Who else has unique meal prep ideas to save time?

[adriannec]

My big thing is my waffle iron. I will waffle just about anything from calzone/pizza pocket things to falafel waffles. I use it to make paninis, cinnamon rolls. There are times I actually use it to make waffles too. Even though I work from home, Sunday is still Meal Prep Day so that I can save time making food during the week.

I make waffles for the family, and I've already got the waffle iron out. I do a batch of regular waffles with extras to reheat for breakfast during the week. I usually make them with whole wheat flour and less sugar since they're from scratch. I ALSO make a batch of savory waffles. Leave out the sugar and add in spices like chili powder, garlic powder, dill to use for breakfast wraps with eggs and salsa. You can use them for sandwiches at lunchtime with sliced chicken and cheese or other sammich faves.

Both variations freeze well and my daughter gets a lot of oooohs and ahhhhhs over waffle sandwiches at lunch. If you prefer pancakes, I've used the same idea there. No one says that your sandwich can't be round!

I know people also use muffin pans to make meatloaf muffins and even eggs. Sooooo, what are some things you do like that that save you time that aren't the "normal" ways?

[mcbourque]

I don't have a waffle iron but those sound tasty. I'm afraid I am a mean mom now and my boys have to make their own sandwiches LOL

I literally have no time during the week with the two kids and work as a teacher so food has to all happen on Sunday.

Not sure if it is "unique" but I try to make my protein meals in one baking dish.

For my go to, I bake chicken tenders in the oven straight from the pack into a baking dish, take them out of the oven, cut them up and mix in tomato sauce and frozen veggies, then top with grated mozzarella and back in the oven it goes. 5 min laters I have 5-6 portions of baked chicken casserole.

Similarly I do a speedy bean casserole by frying onions and mushrooms in my baking dish on the stove, add two cans of beans (black, lentils or kidney) with a can and tomato sauce. Top with grated mozzarella and this also goes in the over.

Lastly, if I can get fresh Atlantic salmon, I cover the bottom of my baking dish with honey and lemon juice, sometimes Dijon mustard and put the fish on top of it, fillet side down and just bake as is.

I prefer to do my meat loaf in a loaf glass dish because I find it easier to cut later and it is easier to clean up.

When I make those, I can start some sweet potatoes in the oven, and do it all at once.

I freeze every portion and I have a microwave in my classroom for lunch.

Again nothing really unique here LOL I try to take as many short cuts as I can with the least amount of dishes I can

[adriannec]

I love these ideas! I made roasted chick peas the other night and I tossed in a butternut squash to bake that. I didn't need it but the oven was on so I figured I'd get a jump start and just get it cooked. I should just let my daughter make her own lunches. When I don't have time, she does but ends up with french fries, gatorade and oreos or nothing at all. I know, I know. She won't starve and I can't do be there forever.

I love your speedy tips, especially the salmon one. I love salmon! Another trick I learned for pasta is that you can put the pasta and water on together and the pasta will cook as the water heats up. By the time the water is boiling, it's done for most noodles or just requires another couple minutes for thicker noodles. That way you aren't boiling the water, adding pasta AND then waiting.

I also made a one pot pasta that was really easy and fast with spinach and diced tomatoes. It cooked right in the sauce. The Kid loved it but she's a major fan of all things pasta. She's like me and waffles. If it pastas, then she'll eat it. LOL.

[NorielleBellis]

Anything in a big slow cooker. Lean lasagna with veggie "noodles", pulled chicken and black beans, chicken chili, plan seasoned chicken breasts, veggies, anything!

[adriannec]

Oooh! Great ideas. Do the veggie noodles stay OK in the slow cooker or do they turn to mush?

[McNeelz]

I'd love to hear some of your waffle maker recipes. Those sound good and my waffle maker is lonely.

I don't think I have any revolutionary meal prep ideas, but I am a fan of steam-in-bag frozen vegetables. I also make large quantities of rice to serve as a base for meals throughout the week. I leave out the seasoning so that when I take some out for a meal and heat it up, I can add seasonings that make sense for the meal, like cilantro & lime, garlic & parsley, orange & ginger, chili & onion, etc. I end up bringing some of it in lunches though because my husband gets tired of rice...

[Partyrocking]

This doesn't quite work for meal prep, but I do poach my eggs in the microwave, which makes for a fast breakfast.

[adriannec]

I'd love to hear some of your waffle maker recipes. Those sound good and my waffle maker is lonely.

I don't think I have any revolutionary meal prep ideas, but I am a fan of steam-in-bag frozen vegetables. I also make large quantities of rice to serve as a base for meals throughout the week. I leave out the seasoning so that when I take some out for a meal and heat it up, I can add seasonings that make sense for the meal, like cilantro & lime, garlic & parsley, orange & ginger, chili & onion, etc. I end up bringing some of it in lunches though because my husband gets tired of rice...

I'm not sure most of my waffle things are "recipes" exactly, LOL. I will make a sandwich (normal sandwich with sliced chicken, etc) and put it in the waffle iron to make paninis. I use refrigerated pizza crust or crescent roll dough and fill them with tomato sauce and veggies. Fold it over and press the edges. Waffle it into a pocket.

Those pop open cinnamon rolls you just put one in each waffle spot and waffle them. You can waffle cake batter. I waffle falafel. The falafel is a real recipe that I posted on my site. Shoot, I think I've waffled just about everything at one point or another. Even chicken breasts! It's like a poor man's George Foreman.

I like your idea of mixing up the rice flavors as you go. That's a great idea! I'm going to put that one into action. Thanks!

[adriannec]

This doesn't quite work for meal prep, but I do poach my eggs in the microwave, which makes for a fast breakfast.

I love doing them in the microwave! It took a bunch of practice for me though. I either exploded them even if I pricked the yolks, or they turned to rubber. I'm good if I use my microwave but can never adjust if I'm stuck using a different one. I also batch cook hard boiled eggs in my rice steamer. I make a dozen at a time in there.

[sy2502]

One thing I do is slice the meat very thin so it cooks faster. But you have to be careful that it doesn't overcook or it will be dry and stringy.

[adriannec]

One thing I do is slice the meat very thin so it cooks faster. But you have to be careful that it doesn't overcook or it will be dry and stringy.

That's a good idea too. I need to try that on those nights when I've used up all my prepped meat and forgot to thaw more. Another thing I do if I'm going to batch cook is slightly undercook the meat that I know I'm going to reheat before eating. I will leave burgers more rare than usual or mostly cook chicken breasts. That way when I heat them for real they aren't overdone.

I use proteins I've cooked earlier a lot in things like stir frys and soups. You have to use common sense though with this and make sure you heat/cook them all the way through by the end so you aren't accidentally eating them underdone, but it's saved me from overcooked stuff many times.

These are some great ideas! I'm so glad I asked!

[jsari23]

I waffle falafel. The falafel is a real recipe that I posted on my site.

waffles and falafel - yum!

[adriannec]

waffles and falafel - yum!

I can't resist falafel. These you can slice into sticks and dip, or use them to make a sandwich in place of bread. Fill with grilled chicken, hummus, veggies. http://www.accidentalfitnessquest.co...l-in-a-waffle/

[McNeelz]

I'm not sure most of my waffle things are "recipes" exactly, LOL. I will make a sandwich (normal sandwich with sliced chicken, etc) and put it in the waffle iron to make paninis. I use refrigerated pizza crust or crescent roll dough and fill them with tomato sauce and veggies. Fold it over and press the edges. Waffle it into a pocket.

Those pop open cinnamon rolls you just put one in each waffle spot and waffle them. You can waffle cake batter. I waffle falafel. The falafel is a real recipe that I posted on my site. Shoot, I think I've waffled just about everything at one point or another. Even chicken breasts! It's like a poor man's George Foreman.

I like your idea of mixing up the rice flavors as you go. That's a great idea! I'm going to put that one into action. Thanks!

I'm glad you like the rice idea! It looks like I've been lacking creativity with my waffle maker. Thanks for the ideas! I'm definitely going to try some of them.

[adriannec]

I'm glad you like the rice idea! It looks like I've been lacking creativity with my waffle maker. Thanks for the ideas! I'm definitely going to try some of them.

I made cilantro lime rice with part of my batch of rice last night. Tonight I'm going Asian and using rice vinegar and sesame oil. It's like an international trip with rice. LOL!

[adriannec]

Apparently this is not common knowledge, LOL. I posted this in an IIFYM group on FB that I belong to and it blew up. Not meal prep related but another brilliant use for that waffle iron.

Did you know this is totally possible? I do this all the time with different flavor cake mixes. The standard recipe makes about 18-20 waffles depending on your iron size. I use 1 box mix, 1 c water, 1/3 c oil, and 3 eggs. You can also sub applesauce/pumpkin for the oil and use egg sub.

Macros vary depending on the mix and if you use the standard or lower cal version, but they aren't insane. It's also so much faster than waiting for cupcakes to bake! I make a bunch on the weekends and freeze them. smile emoticon TGIF!



Edited to Add: You can also waffle those cinnamon rolls that come in a tube.

[rockymtncowgirl]

Slow cooker! I put my chicken in, along with some vegetables. Add some spices, usually some lemon juice and away it goes. It's quick to get ready and then I don't have to worry about it for a few hours. Once it's cooked, it's just a matter of portioning into containers. And it tastes so good!!

