I always get a few questions every time I post a food photo with my glass food storage containers (like in this green curry recipe), so I thought I’d share not only my favorite containers, but other meal prep tools that lately I’ve found super helpful. Everybody does meal prep a little differently, and I’m planning to share more about how I do it and how I make it easy in a post soon (it’s on my list!). But the basic gist for anyone new to the concept is you prep a bunch of full or partial meals ahead of time, like on Sunday, so you can very quickly throw together meals all week long. Not only can this save you a bunch of time, but it can also help you eat better as you can plan and prep healthy meals and then you have no excuse when it comes to eating well all week long. Really, it’s simple, but like most things in life until you actually DO it you won’t see the awesome benefits. One thing that helps is having a few key tools that make the whole process that much easier. These are some items that I think are essential.
1. Glass Food Storage Containers – I have these two compartment containers as well as these round ones. I love the two compartment ones for storing leftovers or if I’m making a big batch of something to eat all week and I want to keep elements separate or store other things along with it (like fried rice or cauliflower dishes). The round ones are good for almost anything, but I use them most for making a big pot of soup and then storing 3-4 servings for easy lunches throughout the week. I love that the glass containers can be refrigerated, baked in the oven, warmed in the microwave, and hold up well to dishwashing. It’s seriously SO much better than plastic food containers!
2. Immersion Blender – I’m going to recommend a few different mixing/blending/chopping tools in this post, so don’t feel like you need to buy ALL of them if you don’t own any yet. But to be totally honest with you, I do own all of these and I love them and use them for different things. But you don’t need them all and if you don’t have the storage, don’t sweat it. OK, so I love to use my immersion blender to puree soups. That’s probably the task I use it for the most. I love that you can just stick the blender in the soup pot and you don’t have to transfer hot liquids from a pot to a blender. Many immersion blenders also come with different attachments, so they can act like an electric blender too (for whisking, think homemade whipped cream or mayo). And some can also act like mini food processors. So again, up to you and your needs, but I use mine for soup ALL the time. 😉
3. Water Tumblers – Although these are not strictly a ‘meal prep tool,’ I wanted to include them here anyway because I think there’s a lot of value in having and using a large reusable water cup. Staying hydrated is so important! Not only is it important for health (check out this article here), but I notice a big difference in my skin when I’m staying hydrated over when I’m not. And personally it’s easy for me to totally forget about drinking water once I start working or doing things in my day, so having a cute tumbler I can set by my desk, take in the car, or carry to the gym is really helpful.
4. High Power Blender – This is probably the number one thing I recommend to friends who are just starting to put their kitchen together, or registering for their wedding, etc. A high quality blender is SUCH a useful tool, although it can be a bit of an investment. This is the blender I currently have and it’s my favorite one I’ve ever used. I’ve had quite a few blenders over the years and my husband also thinks this is the best one we’ve ever had. It’s great for smoothies, soups, sauces, and blending dry ingredients (like hot cereal mix). We use it for smoothies almost every day!
5. Cutting Boards – I love wooden cutting boards for serving and photos, but when I’m ready to get down to my meal prep business, I almost always reach for one of our plastic cutting boards because they are easier to clean (you can throw them in the dishwasher). Bonus points if your cutting boards are a cute color—that will make all that chopping just a little more fun. 🙂
6. Food Processor – I know, this is the third blending-type tool! I warned you. 🙂 OK, so I have a smaller food processor and I like using that for tasks that don’t feel suited for my blender. For me, this is usually prepping cauliflower for cauliflower rice dishes, chopping nuts (like making non-dairy Parmesan cheese), and making smaller amounts of dips like hummus.
7. Good Knives – Personally, I’m not much a knife snob. I don’t really have one brand that I prefer over others, although I wouldn’t necessarily buy the cheapest knives you can find either. To me, there are two important factors to kitchen knives. First, choose something that feels good in your hand. I use knives for basically every kitchen task/meal I work on (even prepping for smoothies), so having something that feels good while you work is important. And second, invest in a knife sharpener and use it as needed. I cook a lot so I tend to sharpen my knives at least a couple times a year. Oh, and if you’re buying a set, I recommend picking one that includes kitchen shears (the scissors) because I use mine ALL the time.
8. Reusable Plastic Storage Bags – These are one item that I do not currently have but I’m realizing I need to get. I use plastic ziplock bags a LOT. I store prepped smoothie ingredients in the freezer, and I’ll store other prepped items (like cooked brown rice, or baked tofu) in bags in our refrigerator as well. I think it would be a better choice for the environment if I got some reusable bags to use instead, or at least for the majority of these tasks so we throw away less plastic throughout the year as a household. I do wonder how well these clean? Hmm. If any of you use these, let me know if you have any tips. And once I get and use some of these for a while, I can update you all as well.
Hope some of you found this helpful and I’d love to hear if you have additional meal prep tools you love to use that I didn’t list. xo. Emma
25 Comments
I reuse my Ziploc bags all the time (at least the ones that are not heavily dirty, with fat – a pain to clean…). To clean them, I just turn them inside out and wash with my hands and a tiny bit of dish soap, rinse and let dry (usually over a wooden spoon or a whisk). I can get at 10 uses from a single bag, doing a little something for the planet 😉 I’m assuming those reusable plastic bags can be cleaned the same way (I’m going to buy some… thanks for the link!)
