Does meal prep save money?

If you are still wondering does meal prep saves money, I am here to tell you that not only will meal prep save you a lot of money but it will also save you a lot of time. Slaving in the kitchen day in and day out can get really tiresome really fast and if you find yourself wanting to change something, meal prepping is just the thing for you!

Instead of making some quick lunches, eating takeout or fast food every day, you can try meal prepping over the weekend or whenever you have a bit more free time. No longer will you need to stress about getting home in time to cook a meal – your meals will be ready to serve in only a matter of minutes!

If this all sounds exciting and you want to give it a try, keep reading and learn more about all the benefits of meal prepping and how it can help you make your life a lot easier!

Quick Answer: Does Meal Prep Save Money?

Meal prep surely does save you a lot of money – you will not have to rely on takeout or going out to eat. At the same time, it will help you save a lot of time and cut down on the stress. The bottom line is that meal prep is something you have to practice if you want to ease up your life!

What Is Meal Prepping All About?

Before I talk about the money and time you can save by meal prepping, I would like to talk about what meal prepping is. The concept of meal prepping refers to making dishes or meals days before you eat them. You can refrigerate or freeze them to keep them fresh for a while longer.

This concept of meal prepping is very popular with people who work long hours or are generally very busy in their everyday lives. It can be parents of younger children, health workers, or any person out there – we all get busy at some point.

Why is this important? Well, meal prepping can reduce the stress about cooking every day and getting home in time to fix lunch or dinner. Now, you can rely on meals that you cook beforehand. This will also help you in those days when you just do not feel like cooking.

The best part about meal prepping? That is undoubtedly the money and time factors. Today, I will share with you how you can lower the cost of your meals and still keep them as delicious as ever!

Let’s see this video to know more:

Can Meal Prep Really Lead To A Healthier Diet?!

When wondering if meal prep saves money or time, you must also be thinking if it is good for your health to prepare food like this. The answer is yes – even though in the past there was some stigma around this topic, it turns out that meal prepping is safe!

Nutrition experts have found that people who meal prep end up having a much healthier diet. This is because they can control the size of their portions and they can also refrain from eating unhealthy food.

One of the things that you might notice when researching meal prep ideas is that these meals contain healthy ingredients. They are usually combinations of vegetables, rice, meat, and all types of food that you would normally want to consume throughout the week.

It has also been said that people who meal prep are less likely to become overweight as they pay more attention to nutritional guidelines. I believe that this should be enough to convince you that meal prepping is at least worth trying out!

Can You Actually Lose Weight With Meal Prep?!

The best part about meal prepping is that it does not only help you save a lot of money and time, but it will also help you shed a few pounds.

Maybe you have been trying to lose some weight for a while and you have found yourself stressing over what to eat or when to prepare your meals. If this is something that sounds familiar to you, that meal prepping can get you over the hump and on the right path to reach your desired weight.

When you meal prep, you can prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the entire week beforehand. This will help stop junk food or any other kind of food cravings since you will already have a cooked meal.

Then, you will not have to turn to takeout and junk food so often, which is another good thing. Last but not least, you can prepare a whole bunch of different meals that will give your body a diversity of vitamins, minerals, and all the ingredients you need to be healthy.

You should also keep in mind that not having to stress as much about cooking will also help you lose those unwanted pounds. So, it seems like meal prepping is just what you need to become healthier and get in better shape!

Let’s see this video to know more:

5 Reasons You Have to Consider Meal Prepping

I have covered some of the basics about how meal prep saves money, time, and helps you lose weight. However, these are not the only facts that you need to know about meal prepping – there are a bunch of other benefits from it that are equally as important.

Here are the key reasons why you have to consider meal prepping!

No Over-Eating or Under-Eating

Portion control is one of the benefits of meal prepping. This will help you avoid over-eating or under-eating as you can plan a healthy portion and stick to it for that day.

Usually, it is said that women need around 2000 calories every day to avoid starving or adding on unnecessary weight, while men need around 2500 calories every day. If you are planning on meal prepping, you can easily check how many calories are in your meal and make sure that you stay within the limit.

If you want to lose weight, you can also go 500 calories below the recommended number of daily calories so that you can lose about a pound every week. This will make meal prepping even more fun for you and it will prompt you to make food combinations you have never tried before!

No Food Temptations Of Any Kind

I am guilty of often having one of those days when a burger is the only thing on my mind and I bet you have them too. With meal prepping, you can avoid giving in to temptations like this since you will have a healthy meal just a few minutes from being ready for serving.

Instead of waiting in line at the drive-thru or waiting for take-out for hours, you will turn to the meals you have already prepared even more often than you think. So, you can stop your food temptations and stay healthy by meal prepping.

Less Stress

Stress can be causing your headaches or even weight gain. In the busy world that we live in, the last thing a person needs is to worry or stress about food. If you want to lower food-related stress, meal prep is the thing for you.

Imagine – you could be stressing about the amount of time it will take to prepare a meal, or whether you have the ingredients or not, or maybe even having to run to the store if you found an ingredient went bad or expired in the meantime. This can all be avoided if you just meal prep.

