From saving time, lowering budgets, weight control, and more motivation, students said meal prepping is a better way to eat healthier and have more financial control, not only in college but also in the future.
According to thekitchn.com, meal prep is the process of setting aside a block of time to prepare ingredients and cook meals for the week ahead.
Elias Hopkin, a junior from Ohio studying TESOL, said meal prepping is helpful because he finds it hard to motivate himself to cook every day. But after disciplining himself to work on cooking for about two hours earlier in the week, now he can enjoy a full meal ready to eat when he needs it during his week.
Agreeing with Hopkin, Esther Lam, a sophomore from Hong Kong majoring in mathematics, said meal prep is a cheap way to enjoy the food she likes with variety.
When comparing the expenses it takes to eat out or in the school cafeteria, Lam said, “It only costs $2 for every meal to cook at home while the caf is charging me $10 every time I go in.”
Lam continued, “I miss my Asian food. There is not much variety in the Cafeteria. Sometimes I only ate cereal there. If I cook for myself, I can control what and how much I eat.”
Lam shared she usually prepares one meat of choice, a vegetable, and a carbohydrate for each meal. For example, chicken or minced beef cooked with broccoli and noodles or with eggplant and rice.
Eat healthier and save more time
Lam said meal prep is a better way to control her eating habits, such as measuring food portions and controlling the sugar and cholesterol she eats.
According to organizeyourselfskinny.com, meal prepping can help dieting by creating structure in one’s weight-loss journey. “Changing your eating habits and losing weight is not easy.
“However, meal prep makes it easier to eat healthy, nutritious food, and stay within calories or points [when] they are prepared ahead of time and ready to eat.”
One of the most important reasons Lam said she started doing meal prep is to be more time efficient.
She said most people spend at least 30 minutes to an hour to make a meal. But if they add up the time to prepare a meal that could last for several days, she said they can do things more effectively.
How to keep food from going bad?
A concern for meal prep is how long the food can last in the fridge. Hopkin shared it depends on the food and how long it is stored. He said, "Most foods stay good in the fridge at least for three days.”
Hopkin said it is important to plan to eat the meals over three days and only make as much as people would eat.
More tips for meal prepping
Hopkin addressed another common concern for meal prepping, which is having to eat the same food repeatedly for a while. Hopkin said he makes a list of food he likes to eat before grocery shopping.
“It is like choosing off the menu. If you know what to get, it avoids the problem of not knowing what to cook.”
He said his go-to shopping list includes potatoes, chicken, and spinach because these foods go well with almost everything, and they are cheap and full of nutrition.
Concerning eating the same foods for a while, Lam said she is willing to eat the same thing because it is worth saving time.
When it’s time to reheat food, Lam said she prefers to use glass containers to store her food so she doesn’t have to worry about plastic materials melting from the hot food or microwave. Using glass containers might be heavier, but it is convenient to steam food during cooking and even microwave it before people eat it, she said.
While meal prepping helps students save money, Hopkin said unfortunately it leads to a lack of ingredients. He said he makes sacrifices to not buy spices because they are too expensive and not really necessary.
Lam shared it is difficult to prepare vegetables in advance. “You can either choose to cook [vegetables] every day or you might have to give up the veggie options.”
If meal prep really isn’t your thing
In order to keep food fresh, Helaman Lee, a freshman from Hong Kong studying computer science, said he reserves time to cook lunch and dinner every day. “Maybe I will have to use the meal prep method when I am a senior, but so far I can still manage my time well to cook every meal.”
Lee said multitasking is his trick to keep the cooking time within 30 minutes by using two pots at the same time. “I put the meat on a steam rack above the rice. Meanwhile, the vegetables are cooking on the next burner.” Lee said he also makes good use of the waiting time and studies when the food is getting ready.
Hopkin shared some tips for those who are interested in meal prep
1. Keep food in a plastic bag and seal it well, especially for meat. Otherwise, it will dry out.
2. Buy chicken that has not been skinned because it keeps moist longer.
3. Consume food consistently and cook only the number of the portions you need to eat.
4. Soup usually lasts pretty well. He said he boils meat and turns the water into broth or soup.