Meal Prep Monday Podcast™

This post contains affiliate links, thank you for your support of Prep Dish! Today's episode of Meal Prep Monday is the first in a two-part series on grocery budget. Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares tips on how to keep grocery costs down. From what to buy in bulk to how to stretch meat further to how meal planning can save money, these simple, practical tips can help you navigate rising food costs while maintaining the quality and nutrition of your meals. Grocery Budget Tips: Just using a meal plan lowers food costs. It helps avoid food waste and makes it easier to eat at home, which saves a ton of money. Eating at home more can help offset rising grocery costs. Don't buy pre-chopped: Keep in mind time versus money but if you have time to chop, doing it yourself will save you money. Buy lower cost cuts of meat. Remember, you can always substitute! Stretch your meat: Stretch meat further by adding beans or extra veggies. If you're using ground beef for tacos, do half beef and half black beans. Adding vegetables like mushrooms, onions, shredded carrots, etc. can help bulk up meals. Keep in mind though, veggies are lower calories so aren't as filling. Adding beans to soups and stews can also help the recipes go further. Shopping at Costco, Imperfect Foods, Thrive Market and Butcher Box can help you get high quality products for less money. Buy in bulk: Buy a whole or portion of a cow to have a lot of beef in your freezer if you have a deep freeze. Buy bulk tea instead of tea bags - the cost per serving is so much less! Buy bulk beans, rice, dried fruits and nuts at Costco. You can also buy spices from the bulk section. Make your own: Making your own salad dressings, broth, sauces, etc. is both less expensive and high quality. Two things that don't save money: Backyard chickens: Having chickens is really fun but the eggs definitely cost more than buying eggs. Same for bees: The honey from our bees is amazing but it is way more expensive than buying honey. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! How I Use Imperfect Foods: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep72/ My First Costco Trip: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep67/ How to Make Homemade Salad Dressings: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep-54/ How to Make Bone Broth: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep48/ Backyard Chickens: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep28/ How to Start Beekeeping: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep98/ Imperfect Foods: http://imprfct.us/v/allison_8366 Thrive Market: https://thrivemarket.com/landing/partner/cj-d2m Butcher Box: butcherbox.com/prepdish This post contains affiliate links, thank you for your support of Prep Dish!

Grab a piece of paper and a pen for this one because host Allison Schaaf is leading you through a reflection exercise to help you transform your mealtime routine. This works well as a New Years reflection or something to work through any time you're in need of a change! Try to choose just ONE thing to change today so it's realistic, not overwhelming. Here are some things to think about. Write down anything that jumps out at you as something you might want to change. Meal Planning: Are you planning your meals? If so, are you happy with your system? Grocery Shopping: Do you have a routine that's working for you or do you find yourself scrambling to fit in another mid-week grocery trip? Meal Prep: Are you prepping any foods in advance? Is there any additional meal prep you might want to add in? Foods You're Eating: Does the food you're eating leave you feeling healthy and satisfied or does it leave you feeling drained? Just as important, is the food you're eating something you enjoy and look forward to? Breakfast: Are you happy with your breakfasts? Are they satisfying and delicious? How is the timing, do you feel like you have time for breakfast? Lunch: Consider timing, nutrition and the taste-factor for your lunches. Dinners: Do you feel rushed making dinner or is it a relatively calm time of day? Do you feel like you're in a rut or are you happy with your meal plan rotation? Snacks: Do you feel like you have healthy snacks available? Think about the ONE area you might want to upgrade this year and please, feel free to message me @prepdish on Instagram - I would love to hear from you! Our Prep Dish meal plans are also an excellent way to address many of these issues if you're not already using them. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! AIP Meal Plans: https://prepdish.com/shop/specialty/aip/ Alkaline Meal Plans: https://prepdish.com/shop/specialty/alkaline/ Reset Meal Plans (Whole30-Compliant): https://prepdish.com/shop/specialty/reset/

Allison Schaaf, host of the podcast, shares her recent grocery order for a hotel stay with tips for healthy hotel room food ideas. She discusses ordering from Whole Foods and Amazon, and bringing snacks like oatmeal, nuts, seeds, and canned tuna. The chapter also covers the cost-effectiveness of ordering groceries compared to room service.