Meal prepping will make you feel more relaxed generally in your life – and who would not want that?!

Improves The Health

Instead of eating something that is too greasy or too spicy, you can prepare healthy meals for all family members if you start meal prepping.

With meal prepping, you prepare the food yourself and therefore control what you eat. You can determine the amount of protein or grain you eat in a day, or you can focus more on fruits and vegetables in your diet.

Not only that, but you can prepare the meals using air-fryers, cookware of higher quality, or even healthier ingredients in general. For example, I love using avocado oil for cooking because it is very healthy and it gives the food a nicer flavor. You can also do this if you start meal prepping yourself!

Saves Money and Time

Last but not least, I will stress again that you have a lot of time and money when you meal prep. If you try to do the math about the money you spend on ordering in or going out to eat, you will see that you spend much more money than you think on food only.

This is why I advise you to start meal prepping – it can change your life for the better!

How Much Does It Cost To Meal Prep For A Week?

Meal prep does help save you a lot of money that you might otherwise spend without even realizing it. A lot of people throw out food regularly, others spend a ton on eating out.

With meal prepping, you can buy your groceries in a bunch and initially save money then. Usually, it will take anywhere from $60 to $100 to buy enough groceries for the entire week. Then, cooking at one time only instead of cooking the entire week three times a day will help you save on electricity.

In the end, you will end up spending only a few dollars on each meal which is a lot less than eating out or ordering in. Weekly, you will spend some $70 or $100 which is not expensive at all!

Does Meal Prepping Really Save Money?

If you are still not convinced that meal prep can save you some money, I will mention even more ways in which you can be throwing away money without even realizing it. Let’s get to it!

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  You do not throw away food

  
  

It happens often that you buy something and end up not using it immediately, so it either goes bad or it expires. This means that you spent money on something that you eventually had to throw out.

If you commit to meal prepping, you will not find yourself throwing away food as you will have a plan about exactly what you want to buy and what you do not need. Once you prepare the meals, you will freeze them and keep them like that until the time comes for them to be eaten.

There are so many meals that you can freeze and eat after some time. Have you ever thought if you can freeze your favorite potato salad? Well, you can actually make it a part of your meal prep plan for the week and freeze it.

You can include all your favorite meals and ingredients in your meal prep plan so that you never get tired of it! It sounds nice when you put it like this, does it not?!

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  You do not order in or eat out

  
  

You can assume that a household spends a couple thousand dollar on eating out or ordering in every year. At the same time, people who meal prep actually save up on money by cooking at home.

When you go out to eat, you have to also take into consideration the gas money that you spend to get to the restaurant, the new clothes that you could buy for the occasion, and so much more.

I am not saying that you should never go out to eat or treat yourself to takeout, but you can save so much money on doing it only on special occasions instead of doing it every week because you have to.

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  You get more creative with what you have

  
  

Of course, meal prep does not mean that you will have to eat the same thing over and over again. You can always get creative and combine ingredients that you otherwise would not have combined.

It can all be a fun process of cooking and figuring out what your taste buds like and what not – meal prepping is your chance to experiment and fall in love with food.

How Can You Save Money By Meal Prepping?

If you start thinking about the amount of money you spend eating in restaurants or ordering in, you will see that meal prep saves more money than you thought it did!

A lot of the restaurants, if not all, have such a markup on the food that you overpay whatever you order. If your meal costs $15 in the restaurant, you can make the same – if not even a better version – for only $5 at home.

When you add it all up, it turns out that meal prep can save you at least $1000 annually. I believe that this should be enough to convince you to give meal prepping a chance.

How Can You Save On Groceries By Meal Prepping?

You can save on groceries by buying locally, buying fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market, and buying the ingredients in a bunch.

A friendly tip is to also visit the farmer’s market before it closes because you can get the best deals then. Some of the sellers want to sell all their products so that they do not have to return them and you can use this to get them at a discounted price. You can thank me for this later!

Let’s see this video to know more:

How To Store Your Meal Prep?

Once you realize you can save money and time by meal prepping, you will need to learn how to properly meal prep when you get to it.

First of all, your storage techniques are very important. You need to know that you can store things in the fridge only if you plan to eat them in a couple of days. Otherwise, you will need to store the meals in the freezer, where you can keep them for up to three months.

Another storage tip is that you should use glass containers whenever you can. Plastic containers are also good, while you can also give silicone containers of zip-bags a chance.

Arrange everything nicely so you can do the most with the space you have. It could be a good idea to invest in a nice fridge, maybe one with double doors or a French door – but make sure to do your research before you choose which one you want for your kitchen!

Bonus Tips For Meal Prepping

I hope that you learned how meal prepping can help make your life better, less stressful, while saving you a lot of money and time. It does not take a lot of effort to get started with meal prepping, but I would like to share some of my must-know tips for all those who are just starting!

Remember to keep it simple and do not overthink it – meal prepping should be fun. Then, you can make your schedule, use the meals you like most, and use recipes you can depend on.

Give meal prepping a try – I think you will love it as much as I do! Let me know in the comment section if this guide helped you learn something new and if you are ready to start meal prepping now.