9. How to meal prep (even if you hate meal prepping)
We all want to eat healthy, delicious and cheap food. To do that, you (usually) have to make it yourself. The problem is cooking food every day is a lot of work and takes a lot of time.
The specific problem I run into: it’s 5pm on a weekday and I’m hungry. I don’t have any real food in my house, and I’m getting hungry. I decide to order food just this once. It’s expensive, but I can go to the grocery store later.
Of course, that never happens and I run into the same cycle a day later.
The way to meal prep if you hate meal prepping is to give yourself permission to complete smaller “subtasks” in the large meal prep task.
For example: braised beef is one of my favorite dishes. It’s not only incredibly delicious, it’s also versatile, cheap (!), and you can easily make it in bulk.
However, if I think of making braised beef at 5pm on a weeknight, I’m in a tough spot. I barely feel I have time to go to the grocery store - I wouldn’t have anywhere close to enough time to braise beef for 3-4 hours.
Instead, I give myself permission to order food that night as long as I complete a subtask: purchase the beef, cut it up, and salt it. When tomorrow comes along, not only have I made the decision on what to cook, but it’s ready for me to begin. (In fact, I have the added motivation of having to throw it away if it goes bad!).
I admit I borrowed this idea from Ethan Chlebowski (the video is worth watching). But this problem seemed to be a psychological problem (relating to my last post) and framing it a new way helped me solve it.