[adriannec]

Slow cooker! I put my chicken in, along with some vegetables. Add some spices, usually some lemon juice and away it goes. It's quick to get ready and then I don't have to worry about it for a few hours. Once it's cooked, it's just a matter of portioning into containers. And it tastes so good!!

Great idea! I use mine for chili and stews too. I've heard that you can use it for overnight oatmeal and also for risotto (to save you standing and stirring), but haven't yet given it a whirl.

[likeafish]

I'm a huge huge HUGE fan of one pot meals. Salads, soups, stews, stir-frys, casseroles, omelets... Or one pot + one aluminum lined pan, like roasting meat and veg together and then tossing it with pasta, or roasting vegetables and potatoes and cooking the meat separate. It's a pretty rare occasion that I dirty two pots and when I do it's usually mostly a one pot meal but with pasta or rice in the other one.

I also eat Huevos Ranchero all the time and make the ranchero sauce ahead of time, 6 servings at a time. Refried beans are canned so it's just a matter of plating the beans and refrigerated sauce and heating them up, all that has to cook is the eggs.

And then I have a couple of freezer + pantry staples meals, like my shrimp creole, so I can throw together a high protein, vegetable heavy balanced meal when I'm out of groceries.

[adriannec]

I'm a huge huge HUGE fan of one pot meals. Salads, soups, stews, stir-frys, casseroles, omelets... Or one pot + one aluminum lined pan, like roasting meat and veg together and then tossing it with pasta, or roasting vegetables and potatoes and cooking the meat separate. It's a pretty rare occasion that I dirty two pots and when I do it's usually mostly a one pot meal but with pasta or rice in the other one.

I also eat Huevos Ranchero all the time and make the ranchero sauce ahead of time, 6 servings at a time. Refried beans are canned so it's just a matter of plating the beans and refrigerated sauce and heating them up, all that has to cook is the eggs.

And then I have a couple of freezer + pantry staples meals, like my shrimp creole, so I can throw together a high protein, vegetable heavy balanced meal when I'm out of groceries.

Those refried beans in the can are like a gift from the bean gods (if there is such a thing). I get the fat free ones and use them on nachos, wraps, salads, quesadillas and more. I love the one pan/pot idea. I need to give some of your ideas a try. Now I'm wondering if I can grill veggies in my waffle iron! Seems entirely possible.

[likeafish]

I need to give some of your ideas a try.

You can browse my journal if you'd like some ideas. I post the recipes and macros for a ton of what I make.

[IrishLassie78]

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. It's life-changing. Seriously. Example: I made barbacoa on Sunday. It took 45 minutes for a 3.5lb roast in the IP. Crockpot takes 5 or 6 hours. I made ribs a couple of weeks ago. Rubbed them with a dry rub and cooked them in the IP on high pressure for 15 minutes, released the pressure, brushed them with barbeque sauce and cooked for another 15 minutes, then took them out and broiled them for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce. So instead of an all day process in the crockpot or oven, we had awesome ribs in less than an hour.

[cleablue]

One of my favorite and super simple meal preps is the "one pan" meals. The one I mainly do consists of 1 baking sheet/pan with 4 piesces of haddock spread out around the pan and then some chopped up carrots and broccoli around the pieces of fish.

you basically just spread them around the pan, put some olive oil over (just a little) and any other seasonings you want (I use the Flavorgod ones). Then its sooooo easy, you just bake at 400 for about 24 mins and you have 4 meals. Super clean.

Total prep time maybe 5 mins and 25 mins baking

[adriannec]

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. It's life-changing. Seriously. Example: I made barbacoa on Sunday. It took 45 minutes for a 3.5lb roast in the IP. Crockpot takes 5 or 6 hours. I made ribs a couple of weeks ago. Rubbed them with a dry rub and cooked them in the IP on high pressure for 15 minutes, released the pressure, brushed them with barbeque sauce and cooked for another 15 minutes, then took them out and broiled them for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce. So instead of an all day process in the crockpot or oven, we had awesome ribs in less than an hour.

OMG, I am TOTALLY jealous! Yes, I'm shouting as I say that. I have an Instant Pot on my Amazon wish list and am saving for it. I neeeeeed it but I am trying to resist as long as I can. Your post is convincing me otherwise. LOL. My goal for today... stay off Amazon!!!

[sugarmaple11]

This isn't a meal prep idea per se, but something that has saved me a lot of time/money is keeping a freezer "inventory" - a list near the freezer where I can write down what I've put in there and cross it off when I take it out to cook or eat.
I saw that idea on some home organizing website some years ago and don't know why I didn't think of it. I've "lost" stuff in my (weirdly-shaped, thin but deep) freezer when it gets buried under stuff and then the item would be too freezer-burned or old to eat when found. This has helped so much now that I'm doing proper food prep, tracking macros and just trying to eat better.