Ever wondered how much salt you should add to your food? As both a chef and an RD, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf has a unique perspective on the best way to salt food, from both a health and a culinary perspective. She shares her best tips today! *These recommendations should not be taken as medical advice and you should of course consult your doctor for any medical concerns related to salt. Most sodium in people's diet comes from processed foods. If you're using Prep Dish meal plans, you are likely not eating much processed food. In addition, vegetables contain potassium, which balances out sodium in your body. Adding salt brings out the natural flavor in healthy foods like vegetables. It can help reduce bitter flavors as well! Here are 3 things to think about when salting your food: Salt and Taste as You Go: This is especially true for things like soup, but is always a good idea! Use a Salt Cellar Instead of a Shaker: Use your hands to add salt. This makes it easier to judge how much salt you're adding. Salt from High Above the Food: This gives a more even distribution of salt. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! 10 Items Delicious with Just Salt & Pepper: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep86/ How Much Salt to Season Food Properly: https://prepdish.com/meal-planning/how-much-salt-to-season-food-properly/

Not sure how meal prep would fit into your life? We're talking meal prep basics today! Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares tips on how to make meal prep and Prep Dish meal plans work for you. Specifically, she shares three effective ways of using these meal prep meal plans to fit into various lifestyles. 3 Ways to Use Prep Dish Meal Plans: Prep All at Once in a Weekly Prep Day - Set aside an hour or two to meal prep your whole meal plan for the week, making the rest of the week super easy. This is the most efficient! If you're new to meal prep, try our Super Fast plans, which are designed to be prepped in just one hour. Break Up Meal Prep - Fit in meal prep in small pockets of time. If you have a little extra time when you're cooking dinner, chop the veggies for the next night. Check items off as you go to stay organized so you know where you left off! Don't do prep day! - Our premium subscription includes separated recipes, essentially a more traditional recipe format, rather than a plan organized for meal prep. This is perfect for anyone wanting to use our healthy recipes, but not wanting to do meal prep. You still save a lot of time by not having to search for recipes and meal plan every week. Separated recipes are also great for adding recipes to your weekly meal plan! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! See Our Super Fast Meal Plans in Action: https://youtu.be/qzuuAn1jGgo

In today's episode, meal prep expert and Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf explains the basics of Prep Dish, a meal prep subscription service. Prep Dish offers weekly meal plans in a subscription-based service. Subscribers receive Gluten Free, Paleo, Low Carb and Super Fast meal prep meal plans every Friday. The meal plans include an organized grocery list, a detailed prep day plan and a "dish day" plan with the easy steps to complete each dish. Allison started this company to enable busy families to eat well, without the stress. Having done-for-you meal plans and clean, efficient meal prep instructions makes cooking healthy food for your family SO much easier! Make sure to go to prepdish.com/podcast for a free meal plan to see what it's all about or go to prepdish.com/subscribe to sign up now! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! How I Started Prep Dish: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep92/ The Prep Dish Grocery List: https://prepdish.com/meal-planning/grocery-list-tips/ All About Prep Day: https://prepdish.com/meal-planning/prep-day-tips/ All About Dish Day: https://prepdish.com/meal-planning/dish-day-family-meal-time-tips/ A Peek at Our Super Fast Meal Plans: https://prepdish.com/meal-planning/quick-meal-prep-healthy-dinners/

In this episode, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares the super fun story of how their new pet goat had a surprise baby! This episode is the perfect light listen during the holidays. We'll be back with more meal prep, meal planning and healthy cooking resources next week! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! The story of how we got Fruit the goat: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep104/

