Meal Prep on the weekends doesn’t have to be hard or take hours! The key is preparing a few staples on the weekend, (or whenever you have time) to ease food prep in your busiest moments during the week. I rarely prepare full meals ahead of time. Instead, I have a routine down that takes me about one hour every weekend, which helps my week go much smoother! Here’s what my one hour prep usually looks like on the weekend!

1. Every other week I make a double batch of my Dashing Dish no bake protein balls (or a protein snack of some sort.) I store one batch in the fridge, and one in the freezer to pull out when I need a healthy snack, treat, or even breakfast in a pinch!

2. I wash and cut (if necessary) produce so it’s ready to snack on or add to a meal during the week. I wash produce in 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar. I let it soak for about 5-10 minutes, then rinse and store in a glass container.

3. I boil pasta to aldente, rinse with cold water, and drizzle with avocado oil. I use the pasta throughout the week to serve as a side with meals, or add to a recipe.

4. I pack lunches for Maddie and Sean for the week, (usually PB&J on Daves Killer Bread, with fruit and a Dashing Dish treat).

5. I make breakfast sandwiches which can also be frozen, and heated up to take on the go for Seans breakfast.

6. I hard boil eggs for a quick protein snack, breakfast, or to make egg salad for lunch.

7. I typically also make a soup or chili in the crockpot, and make crockpot shredded chicken (or grill chicken when it’s warmer out) to add to meals for the week.

I get all of this done in about 1-2 hours, by multitasking! I set alarms so I know how long things need to cook for, and move on to make the next thing! It has become really seamless because i've been doing it for so long, although sometimes the weekends are so full I dont have time to do more than make breakfast sandwiches and lunches. I give myself grace, but I do try to prioritize meal planning because I find it makes my week so much easier!

If you need help on where to get started, check out our meal plans, which is a great place to start! Happy planning! xo Katie