Hey there!

Are you ready to stop dinnertime insanity?

Meal prepping is one of the most important things you can do to STOP the dinnertime rush! Especially when you prep your whole week’s menu in ONE day, instead of every evening!

BUT the biggest issue that most of us face when we begin meal prepping is that we start off on the wrong foot.

Let me show you HOW to get started on the RIGHT foot, RIGHT now, so you can be successful at this meal prepping thing!!!!

Meal prepping and batch cooking can be SUPER easy to do, but you first need to make sure that you have everything you need to keep up the momentum! Below, you’ll find our complete meal prep supplies list. I use and recommend EVERYTHING on this list!

 

Meal Prep Supplies List: Everything we recommend!

 

• A Weekly Menu Plan (either one you’ve written yourself, or you can use a menu plan service. We highly recommend eMeals. You can try them FREE for 14 days!)

 

TOOLS:

 

• High Quality Chef’s Knife
  I’m in love with this 6″ Wusthof Classic Cook’s Knife. (great for chopping!)

 

• Paring knife
  I love this Rada Paring Knife. I need another 1 or 2 of them!

 

• Cutting Boards (preferably more than 1)
  I’ve got plastic and wooden ones. I love them all. Any of these cutting boards will work perfectly. I do suggest getting dishwasher safe ones though. That’s just my personal preference. I also love having a few because when I’m prepping, I like to use one for produce and another one or two for meat.

 

• Extra Set of Measuring Cups and Spoons
  I have a couple sets of these stainless steel measuring cups and spoons. Extras are essential when you’re prepping for the whole week!

 

 

• Extra Set of Mixing Bowls
  Same as with the measuring cups above…extras are essential. I love this set of 4 nesting mixing bowls because of the handle and the spouts! Makes for easy pouring!!

STORAGE:

• Ziploc Bags (various sizes, including snack size, sandwich, gallon).
  I prefer the original style of ziploc bags, not the ones with the sliders. Just my personal preference.

• Aluminum Foil
  Any brand works, but I really like the heavy duty kind. It’s just more durable and holds up better in the freezer with stacking of pans, etc.

 

• Disposable Aluminum Pans (various sizes)
  You can wash and reuse these a few times before throwing out. I use the 9×13 size more than anything else, but I do also love the pie pans for smaller dishes that I’m freezing.

 

• Plastic Containers w/ Interlocking Lids (various sizes!)
  I love, love, love this Rubbermaid Food Storage Set with the interlocking lids because they don’t get lost in my cabinet!

MACHINES:

While these are not required things to meal prep and batch cook, they DO make life in the kitchen a little easier.

• Stand Mixer
  I use and LOVE this Classic KitchenAid Stand Mixer! However, any KitchenAid mixer that you use, you’ll love! I use mine all the time when prepping foods for the week — mixing up meatballs or meatloaf, mashed potatoes, dips, doughs, cookies, cakes, and even shredding chicken!!!

 

• Crockpot
  I love my crockpot. I use this digital 6 quart stainless steel oval crockpot. I use it often through the week.

 

• High Quality Blender/Food Processor (choose an all-in-one machine!)
  Save money and counter space with a food processor and blender, in one! This Ninja Mega Kitchen System is what we’ve been using and we love it! Everything swaps out seamlessly!

 

• Salad Spinner (life saver when cleaning and cutting up salad for the week!)
  I recently bought this OXO Salad Spinner and I use it each and every week! I got sick and tired of washing my salad greens and having soaking wet and wilted salads each night for dinner. Bleck! I did buy the large version, so I can spin a whole week’s worth of salads at once!

 

• Food Scale
  You never think you need a food scale, till you NEED one!!! I got this Ozeri Digital Scale because it has excellent reviews. It comes in handy – especially if you’re counting calories!

 

• Food Saver (vacuum sealer, great for freezing bulk meat)
  We have this Food Saver system that comes with a bonus starter kit. If you buy meat in bulk or family size packages very often, a vacuum sealing system is pretty necessary! It sucks all the air out, and you don’t have to deal with freezer burnt meat anymore!

 

At a Glance Supply List:

Here’s an At a Glance list in case you need to skip all of the details of each item.

• weekly meal plan
• high quality chef’s knife
• paring knife
• cutting board(s)
• extra set of measuring cups and spoons
• extra set of mixing bowls
• ziploc bags (various sizes)
• aluminum foil
• disposable aluminum baking pans
• plastic food storage containers, with interlocking lids

Machines: (not required, but very useful)

• stand mixer
• crockpot
• blender/food processor
• salad spinner
• food scale
• food vacuum sealing system

 

What am I missing? If you see something I’ve forgotten, please leave us a comment and let us know!!