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I’m a giant fan of meal prepping. By cooking meals prematurely, it makes it much easier to eat healthy throughout the week, even if you’re pressed for time. It may well also help prevent money, especially for those who get takeout ceaselessly, and ensure less food goes to waste in your kitchen. Plus, with the fitting meal prep essentials — and my free weekly meal plans — it’s easy to cook a wide selection of healthy recipes prematurely.
Credit: health foods diets/Amazon
I’ve been meal prepping for years, and there are several tools I all the time reach for to make the duty faster and easier. I’ve listed 12 of my must-have meal prep essentials below, including my favorite meal prep containers, must-have freezer trays, the most effective food scale, and a number of other other handy tools that make cooking a breeze.
My Top Picks
- Best Meal Prep Containers: Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set – $31.22 at Walmart
- Best Food Scale: OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Food Scale – $55.95 at Amazon
- Best Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes – $34.99 at Amazon
- Best Salad Dressing Containers: Salad Dressing Containers – $12.99 at Amazon
- Best Vegetable Chopper: OXO Good Grips Vegetable and Onion Chopper – $22.95 at Amazon
Reviews of Meal Prep Essentials
1. Best Meal Prep Containers: Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set
Credit: Walmart
For those who’re going to cook meals prematurely, the meal prep containers are essential. I’ve tried out several options over time, and my current favorite are the Ello Glass Meal Prep Containers, which are available a set of 5. They’re created from durable glass with colourful silicone sleeves to guard the fabric, and the lids are airtight and leak-proof, making it possible to take your meal on the go if needed. Plus, the entire thing can go right within the dishwasher for simple cleansing.
Nevertheless, for those who prefer to maintain the parts of your meal separate, you may like these 3-compartment containers from Bentgo. They’re inexpensive and are available a set of 10, and the BPA-free plastic may be put within the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safely. The containers have one large compartment on your foremost dish, in addition to two smaller sections where you possibly can put sides, snacks, or dressings.
For general food storage, I also love this glass container set from Pyrex. It comes with 9 different class containers of various sizes which are great for saving leftovers and may be used to prep different components on your meals for the week. Plus, the colourful lids are freezer, microwave, and top-rack dishwasher secure.
Buy the Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set:
Buy the Bentgo Prep 3-Compartment Meal-Prep Containers:
Buy the Pyrex Meal Prep Simply Store Glass Rectangular and Round Food Container Set:
2. Best Food Scale: OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Food Scale
Credit: Amazon
It may well be tricky to eyeball equal portions if you’re meal prepping, so I all the time wish to have my kitchen scale nearby to be sure that every container gets the identical amount of food. I personally love the OXO Good Grips Food Scale, which has a big measuring plate and easy-to-read display. It may well measure in ounces, kilos, grams, or kilograms, and the display actually pulls away from the bottom to make it easier to read for those who’re measuring into a giant bowl or container.
3. Best Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes
Credit: Amazon
At any time when I make certainly one of my soup recipes or a bunch of rice, I like to avoid wasting the leftovers using my Souper Cubes. These silicone trays are incredibly useful—they’ve pre-portioned trays that hold a single cup of food, and you possibly can put the entire tray right into the freezer. The lids are sturdy plastic, allowing them to be stacked on top of one another, and when you wish to take a serving out, the flexible silicone makes it easy to come out the frozen food and reheat it.
4. Best Salad Dressing Containers: VITEVER Salad Dressing Containers
Credit: Amazon
Salads are a fast and simple meal to make prematurely, but I don’t recommend putting on the dressing, as it might make the ingredients mushy. As a substitute, I wish to keep the dressing separate, and these cute salad dressing containers are the proper size. They’re created from dishwasher-safe stainless-steel with silicone caps, they usually each hold around 2.4 ounces. You possibly can easily tuck the little cups into your meal prep containers, they usually’re also great for condiments like mayonnaise or ketchup.
5. Best Vegetable Chopper: Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper
Credit: Amazon
Some meal prep recipes, reminiscent of my Rainbow Quinoa Salad, require quite a little bit of chopping, and if you wish to speed up the method, the Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper is a handy tool to have within the kitchen. As a substitute of dicing the ingredients together with your chef’s knife, you possibly can simply place them inside this small food processor and whirl away for perfectly sized pieces. It’s vital tool to avoid wasting time for those who like making chopped salads, sauces, salsa, or any dishes with plenty of chopped vegetables.
6. Best Overnight Oats Containers: Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jars
Credit: health foods diets
I really like making Cinnamon-Raisin Overnight Oats or Apple Pie Overnight Oats for a simple, high-fiber breakfast on busy mornings, and Ball Mason Jars are perfect for portioning out single servings. These inexpensive jars, which are available a pack of two, hold 8 ounces each—good for one breakfast—and are available with screw-on lids that create a leak-proof seal. In addition they may be used for other meal prep recipes, like my Watermelon Feta Arugula Salad.
