National Meal Prep Day Date in the current year: June 9, 2024

Meal preparation, often shortened to meal prep, is the process of planning meals and preparing them ahead of time. Since these meals are fully cooked, they are usually prepared for a short period of time (up to five days) and stored in the fridge in labeled and dated containers.

People practice meal prepping for various reasons. For example, meal prepping may make it easier to follow a specific diet for those who want to lose weight, gain muscle mass or maintain a healthy lifestyle, as well as for people with various dietary restrictions. When meal prep is done right, your meals will be healthy, nutritionally balanced, and portioned in such a way that you won’t eat too much or have food waste.

Meal prep also helps save money on groceries (because people who schedule their meals in advance are less likely to buy food they won’t end up eating), eating out or ordering in. It is also a great way to eat homemade food every day when you don’t like to decide what to have for dinner and cook every day.

Meal prepping starts with planning your weekly menu. Some people like to experiment with different meals every week, while others enjoy the consistency of knowing what to expect and plan specific foods for different days of the week. Choose whichever approach you are most comfortable with. Keep in mind that different cooked foods last in the refrigerator for different periods of time, which you should take into account when you assign meals to days of the week.

Once the menu is ready, make a list of groceries you need to buy (don’t forget to include some healthy snacks because you may get hungry even with carefully planned and portioned means; sometimes our bodies are unpredictable) and set aside a day to go grocery shopping.

When you have all the groceries you need, it’s time to start cooking. Most people prep meals on their day off because it gives them enough time to cook enough food for a week. Start with dishes that take the longest to cook such as stir-fry or stew. If your planned meals include salads, you can chop most of the ingredients and keep them in separate containers, but mix the salad and add the dressing right before serving.

Store your meals in the refrigerator in airtight containers. Label all containers with a date so that you know when they were prepared and store meals that need to be eaten first up front. If a meal can be frozen and its texture and taste don’t change much after thawing, we highly recommend freezing it instead of simply refrigerating.

National Meal Prep Day was launched in 2021 by Phit Phuel, a Texas-based company offering gourmet meal preps. The best way to celebrate it is, of course, to try to incorporate meal prepping into your life. You can subscribe to a meal delivery service, which will help you avoid grocery shopping and cooking, or start prepping your meals yourself, which will allow you to save money and tailor the menu to your requirements and tastes. Either way, don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtag #NationalMealPrepDay.