How to Meal Prep for the Entire Family

Meal prepping works wonders for your health as well as your wallets! The perks are even better when you extend it to the entire family. Eating healthy doesn't have to be an individual goal. Meal prep makes it a natural choice for the whole family with some planning.

Everyone will love it! You can take your favorite lunch, plus have something handy for your picky eater and accommodate your teenager that turned vegan last week! Sounds impressive, right?! Here are a few things you can do to make meal prepping for the whole family a breeze.

Start with a common ground: A list of ingredients, dishes, and recipes that works for all gets you started on the right foot. For instance, you can cut up and prep mushrooms, bell peppers for a quiche as well as set aside the same for roasted vegetables that will go as a side. Now that's fresh and healthy.

Family, your best meal prep company: We are serious, you won't believe the ideas and creativity that starts pouring in once you involve the whole family. Ride on the enthusiasm wave and get a diverse range of ideas to get started. Involving your picky eater or your teen in meal prep allows for more flexibility. The best part is everyone gets their favorite meal at least more than once in a week. Besides, it helps them appreciate the effort, the time involved, and also develop an essential life skill.

Go for versatile ingredients: Choose to bulk cook items like quinoa or brown rice that can double as a main dish or could also go well in soups. Works wonders if your partner is not in the mood for a pilaf. Prepping for specific meals ahead helps to cut down on cooking time.

Take a cue from Pinterest: Pinterest and Instagram can be great resources for family-friendly healthy meal prep ideas. On a side note -don't fret if your dish didn't exactly turn out to be like the glossy Instagram post. Learn to look past the perfect images and shiny filters. C'mon, you're not competing for the next master chef, so go easy!

Build meals and customize: If your partner is on low-carb meals and avoids pasta, keep it separate. If you have the veggies and other items prepped separately, the pasta can be added at last. Your partner can always choose to combine things to make his own meal to accommodate the dietary preferences.

Run a mid-week check/prep: A mid-week check on the inventory of foods will help you stay on track. You'll know if you've enough to pack the dinner leftovers as lunch for everyone at home. Besides, you'll be aware if you have food that lasts you through the next grocery shopping.

Last but not least, when meal prepping for the entire family, don't try to please everyone! The goal is to cut down the time spent in your kitchen. Have fun with healthy meal prep ideas from the whole family! OR give My Healthy Penguin a try and order your meals pre-portioned, fresh, and delicious. Delivering to the Inland Empire, including Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Corona, Anaheim Hills, Brea, Monrovia, Beaumont, Redlands and MORE!