One of the biggest trends right now in the food world is meal prep. If you’re new to meal prep, the basic idea is that you shop, prepare (usually on one designated day), and then pack multiple meals that are easy to assemble throughout the week. Meal prep saves time, money, and a bit of your sanity! From lunch and dinner to breakfast and snacks, meal prep is perfect for busy people who crave homemade meals with convenience, good nutrition, and great flavor.
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I’m not a meal prep guru, so I turned to Toby Amidor, RD this week to get us started. Toby is the author of The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook: Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook, Prep, Grab, and Go. I’m giving away a copy, so scroll down for instructions on how to enter!
Drawing inspiration from her grandmother, Toby’s cookbook is infused with step-by-step guide for grocery shopping, cooking multiple meals all on the same day, and storage dos and don’ts. Together, we share our favorite cook-ahead recipes including Tuna Nicoise Salad and tips for using up leftovers in crepes, tacos, soups, and salads.
“Always start your meal prep with the slow cooker.”
– Toby Amidor
Giveaway: The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook
Are you a meal prepping guru or a meal prep wannabe? Toby is giving away a copy of her cookbook to one lucky winner. (U.S. only, please.) To enter to win, post a comment at the bottom of this page, and tell me why you’d like to win a copy of Toby’s cookbook and/or your best meal prepping strategy.
I’ll pick a winner at random on February 7th at noon ET.
- Toby defines meal prepping for us.
- Learn about the benefits of meal prepping.
- Hear all about the ways your kids can get involved in the meal prep process.
- Toby shares how her grandmother inspired her to write the cookbook.
- Meal prep can help you organize more than dinner. Hear about best recipes to make ahead.
- Re-use what you make ahead for multiple meals.
- Make a shopping list in the same order you shop at the grocery store.
- The connection between meal prep and healthy eating.
- Make sure you have well-balanced recipes chosen before prep day.
- Learn a revolutionary new way to hard boil eggs. The secret is in the steam.
- Toby’s kids love so many recipes in her books!
- Toby’s recipe for Tuna Nicoise Salad.
- Meal prepping is a life-changer.
Links:
My email: [email protected]
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Thanks for this topic meal prep is something I always have good intentions with but feel so overwhelmed I never really know where to start and I’m a fellow dietitian with 2 demanding kiddos with that 5:00 pm meltdown making dinner is so crazy! Would love this book!
I would love to win a copy because I’ve always wanted to do meal prep. I tried once or twice but I need guidance. I’m an almost daily shopper and I hate that. It costs more, it takes more time, it’s more stressful etc. I’m having a baby this summer and I really need to stop shopping daily.
It sure sounds like Toby’s book would be perfect for your growing family! Thanks for stopping by and congrats on the pregnancy 🙂
I’m a mom struggling to function after the unexpected loss of my daughter when she was 3 days. I need to get back into the swing of things and focus on eating healthy and spending time with my living children. I need a little help to get started with meal prep. I dabble but it’s not a regular weekly event. Dinner always seems to be the last thing on my mind.
Alexis: My heart goes out to you. I am sending you a huge virtual hug right now. I can’t imagine your pain. Please send me an email with your mailing address because I have a little gift I want to send you. [email protected] – You are entered into the giveaway, but I want to brighten up your day and have a something in mind.
Thank you for the kind words and virtual hug!!
I love to shop and I love to meal plan, however time usually takes over and as much as I’d like to plan out healthy meals, many times it’s more of a grab-n-go event at the grocery store. I think this book would give me a great start to finally get going!
I love meal planning and know how much easier it makes meals, especially during the week. However, I sometimes get sidetracked and this book would help get me back on track. I’m also always looking for new ideas that help get my kids involved in the process. I want to teach them good habits now, so when they are out on their own, they will see the value of meal prep and continue to eat healthy when they’re in charge.
Nicole, I agree with you 100%!!!
Oh my gosh! This is how I’d love to spend some part of my week, meal prepping! With 3 elementary aged children who are always on the go and a mom who is training for marathons, we could use a boost to help us stay healthy and satisfied. Can’t wait to listen! Love the podcast.
Laurie: I think you’ll really enjoy the show. Toby has three kids as well! Glad you’re an LHT listener and Podcast Posse member 🙂
My favorite meal prepping strategy is batching so I can make multiple meals for the week or freeze ahead.
I have a baby and a toddler, so I’m always wishing I had extra hands at meal times. I like that when I meal prep, I spend less time telling my boys, “I’ll be right there!” and more time engaged with them. My only strategy right now is to prep as much as possible after their bedtimes the night before, but I’m so pooped at the end of the day! I would love to learn some tips.
Meal prep is my intention, but other things get in the way and I get sidetracked. I would like to learn meal prep strategies so it can become a habit, and my family can eat healthier meals.
I would love to receive your book and get some great ideas, new tips,and fresh new recipes. I’m on the other spectrum of having worked and done it all and now both my husband and I are retired and funny but when we both worked we had to have that prep and meal ideas planned out and when he had a major stroke and had to retire early, once he was able to, he took on majority of the cooking with both our planning and alot of his wonderful surprise awesome dinners. I retired and we are still doing our healthy low carb etc way of eating but for some reason can’t get it together. NEED HELP ????
I spiralize, get all the veggies, do all I need, have all the Intention but I end up with alot of freezing or giving away or hopefully not putting in the garbage. I think I could use the help!!
I try to meal plan and cook on the weekend for the upcoming week. I also cook things can freeze for fast and easy lunches and breakfasts.
I love to meal prep for the week and could always use some fresh ideas of what to make!
With two LO and both my husband I working full time, this book would be an amazing inspiration! I’m good at meal planning, but prepping would be a game changer!
I need to find a way to prep good healthy food for my family. They are sick of sandwiches and the same old same old for dinner. This will help me be more organized and eat good healthy meals.
Would love to try these ideas and recommend this book to clients-always looking for healthy cookbooks that are USEFUL!
This book would be great for my family. Right now I have a child in the hospital and one with celiac disease. Meal prepping is vital in my house right now.
My best meal prep trick is when a recipe calls for chopped onion. I chop the entire onion and freeze the amount I don’t use for my recipe. Then, the next time I need a little chopped onion, it’s ready in my freezer.
I could really use this cookbook to help me get organized. I often overbuy fresh foods and feel terrible throwing them away when I fail to actually make meals with them.; I think planning and prepping would nudge me in the direction of actually cooking/ eating what I buy. Instead of wasting.
I agree w/ the issue of food waste. Meal Prepping definitely helps to reduce it (and save you money)!
I’d love to have a copy of this book because it would help streamline our time in the kitchen. As much as I like to cook, I just don’t have the time to do it anymore. But we still need to eat! I need help getting a plan together and making it happen. Bonus points if that plan includes some veggies my picky eater is willing to try!!
I would love to win this book because I am in desperate need of streamlining my weeknight dinner routine. When I get home from work and picking my daughter up from daycare, I need a dinner that can pretty much be ready instantly.
I have three little kids (6, 4, and 3months!) so I need to save time in anyway I can!
I love to meal prep for the week! I’m not very consistent though. Instead of scouring the internet for ideas, I could use this guide. Meal prep favorites of mine: mason jar salads and soups.
My husband and I are now empty-nesters and I’m struggling with adjusting my cooking style. End up spending too much time at grocery store and in kitchen. Even though I love to cook, I know I could make meals more effeciently.
Would love to win this meal prep cookbook. I don’t have anything like it. Thanks for the podcast-VERY interesting!
Hey Jan: Glad you enjoyed the podcast. I think it’s interesting too! Loved having Toby on the show…
I feel like I make the same meals every week because I know that’s what everyone will eat. I need to plan better and add some new meals to the mix. I would love to win this book!
A few days ago, my 15 year old daughter told me she wanted to go to Target to buy “meal prep materials,” and the next day this podcast appeared in my feed! I would love a copy of the book because this is something I’ve felt for a while would be a helpful thing, and now I have teenager buy-in to be a part of it!
I love that your daughter is excited about meal prepping! I hope she’ll tune into the podcast to get more inspired!!
Meal prepping sounds like an excellent idea. I need guidance. this book sounds perfect. Thanks.
My best meal prep is to save recipes I want to try and then jot down ingredient notes on my phone. Then if I’m out at the store I can pick up what is needed to try the new recipe by just checking the notes .
Meal prep, I think, really depends on meal planning and figuring out how to multi or re-purpose ingredients and I’m always looking for new ideas.
My best approach to meal planning is asking my family what they would like for suppers for the week. Once they’ve given me their suggestions, and I’ve chosen recipes of my own, I make my shopping list and head to the store. I do very well sticking to the list. I do have a goal to prep what I’ve bought so it’s ready to use when I need it during the week, so perhaps this book will help!
I am a big meal proponent, and as a nutritionist, I practice what I preach. Would love to get more tips I can pass on and use myself, book looks great!
I meant meal prep proponent!
I roast a whole chicken at least twice a month. With just my husband and myself in the house, we get 3-4 meals from it. With the constant rush to get dinner together after work, any practices I can add to my routine would be very helpful!
Teying to get healthier and need help!!
I feel like I spend too much time doing the same tasks every day and would like to organize my food prep.
I would like to get a handle on my weight and teach my children to make better food choices. My Hispanic heritage is filled with amazing goods but many are not so good for us. Meal prepping will teach me to make better selections when preparing meals and in return…i can stop making excuse g for not eating healthy. I see this book as a simple but amazing beginning.
I would love to win a copy. My busy household could use some meal prep help!
I have never gotten the hang of meal prepping. Usually I’m doing good if I have a meal *plan* would love some help to figure it out!
My week is so much better when I meal prep – just need to get the motivation to do it every Sunday
I love this topic! Meal planning is always so helpful when you have a family to feed. I am always looking for new tips and suggestions in this area because it seems that none of systems that I have tried stick. Recently my husband and I printed out a blank January calendar and we are writing down all of our dinners for the month in hopes that we can use it to plan future meals. Thanks again for covering this topic!
It sounds like you are well on your way!!
Liz, Great show. I always buy healthy foods with the intent of cooking great meals throughout the week. My problem is that I seem to waste so much food because I either over shop or under plan meals. This book may help me to shop better and use the food instead of throwing it out. Thanks, can’t wait until you have Ellie on.
I have always been impressed with people that prep meals ahead of time especially when they do the once a month cooking. Unfortunately even doing a week at a time is just intimidating once I start to think about actually doing it. If I could even plan 3 or 4 days worth of meals that would be such an accomplishment and would certainly relieve a lot of the stress and pressure associated with dinner time meals. My best and probably only tip for meal planning is to precook extra chicken breasts because they are pretty versatile and can be easily converted into a meal the next day.
Sounds like a good tip to me!
I have been working on figuring out meal planning for a while now. Toby is inspiring. I can’t eat starchy carbs due to blood sugar issues, so it’s nice to have the flexibility to add grains for my family, but leave it out for myself. I have been unsure of grains for a while because there is so much conflicting info online. But I’ve decided that whole grains are healthy if you don’t have an illness like diabetes or autoimmune disorders. So I am adding them back in for my family, in mostly whole grain form. Thanks for the podcast!
There are so many nourishing whole grains to choose from. Bulgur, farro, sorghum! Glad you’ve added them back 🙂