Get out of my brain! I was having the conversation with myself this morning again about how I need to remember to replace the plastic Ikea cutting boards we have that are over 15 years old! Seriously gross when I think about it but I always forget 2 seconds later. Will be ordering tonight!
I can’t vouch for those specific reusable Ziplocs, but I recently bought one of these to try out and I will definitely be buying more! It has gone through the dishwasher several times, no problem!
https://www.stasherbag.com/products/clear
Good to hear!
I love the idea of reusable plastic bags, it’s not something that I’ve thought about picking up before.
I use the blue avocado brand reusable ziplock bags, they’re PEVA material. I also tried silicone reusable bags, but they were obnoxiously heavy and took forever to dry. I also use beeswax coated fabric in place of plastic wrap.
I don’t have those specific reusable baggies, but I bought some off of Amazon that are kind of similar:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071GKMC4F/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I just rinse them, turn them inside out, and throw them in the dishwasher – they’ve held up great so far!
I like it
GOOD
I definitely want to get a good knife set, they’re so important for cooking!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
Freezer ziplock bags all the way! I always meal prep a week’s worth of soup on Sunday and freeze them all, stacking them up. Saves space in the freezer and are quick and convenient to heat up at dinner time, too! ❤️
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I use Stasher bags, which I think are proven to be some of the best on the market! They’re made of food grade silicone, so you actually can store, heat, freeze, and even cook food in them. I only have a couple so I mostly just store cut veggie leftovers in them (half used onion, etc) but they are so amazing for so many uses. A bit of an investment (think $12-$15 per bag), but seriously worth every cent. Also, they’re known to keep half and avocado fresh in your fridge for a few days. So good!
I LOVE Stasher bags! They are totally worth it!
So for my smoothies I make them and freeze them into mason jars. I used to keep things in baggies, but when I started full time work/grad school/and had a baby (don’t do that, btw! Haha.) I didn’t have time in the mornings to make them. I realized they were still perfect if I made a blender-full, then froze them individually into jars. I do still make them from frozen fruit – the colder it is when going into the freezer, the more smoothly it will freeze (like ice cream). Then at night I put it one the fridge, grab it when I leave in the AM, and it’s thawed and ready to go by the time I get to my office (I hate eating right away! Coffee first..). I got some reusable straw lids for the mason jars, too, so they’re easier to drink. It’s nice to eliminate all that baggie/straw waste, and have a grab-n-go healthy breakfast. 🙂
Can you put a link for what jars / lids you use? This sounds like a great solution for me!! And you must be super woman to be working full time, going to grad school and having a baby! Go you!!
On storage (cooked brown rice, baked tofu, half an onion, etc) I just reuse plastic takeout containers or cheapo plastic tupperware. I love the glass containers and use them for leftovers to transfer straight to microwave and then eat out of, but for storage I’m finding it adequate to just use what’s on hand rather than buy a bunch of new products that may or may not be easy to clean. That said, I’m curious about the reusable ‘ziploc’ bags and the other suggestions from commenters!
Love this post! I’m really trying to meal prep every week but it can seem very daunting at first. I have most of these but I’d like to invest in more glass containers and a food processor for sure!
We want to upgrade our blender and were wondering if the nicer ones (currently use a $20 Target model) are any quieter? I’m starting to save registry recs so thanks!
Great picks! I love my immersion blender, and I’m going to have to give those ziplocks a look!
Eva | http://www.shessobright.com
I need to add some of these to my life to make dinner time easier!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
We just did a meal prep with friends last nighttttt!!!! I discovered I didn’t own a chef’s knife….and apparently life is MUCH easier with one. These tips are going to be used next time for sure.
are those reusable ziploc bags BPA free???? does anyone know?
I have those re-zip bags in a different style. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LX4FXMM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I LOVE them! I hand wash to protect the seals. Sometimes it’s a little hard to get crumbs out of the corners, but they are still pretty easy to clean. Love that I use less disposable ziplocks!!
Hey,
Thought it worth commenting here that I actually reuse the ziploc bags that many groceries are now sold in (eg frozen berries, crackers, jerky…almost everything in Australia at least!) – and wash and rewash as many times as I can.
They wash totally fine with hot water and detergent – just like any plastic really!
They do wear out eventually but I still have an overflowing drawer full of variously branded plastic ziploc bags!
It’s a bit ridiculous really, the amount of plastic we consume just through grocery shopping! Bring back the jute sacks and oak barrels I say! 😀
I use those little (re)zip bags and LOVE them! I’m in grad school so I pack one and sometimes two meals a day, and they’re perfect for holding sliced fruit and veggies or other little snacks. I prefer them for all my extras so I’m not carying too much bulky Tupperware around all day. I don’t have a dishwasher, so I just hand wash them and leave them to dry inside out. They’re great!