As an adult, you are generally short on time, but you need food to keep your body fueled and your mind at peak performance. Manage your time and eat well by meal prepping! Meal prep is simply the process of preparing meals ahead of time. This can mean anything from cooking a batch of food to portioning out ingredients so that they’re ready to be cooked when you have time.

Meal prep offers a lot of benefits, like saving time, saving money, and reducing waste. You will need food storage containers, ingredients, and recipes. If you are new to meal prepping, start small. Start with one or two meals, and then gradually add as you get comfortable with the process.

1. Plan ahead. Schedule out some time to prep: grocery store run, cooking (if necessary), “packing” your meals, and–everyone’s favorite–dishes.
2. Choose a recipe. What kind of food do you like to eat? Find a recipe that you will look forward to eating and tastes good cold or warmed up. Maybe look for recipes that focus on in-season produce.
3. Gather ingredients. After you have found your recipe, gather your ingredients. Take into account how many servings the recipe yields. If you are hoping to make multiple meals, make sure you have enough food.
4. Prep ingredients. Chop veggies, measure spices, and do anything else you can to make the actual cooking process easier.
5. Cook in batches. After you make your food, separate out into proper portions and freeze excess in portions too.

Here are a few recipes we think are easy choices to make and prep a week of lunches:

• Italian Pasta Salad
• One Pan Chicken Veggie
• Pizza Roll Up Bento
• Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
• English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich