Many of us can relate to seeking ways to save time, including in the kitchen.

Lucky for you, I’m here to let you know that by adopting a few simple habits, you can reduce the amount of time you spend preparing meals.

I realized that preparing meals was taking a lot longer than I would like, so I started experimenting with solutions.

This led me to an extremely simple meal-prepping strategy, which I call the

Strategic Leftovers Method

Unlike traditional meal prepping, the Strategic Leftovers Method of meal prepping does not involve spending hours at a time cooking and portioning meals into a bunch of containers. What makes this meal-prepping strategy so simple and efficient is that it only requires you to add a few extra steps to your current cooking routine.

When I cook dinner, I prepare a little extra and portion the leftovers into containers, so everything is ready to go for another day.

I got this tip from my friend Diana, who runs Trust Life Coaching! 

I like to put the containers in the freezer so they last longer!

When I want a quick meal, I can pull out a container and reheat it. This is especially helpful on busy days when I have evening plans. Having a meal ready to go means I get to avoid worrying about how long it will take to get dinner ready before heading out.

Meal Prepping Doesn’t Mean Eating the Same Meal Every Day!

If you don’t like eating the same meal multiple days in a row, here is a simple tip that I learned from my parents:

Find creative ways to transform staple ingredients into multiple meals!

Ex: 

Say you decide to cook chicken. You can then turn that one ingredient into a variety of meals, so you don’t get bored:

🍽️ Meal One: Grilled chicken with roasted veggies and potatoes

🍽️ Meal Two: Chicken tacos

🍽️ Meal Three: Chicken pasta

🍽️ Meal Four: Chicken wraps

I hope these tips help simplify your meal prepping and save you time. If you try this method, remember to leave a comment to let me know how it works out for you! 

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Featured Image: Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash