Does meal prepping save money? If you’re wondering this you’re in the right place.
Meal prepping is known as one of the best ways to save money in the kitchen. Meal prep is simply preparing the ingredients and dishes for meals you’ll eat later. This saves time, money, and the headache of last-minute planning and grocery shopping. If you love cooking and eating, it’s easy to indulge in cravings and takeout on the regular. But foods like takeout can get expensive! Meal prepping is a great way to make sure you have nutritious meals ready to eat throughout the week.
Meal Prep to Save Money
After meal prepping, you can store those meals in the freezer to make them last even longer than the fridge. The idea of meal prep often brings to mind the sight of neat tupperware containers filled with enough food for a few days. But meal prepping for the freezer extends the shelf life of your food from days to months— This means you can make a variety of meals to choose from at any time if you so please. FreezerFit’s collection of recipes includes meals from cuisines like Italian, Asian, Latin, American, and much more.
Once your food and ingredients are prepped, you can move on to cooking through a few different methods. Here at FreezerFit, we often go for the slow cooker and instant pot. Always thaw your meals before using the slow cooker, though.
How To Save Money When Cooking
While people are considering how to save money in many aspects, cooking is usually an important area to save money. Everybody eats, but it can sometimes be hard to be cost effective along the way: It all comes down to how you decide to grocery shop, cook, and eat. Things like shopping with a grocery list and in the bulk section can keep you in check. And if you’re not sure how to save money when meal prepping and cooking, try some of these money saving cooking tips:
- Freeze your food: Freezing your food is especially helpful with fresh groceries you bought but haven’t used. If meat or vegetables are going to go bad before you have a chance to eat them, freeze them! You can either freeze the individual ingredients or make another batch of freezer meals to have later.
- Buy ingredients in bulk and on sale: Bulk meat, grains, nuts, and beans are some items that tend to be cheaper when purchased in bulk. This is another reason why freezer meals are so helpful in saving money! Things with a short shelf life like ground beef can be part of a meal that’s then stored in the freezer.
- Plan ahead: Meal prep is all about planning your meals ahead of time. That means deciding what you want to eat, buying the ingredients, and making the meals. This saves both time and money when you’re in a hurry to get lunch or dinner ready.
- Grocery shop with a list: This helps you avoid buying things on impulse, like processed foods and premade meals. It also helps you plan ahead and meal prep— You’ll know exactly which foods to buy for each dish.
- Create your favorite takeout dishes at home: Your favorite takeout dishes are surely delicious and comforting to enjoy. But it can be so affordable and rewarding to make those same dishes right at home. Some of our favorite “takeout-style” dishes include Chinese Spicy Garlic Noodles, Vegan Baked Ziti, and Classic French Fries.
Money Saving Tips
Most money saving tips don’t have to be unfamiliar or complicated. It’s common to shop sales and avoid impulse buys and takeout food. But actually following through on these tips can be tricky. Meal prepping is one way to avoid those impulse buys — Then you’ll have no excuse to opt out of homemade dinner! Try some of these money saving tips to help you in the kitchen and at the grocery store:
- Plan your meals based on what’s on sale.
- Shop seasonally.
- Skip pre packaged cut fruits and vegetables.
- Go for frozen and canned foods.
- Flavor your food with a home herb garden.
Saving money with meal prepping is easy to achieve and leads to a tasty outcome! You can also save time and eat healthier with meal prep. And here at FreezerFit, that means taking advantage of freezer meals that are ready to go whenever you are.
Hi I just joined Freezer Fit and was wondering where do I order those green bags from that the food goes in. Thank you.
Hi Carol!!! Welmcome :) You can find the freezer bags and baggy holders in Amazon. These are the ones we have: Bag Holders - Freezer Bags.