• Buy Cooked: Canned or Tetra Pak beans can make meal prep really easy. Look for low sodium or no salt added products. If you buy beans with salt, be sure to rinse of the beans to remove the sauce. Avoid beans with added sugars or preservatives.
• Buy Pre-cut (or prep ahead of time): Pre -cut veggies and fruit can make meal prep faster, but sometimes it comes with a bit more cost. Buying frozen fruit can also help save some money. Otherwise prep vegetables and fruits right away after buying them. Store the veggies and fruits in containers in the fridge and make them visible so that you’ll actually eat and use them!
• Batch Cook: Preparing extra food for the week can help make meal prep on busy days easier. Consider making large batches of meals or eve staples within the meals to cut down on meal prep time. For example, if a recipe on Monday calls for quinoa and recipes on Tuesday and Thursday use quinoa, make a lot of extra quinoa and use in the recipes.
  • Cooked lentils and beans from a can will keep for ~3-4 days
  • Cooked dried lentils and beans that are cooked will keep for ~5-7 days
  • Cooked whole grains will last for ~ 3-4 days
  • Cooked veggies will last for ~3-4 days
  • Cooked Potatoes will last ~3-5 days

* Label and date the food, and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.