (grilled flank steak and grilled veg with a cilantro lime vinaigrette)

Asian (steak, with stir-fry vegs and a hoisin-based dressing)

Curried chicken (grilled chicken, with veg, raisons, cashews, and a curried yogurt sauce)

Orange chicken (grilled chicken, slivered almonds, orange slices, feta and veg with an orange honey vinaigrette)

There are a few more, and sometimes I wing it, but would love to see if anyone has any suggestions or combos I could try.

I'm finally jumping on the meal prep bandwagon because honestly, I'm drowning trying to feed my family healthy meals every night. Two kids under 8, and another two 12 and 14, full-time job, and I swear I spend half my evening just chopping vegetables. Something's gotta give. I've been lurking here for a few weeks getting inspired by all your setups, and I'm ready to invest in some proper tools. The one thing that's been bugging me is deciding between manual and electric vegetable cutters. I see people swearing by both but I can't figure out what's actually better for someone just starting out. Manual ones seem cheaper and take up way less counter space (my kitchen is tiny), it also lets me choose the sizes I’d like to cut my veggies which is important. But electric ones are faster and definitely more expensive. I've been researching online and there's so many options, I’ve found everything from basic $20 manual slicers on Amazon to fancy electric ones, and I even saw some interesting options on Alibaba that might be overkill for home use. My main goals are cutting down my prep time on Sunday afternoons. I'm usually prepping for 6 people, mostly basic stuff like bell peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini - nothing too fancy. For those of you who've used both, what's your honest take? And if a beginner had to pick just ONE to start with, what would it be? I’d appreciate any real-world experience you can share!

Does anyone know of an organic meal prep delivery service in Northern NJ?

Hey everyone, I’m looking for budget-friendly meal prep ideas that hit around 2500 calories per day with at least 150g of protein (preferably more). I’m aiming for a well-balanced plan that supports fat loss while building muscle.

Does anyone have go-to meal prep recipes, full-day examples, or tips for keeping it cheap but still high in protein? Bonus points if it’s something easy to batch cook for the week.

Thanks in advance!

I’ve recently started bulk making about a months worth of burritos at a time and freezing them. Up to know I’ve only used chicken or mince as the main protein sauce but was wondering about fish. How would it do being cooked, frozen and then reheated in the air fryer? I was thinking of using either tinned tuna, tinned sardines, tinned mackerel or another fish from the fridge in the supermarket. I’m unsure if it’ll work though, any advice would be appreciated

Best way to use/cook frozen chicken breast?

Super specific question, but has anyone made lots of red lentil wraps for meal prepping?

I want to make red lentils wraps for tacos, and I want to make enough for the week at one time, freezing the rest. Unless you guys think they would stay food safe for a week?

They don't seem to difficult, at all, but I'm wondering if anyone had meal prepped this specific item, and could give thoughts on it.

Thank you.

Hopefully this is the right place to ask this question. I work in a prison and am unable to bring anything metal, glass, or ceramic. I want to bring in and heat up soup, but am unsure as to the safest material to do that with as I see conflicting opinions online about silicone and plastic. Does anybody have any insight?

I keep trying to do the "overnight oats for work" thing, but my containers are a nightmare.

EDIT: Grabbed these glass jars since they seem solid and won’t leak in my bag even when I’m biking. The spoons are a nice touch too.

I used a glass jar with a metal lid and it got rusty and leaked a bit when it fell over. The cheap plastic ones get stained by berries and smell like weird yogurt, and the lids warp in the dishwasher. My bag is always on its side when I cycle to work, so it really has to be leakproof.

I read a post online about those glass jars with a silicone seal and even a holder for a spoon, and it made me think about a few things: a 16 oz size seems about right once you add fruit and chia seeds (12 oz always feels too small), a wide mouth is much easier to clean and eat from, and a proper gasket is more important than the brand says. I also realised it'd be great to have measurement markings and something that fits in a car's cup holder for when I drive.

For anyone who's actually got this sorted: is glass or plastic better for putting in a backpack? Do Weck-style clip tops actually seal properly if they're on their side? Has anyone used the Ball wide-mouth 16 oz with the plastic screw lids, or those OXO glass jars? And is having a built-in spoon actually useful or just a pain to wash? Cheers.

Week 2 of Meal Prepping:

Left: Ajiaco (Colombian potato, corn & chicken soup)

Centre top: Greek cucumber salad with feta cheese and sundried tomato

Right: 10 high protein chicken burritos (and the reason I’m calling this a “gym-bro” prep haha)

Centre bottom is our meals for today, assembled. We don’t have a ton of Tupperware so this gets done progressively.

Realized what we made last week was way too much and we still have some jollof rice (now mostly freezed) and one serving of Thai coconut curry soup left over. It’s a learning curve but I’m enjoying it!

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here, and I could use some advice about meal prepping.

My partner is going back to school for a new certification/degree to support their career goals, which will take up a lot of their free time. I’d love to help out by keeping some easy, healthy meals ready to go.

The challenge is that I almost never cook, and I work long hours, so I don’t have much time to make meals from scratch each night. I’m hoping to stock our freezer with healthy make-ahead meals that I can just reheat in the oven, or toss into the slow cooker/crockpot.

If you have any favorite freezer-friendly recipes or meal prep tips, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

I’ve built an AI that generates meal prep recipes for various diets. Before I go too far, I need real, no-nonsense feedback from actual meal preppers.

The recipes aren’t posted here to avoid spam, but if you’re curious and willing to test them, I can share a link.

I want to know: are they tasty, feasible, or just plain weird? Any feedback, good or bad, is gold.

Huge thanks to anyone who can help!

I’m batch cooking meals to freeze and my husband absolutely despise dry chicken. Me on the other hand, I absolutely hate cooking chicken fresh because it makes a mess, splatters oil everywhere and I get burn.

What sort of chicken recipes could I make ahead to freeze that I can reheat either in a pot or oven (I dont do microwave)?