For most of us meal prep begins on a Sunday. Some of us it can start on a Friday and shop over the weeekend. For the weeks your schedule is crazy here are five items you can easily grab to make meal prep easier and faster.
When it comes to meal prepping whether you are coming up with meals on your own or using an affordable online meal planner like this one, you still need some basic staples. I’ve been a wholesale club shopper for years. I think shopping at places like BJs and Costco really help when it comes to meal prepping.
If you are new to meal prepping let me tell you, it will save you SO much money on your groceries. If you need more tips nad ideas to get started on saving on groceries pick from our favorites.
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Today I’m going to share with you some meal prep items that will help you plan the week in less time.
Alrighty, lets get to it.
If you have a busy week of football practice, dance classes and late meetings these are the meal prep items you need on hand to save you time and sanity.
Rotisserie Chicken
Whether you are a BJs member or Costco member the Rotisserie chickens from both clubs are amazing and the same price- $4.99. The chicken above is from Costco.
If you are extremely short on time you can serve it just the way it is. BUT if you have a few extra minutes to spare I recommend jazzing it up if you wil./
Here are five recipes to help you do that.
- EASY SALSA VERDE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
- Chicken and Sweet Potato Farro Salad
- CopyCat KFR Chicken Pot Pie
- Buffalo Ranch Roasted Cauliflower Nachos
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
For $4.99 you can get a few meals and you can use the chicken carcass to make your own stock! Freeze it in ice cube trays and you will have homemade soup readily available.
You will need meal prep containers. If you don’t have any try these on Amazon.
Seeds of Change Packets
My Friends! This microwave side dish is a busy parent’s dream! I buy mine at BJs. You get six packs for $11.99. I wait for the BJs coupon to stock up so I get it for less than a $1 a pack.
My youngest daughter who really isn’t a fan of anything other than carbs LOVES this side dish. It has a really nice garlic flavor to it.
Read or Pin: 19 Foolproof Ways to Get Kids to Eat Veggies
If you want to watch a video on how easy it is in the microwave check out this one I did on Barilla a couple years ago now wow, I mean look at our old kitchen before the makeover!!
I’m so glad we did our kitchen makeover for under $2K!
Not a BJs Member? Sign up for a $25 membership here or grab it on Amazon too!
Frozen Veggies
You can’t go wrong with frying up chicken breasts or pork chops and adding a simple veggie to it. Frozen Broccoli and mixed veggies are the go to’s in this house. I go back and forth with stocking up at BJ’s or Wegman’s. I like the broccoli from BJ’s because it doesn’t include the stem cuts.
Nothing more frustrating then getting a bag full of stems that my kids and myself won’t eat! At least they won’t go to waste in the compost pile. Still I’m not buying items for the compost. Which is why Costco or BJs frozen veggies are worth it.
Read or Pin: My Favorite Finds at BJs Club
Easy Breakfast
Meal prepping breakfast for us usually results in what is on sale or making home made pancakes. Recently we started using the Kodiak Jack mix from BJs and Costco and the kids like it, but they like Momma’s recipe better! What can I say, my kids love carbs!
Are you tired of coming up with meal ideas?! Now is the time my friend to try out my favorite meal planning app here.
If you want to make things easy enough the kids can have something healthy, quick and do it themselves try these new fruit cups.
We tried these from BJs and my kids love them. They grab them out of the freezer squeeze them for a minute and start inhaling. I haven’t tried putting these in the lunchboxes because I think they would get too mushy.
*Check for free printable manufacturer coupons here.
If you try it let me know how it goes. I also need to figure out how they get the bananas in balls like that. It’s like a healthy version of Dippin Dots! Well sorta. You know what I mean.
Frozen Chicken Strips
Many times when I’ve been in my meal prep burnout phase I go for these chicken breast strips. I used to get them at Aldi all the time but now well you guessed it, I get them at Costco or BJs. If you are in a pinch for lunches and dinners this item is awesome. You don’t need an air fryer to get these frozen chicken strips to taste great in seconds.
They truly taste good heated up in the microwave. You can buy romaine lettuce for the week and add in these chicken strips. You can toss these in a container for the kiddos and they should be thawed by the time the kids eat. They work great for quesadillas, chicken barbecue sandwiches and more. This is a great item to have on hand if you hate making dinners from scratch.
I get mine at BJs for $10.99 for a 40 oz bag and wait for the regular $2.50 coupon BJs offers making it $8.49. It’s so worth it when times are hectic.
I hope you’ll give one of these items a try to help you meal prep while short on time this week. If you love one too let me know in the comments below.
Before you go…
Here’s This Week’s $61 Grocery Trip & Meal Menu
I agree with you the Costco rotisserie chicken is a delicious easy dinner . I really love the leftovers to make a casserole or just chicken sandwiches.