If you’re on a Google hunt for meal prep tips for beginners, the likelihood is you’ve realised just how expensive your daily Sumo Salad lunch habit is.
News flash: if you’re eating out every day, you’re basically throwing away $2,276.35 a year. Two months of Sydney rent. Or a small car. Or several holidays.
So you’ve decided to ditch it and become a one-woman meal-prepping machine, instead. But ten minutes into roasting the many different veg you socked up on, boiling several different legumes and spiralising basically everything and you’re so flustered you feel like packing it all in and heading back to the local.
With that in mind, WH spoke to Hazel Wallace, aka The Food Medic, to share her top four meal prep tips for beginners. They’re clever and will save your precious pennies for when you really do need that falafel box a la pronto.
4 NIFTY MEAL PREP TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
1. SAVE YOUR SOURDOUGH
To stop the remnants of that delicious weekend loaf going to waste, slice what’s left on Sunday and freeze it. No mouldy crusts, no trying to slice a half-defrosted block of bread. Win.
2. DON’T CHUCK AGING BANANAS
Peel, chop and freeze those bad boys. They’ll lend a lovely creaminess to smoothies or, blended on their own, make a great single-ingredient ice cream alternative.
3. DO A LUNCH SHARE
You know, like a car-share, but for food. Take turns making your midday meal with a work friend – or your housemate – on alternate days or weeks. It’s the future.
4. DOUBLE UP ON DINNER
Eat half now, then store the rest in a Tupperware. Let the food cool before sealing and popping in the fridge. Perfect for when you come home from the gym hungry.
Now you’ve learnt four nifty meal prep tips for beginners, get cooking with these healthy lunch ideas or try these healthy dinner recipes.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health US.