I also like using these thicker plastic lids for my mason jars as a substitute of the lids they arrive with. Not only do I feel that they’re more sturdy, but additionally they look super pretty!
7. Best Storage Bags: Stasher Reusable Silicone Storage Bag
Credit: Goal
For those who wish to chop up veggies prematurely or portion out snacks to grab and go, Stasher’s silicone storage bags are an amazing alternative to single-use plastic bags. They’re created from a thick layer of silicone that is available in a rainbow of colours, they usually form a decent, leak-free seal to maintain the contents from dripping into your lunch box. The most effective part is the baggage are dishwasher-safe, so you possibly can just wash them and reuse them every week.
8. Best Muffin Pan: Wilton Recipe Right Muffin Pan
Credit: health foods diets
Muffin pans won’t look like a meal prep essential, but they’re actually quite versatile. I exploit them to make convenient single servings of recipes like Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Cups, Loaded Egg Muffins, and Mini Quiche, all of that are easy, healthy breakfast options for busy mornings. For those who don’t have already got a muffin pan, I like this set from Wilton, which incorporates two pans and has a nonstick finish that ensures your food comes out easily. Each of the trays holds six muffins, which is great if you don’t have to make a full dozen.
9. Best Salad Spinner: OXO Good Grips Large Salad Spinner
Credit: Amazon
I wish to wash my lettuce after chopping it up, and the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner can handle large quantities — ideal for those who’re prepping salad for the entire week. The bowl can hold greater than 6 quarts (roughly 24 cups), and it’s easy to operate due to its non-slip bottom and enormous pump button. It has a brake that may stop the inner bowl from spinning immediately, and the lid comes apart so you possibly can clean it easily. The outer bowl can even double as a salad bowl!
10. Best Pressure Cooker: Fast Pot Duo 7-in-1
Credit: health foods diets
A few of my favorite meal prep recipes, reminiscent of Baked Oatmeal Bars and Chicken Noodle Soup, may be made in an Fast Pot. These versatile pressure cookers are capable of cook recipes super fast in comparison with other cooking methods. It’s also functional and has other cooking functions, including a slow cooker, rice maker, steamer, and more. The Fast Pot Duo has a 6-quart capability that may prepare as much as six servings directly, and I still use mine on a weekly basis, which makes it totally value it..
11. Best Egg Cooker: Dash Rapid Egg Cooker
Hard-boiled eggs are a very good source of protein if you’re meal prepping, and I wish to eat them for breakfast, add them to my salads, or use them to make Egg Salad. There are several ways you could make boiled eggs, however the Dash Egg Cooker is certainly one of the faster and easiest options. This cute little appliance holds as much as six eggs at a time, and it’ll cook them to soft, medium, or hard boiled firmness in only a number of minutes. It may well also make other varieties of eggs, including scrambled, poached, and even omelets.
12. Best Mixing Bowls: Pyrex Smart Essentials Mixing Bowl Set
Credit: Goal
If you wish to prepare big batches of food to store within the fridge, these mixing bowls have tight-fitting lids. The goass are available a set of 4 that nest together, they usually range in size from 1-quart to 4-quart. The lids and bowls are color coordinated, so you possibly can all the time find the fitting one, and I like that the containers are see-through, so you realize what’s inside. Plus, each the bowls and lids may be put within the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher.
13. Best Sheet Pans: Nordic Ware 3 Piece Baker’s Delight Set
Credit: health foods diets
Bulk roasting vegetables in the beginning of the week is super helpful for meal prepping. Afterward, you possibly can store them in containers and add them to grain bowls or salads for quick healthy meals. I like this set from Nordic Ware, which comes with 1 / 4 sheet, jelly roll, and half sheet pan, and the range of sizes may be helpful for various portions.
Why You Can Trust Me
I’m Gina, the creator and recipe developer behind health foods diets, which is devoted to sharing healthy, family-friendly recipes made with seasonal, clean, whole foods. Along with posting my latest recipes, I also publish free weekly 7-day meal plans that may allow you to plan ahead and make delicious recipes on your family, including options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While you possibly can make the meals as you go, the plans are also perfect for meal prepping — especially if you have got a busy week coming up.
I put together this list of meal prep essentials using my very own experiences. Most of the products are ones that I exploit in my very own kitchen, and I really like that they make meal prepping faster, easier, and more convenient. The items I haven’t personally tested are highly-rated options that come advisable by other cooking pros and hundreds of reviews.
Prices were accurate at time of publication.