How To Meal Prep Like A Pro
An example of Fallon’s meal prep for a vegan client. Image: Poppy’s Catering Instagram
I love the idea of meal prepping! But real talk—since I’ve become a mom and started cooking 3 daily meals for my family, I’ve struggled with doing it consistently. It’s always felt slightly overwhelming. Where do you start? What do you prep? Do you actually need to cook a week’s worth of meals all in one day?
Before I spoke with Fallon Turner, I was pretty lost. The mom and former bodybuilder started meal prepping in 2013, as a way to get ready for competitions. “I actually enjoyed it,” she explains. “I thought, how can I help others while doing this?” Now Fallon is a personal in-home chef for her own company. It’s called Poppy’s Catering, and is based in Los Angeles. She’s prepared meals for celebrities like Martin Lawrence and Mike Epps, as well as everyday busy moms. Fallon says that the secret to meal prepping is keeping it simple and organized. Here are some of her favorite meal prep tips to help you get started:
Fallon Turner, Creator of Poppy’s Catering
Start by addressing your goal
Are you meal prepping to lose weight, save time in the kitchen, save money, or create more grab and go meals? Figure out your why. It will help you decide which meals to cook for the week.
Make a list of your meals or recipes before you go to the store
“If I don’t plan ahead I walk out of the store with $250 worth of groceries, (for me and my son), and still eat out! Because I’ve got all of this food, and don’t know what to do with it. When I actually make a grocery list of staples that can be used a bunch of different ways, I spend about $50-75 less,” Fallon says.
Don’t make too many meals upfront
“I think that people’s mistake is that they try to make too many meals at once. Keep it very basic. People don’t like repeating meals, or eating leftovers, but really that is key.” Fallon suggests selecting 2 proteins and pairing them with 4 sides (mostly vegetables). For example, “I’ll have chicken and salmon. Maybe corn, spinach, asparagus, and I love Brussels sprouts.” 1 of the 4 sides can also be a starch base, like potatoes or rice. So you’re simply rotating sides throughout the week.
Image Credit: Poppy’s Catering Instagram
Decide on how much cooking you’ll do in advance
When meal prepping, Fallon says that the most important thing for a mom to do is to be honest with herself about her schedule and how much time she’ll spend in the kitchen. Decide if you plan to fully cook, or partially cook (“parcook”) your meals in advance. If you parcook them, which Fallon explains is what restaurants often do, it will take less time to finish cooking them when you want to eat them. You can also simply portion out your food, season it in advance, and store them in the fridge/freezer until you’re ready to use it. All of these options are timesaving.
Select a meal prep day. Decide how meals you want to prep in advance
When Fallon fully cooks 2 proteins and 4 sides, it takes her 2-3 hours. “I only meal prep for 3 days at a time, in advance (for freshness). I take my time in kitchen...It could go quicker, depending how you want to prep. Sometimes I’ll do it on a Sunday. Sometimes I’ll do it in the middle of the week, if I find a pocket of time.”
Poppy’s Catering: Packing up orders.
Store food in a way that fits your lifestyle
“Before I got individual storage containers, I would prep my meals family style. I had a container of 5 pieces of salmon, 5 pieces of chicken, etc..” The most effective storage depends on your lifestyle. If you’re planning to eat most of your meals at home, family style may work. If you desire quick grab meals to travel with, go with individual containers and stack them in your fridge. Here’s a few great options: Option 1, Option 2, Option 3. “I always buy glass for myself. (Storage varies with clients). I try to be as eco-friendly as possible,” Fallon explains. If you have a big family and plan to prep food in larger quantities, look at stores that serve the restaurant industry, like WebstaurantStore.
Stock your kitchen with these meal-prep essentials
While you may try new recipes to mix up your standard favorites, Fallon has a few must-have food staples that she has on hand when meal prepping. She favors them because they can be used to create a variety of meals:
Celery
Carrots
Onions
Bell peppers
Red Potatoes
Canned vegetables
Veggie Stock
Chicken Stock
Quinoa
Brown sprouted rice
Black wild rice
Meats or Vegan Protein: Buy as needed, to keep as fresh as possible.
Basic seasonings: pepper, kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt, garlic salt, garlic powder
Poppy’s Catering: Chickpeas and vegetables.
Want quick kid-friendly meal ideas? Fallon loves prepping these:
-1 pan meals: Chop up veggies, add a protein. Season. Pop your pan into the oven.
-Meatballs: “Throw everything in bowl. Put it into the oven. Throw sauce on them!”
-Pesto pasta: Always a favorite!
-Mac and cheese with steamed broccoli: Add chicken or bacon to it, for extra protein.
-Oven baked salmon, topped with teriyaki sauce
-Sweet potato fritters: Perfect for vegan or vegetarian moms! Grate sweet potatoes, add in sauteed spinach, carrots, and a binder; like chickpea flour with water or oatmeal if you don’t use eggs. Add breadcrumbs, if desired. Season with garlic, salt, pepper, (and even curry) and fry them with coconut or grapeseed oil. Boom—you’ve got a meal in 30 minutes, or less!
Post updated: October 2022
Thanks for reading! For more resources for busy moms who want to lead healthier, plant-based lives: Follow me @getmommafied on Instagram, and subscribe to my bimonthly Mommafied Note.