Whether you're a cooking veteran or just getting into it, choosing the best pans to cook with can be overwhelming! There are just so many options out there. In today's episode, chef and RD Allison Schaaf shares the only two pans she uses in her kitchen (plus a bonus!), and how to clean them. Nonstick pans contain chemicals that make them nonstick. If the nonstick coating starts to chip or degrade, that means it's getting into your food and you're ingesting it. Stainless Steel and Cast Iron pans last for a super long time and are safe to cook with. Stainless Steel: Calphalon is one good brand but there are other options out there too. Make sure there is no aluminum coating and go for pans that are as close as possible to being completely stainless steel. Always use oil or water to make sure the food doesn't stick. Keeping temperatures a little lower also helps avoid sticking. If something does stick, boil water and pour it in the pan right after cooking. Put the lid on and let it sit and then everything will come off easily! A sponge or dish brush is also useful. Cast Iron: Make sure your cast iron pan is well-oiled. The more you use it, the less care is needed. Pouring hot water on the pan works with cast iron as well if food does get stuck. You may need to buy a well fitting lid separately to help with cleaning. Avoid using soap on cast iron pans. A wire brush or a stainless steel sponge also work well for cast iron. Bonus: I use stainless steel baking sheets as well, which are great! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Calphalon Stainless Steel Pans: https://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-2029634-saute-pan-Silver/dp/B07MM3RWMN/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=stainless+steel+calphalon+pan&qid=1633117130&sr=8-5 Stainless Steel Sponge for Cast Iron: https://www.amazon.com/YASUOA-Chainmail-Scrubber-Silicone-Stainless/dp/B08RNBNSV7/ref=sr_1_27?dchild=1&keywords=stainless+steel+sponge&qid=1633116802&sr=8-27 Stainless Steel Baking Sheets: https://www.amazon.com/Checkered-Chef-Stainless-Baking-Sheets/dp/B07Z4NYXQ1/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=stainless+steel+baking+sheets+calphalon&qid=1633117044&sr=8-10

Today's episode wraps up Allison Shaaf's miniseries on efficiency. Today's tips can be applied to meal prep, but they're also applicable beyond cooking. Have a Plan It's always worth it to take a moment and think about a task before you begin. You may even want to do a short meditation, or at least gather your thoughts, before beginning a project or work session. Determine the most important thing you want to accomplish. Start with that #1 thing. This is specifically for work, but it can absolutely apply to home tasks as well. That way, even if you don't get everything done, you will have completed that most important task. Set a Time Constraint You may want to try the Pomodoro Method (https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique). Set a timer for 25 minutes before taking a few minutes for a break and repeating the cycle. Time constraints can help you focus and work as efficiently as you can. Strategic Placement of Things Sometimes having an extra item where you need it is worth it for efficiency gains. For example, I used to always go to the kitchen every time I wanted tea while I was working, but would frequently get caught up in other things that were going on in the house. Now I have an extra hot water kettle in my office and it's so much more efficient! Bonus: Avoid multitasking whenever possible! Doing one thing at a time makes for a calmer, more enjoyable life. Plus, multitasking is not usually actually more efficient! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! How I Started Prep Dish - 5 Tips From an Entrepreneur: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep92/

Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf continues her miniseries on efficiency today, focusing on batching. Batching Breakfast: You can approach this two ways. First, you can prep breakfast for the week ahead. Examples include a big batch of oatmeal, a frittata or prepping veggies for a quick breakfast hash. My favorite way to batch breakfast is to create some freezer meals! Smoothie bags are great for this. Divide smoothie ingredients into individual bags so they're easy to toss in the blender. This works best if you freeze in a single layer before adding to the bags to avoid big clumps. Breakfast burritos are also great for stocking the freezer. These work really well for lunch or a filling snack as well. Muffins freeze well too. Don't forget frittata muffins! Egg and veggie or egg and sweet potato frittata muffins freeze quite well. Lunches & Dinners: First, you can batch ingredients. For example, make a big batch of a grain, such as rice pilaf, to eat a few times throughout the week. You can serve it with a different protein each time. Similarly, you can make a roast or other large protein to enjoy in different ways throughout the week. Batch your chopping through chopping all of your veggies all at once to save time throughout the week. Another way to batch lunches and dinners is, again, to use your freezer! Any type of casserole freezes well. Lasagna and shepherd's pie are some of my favorites. Sauces also freeze really well! Next time you make pesto or a marinade, make a double batch and freeze. Soups and stews also freeze well. Bonus: Batch your supplements! Get a days-of-the-week pill box and divide up your supplements to avoid opening different bottles every day. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Batching Beyond the Kitchen: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep4/ 4 Overlooked Items to Batch: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep36/ Orange Carrot Smoothie (w/ Smoothie Bag Tips): https://prepdish.com/recipes/orange-carrot-smoothie/ Very Berry Muffins: https://prepdish.com/recipes/very-berry-muffins/ Eggplant & Grass Fed Beef Lasagna: https://prepdish.com/recipes/eggplant-grass-fed-beef-lasagna/ Cook Once, Eat Twice Carnitas: https://youtu.be/rJIlLjI4LM0