Tips for Saving Time and Money while Meal Prepping – Farm to Fit

Tips for Saving Time and Money while Meal Prepping

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Did you know that cooking meals from scratch can take up to 14 hours a week? That’s nearly an entire workday spent on meal prep, from planning and shopping to chopping and cooking. While preparing meals at home can be rewarding, it’s not always feasible for those juggling busy schedules and trying to prioritize their health.

 

The Hidden Costs of Cooking from Scratch

While many think of home cooking as the gold standard for healthy eating, the time investment can be overwhelming. Let’s break it down:

  1. Meal Planning: Researching recipes and planning balanced meals can take 1-2 hours per week.

  2. Grocery Shopping: The average American spends 41 minutes per trip to the grocery store, and most make 1.6 trips per week, amounting to over 56 minutes weekly.

  3. Prep Work: Washing, chopping, slicing, and dicing ingredients is not only time-consuming but also labor-intensive and can take the average person 3-4 hours per week.

  4. Cooking and Cleanup: From pots and pans to countertops, cleaning up after a meal takes even more time, let's say 7 hours a week.

Combined, these activities can easily take 14 hours or more per week, time that could be spent on other priorities—family, work, hobbies, or self-care.

Why Ready-to-Eat Meals Are a Smart Investment

Setting aside the investment of time, there is a strong financial case for ready-to-eat meals.  On average, Americans spend $148.75 per week on groceries, or roughly $600 per month (USDA Food Plan). Add in the costs of wasted food—estimated at up to 30% of groceries purchased

Meal Prepping at Home? How to Maximize your Time & Dollar

Many of our clients order Farm to Fit meals to supplement on the days they don't want to cook, we get it!  So let us give you a couple of hassle-saving tips for when you do it on your own: 

  • Plan out your menu ahead, aim towards a zero waste kitchen like we do! The best way to do this at home is to use overlapping ingredients and plan for 4 days of meals, your Friday meal can be your "Kitchen Sink" meal (aka: repurpose what's left in your fridge)

  • One and done in the grocery store: Create a detailed grocery list and stick to it to avoid multiple trips to the grocery store per week. (Pro-tip: write your grocery list in the order of the aisles to save time... and energy). 

  • Prep all your veggies and proteins for your week in one day. Whether you are meal prepping ahead or you plan to cook nightly, having your prepping done will save you a ton of time and make your weeknights more enjoyable.

  • Store your pre-made meals in high quality, air tight containers. If you opt for glass containers, search out ones that are made with tempered glass, these are more durable and if they do break the shattered pieces have into blunt edges. 

  • Don't forget to store all your unused veggies properly so they last longer!  (Cliffhanger: Read our How to Use Your Crisper Drawer correctly next week!)

Healthy eating shouldn’t feel like a chore. Have fun!  And if you need help, we are here for you!  

 

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