Meal preparation

Process of planning and preparing meals

Part of a series on

Meals
Meals

* Suhur
* Breakfast
* Second breakfast
* Elevenses
* Brunch
* Lunch
* Tea
* Merienda
* Tiffin
* Dinner
* Supper
* Iftar
* Siu yeh
* Snack
* Combination meal
* Kids' meal

Components and courses

* Full-course dinner
* Tasting menu
* Amuse-bouche
* Hors d'oeuvre
* Soup
* Entrée
* Roast
* Main course
* Salad
* Side dish
* Entremets
* Dessert
* Savoury
* Meal preparation

Related concepts

* À la carte
* Banquet
* Buffet
* Cuisine
* list
* Drink
* Eating
* Food
* Grazing
* History of breakfast
* Kamayan
* Table d'hôte
* Table manners
* Table setting

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Meal preparation, sometimes called meal prep, is the process of planning and preparing meals while pre-packaging the meals to be eaten throughout the week.

## Advance preparation

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Advance meal preparation

Meal preparation involves preparing meals ahead of time.[1] This practice may occur among people who desire to lose weight, gain muscle mass, or maintain a healthy lifestyle. Advance preparation can serve to standardize food portions. Prepared meals are fully cooked.[2] Meals may be prepared in small containers such as Tupperware, and are sometimes labeled and dated to remain organized.

## Benefits

[edit]

### Saving money

[edit]

By preparing meals in advance, there is a limited need for an individual to purchase food from restaurants or bars, which can have an average markup rate of around 300%.[3] According to the 2020 Consumer Expenditures Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was a 32.6 percent decrease in spending of food away from home from 2019 to 2020 and, simultaneously, there was a 6.4 percent increase in spending in food at home (which is defined as food at grocery stores and other food stores where the final purchaser is the consumer.)[4][5] These trends can be attributed to the rise of the COVID-19 during this period as consumers were more hesitant to eat out at this time. The rise in spending for food at home and decrease for food away from home means people were preparing more food at home. Which led to the average consumer saving approximately $1151 from eating out less from 2019 to 2020.[6]

### Healthy eating

[edit]

By using fresh, healthy ingredients as opposed to eating out or consuming a higher volume of processed foods, meal preparation provides numerous health benefits over eating outside of the home frequently. For example, multiple studies have shown that those who consume meals that were prepared at home more often had a significantly lower risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes mellitus.[7][8] On the contrary, those who meal prep less and eat out more and consume more processed foods have seen to have a significantly higher risk of getting conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, or cancer.[9] Studies have also shown that individuals who eat more meals out, consume a significantly higher amount of sugar and fat and a significantly lower amount of important micronutrients such as iron, calcium and vitamin C.[10]

## Drawbacks

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If not stored properly, or not timely consumed, pre-cooked meals can become breeding grounds for bacteria.[11] Potential mental health risks stem from being over-prepared, controlled and structured, with meal prepping creating a degree of rigidity that could conceivably become a fixation or rut.[11] Additionally, degradation of plastic storage containers, especially when used for microwave heating or long-term storage, can release microplastics and nanoplastics into food.[12][13] Containers, even those labeled "microwave-safe",[a] can degrade under heat, plastic lids on glass containers can degrade over time, and freezing containers can increase brittleness.[12][15][16]

## See also

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* List of cooking techniques
* Meal delivery service
* Microwave oven
* Multicooker
* Outline of food preparation
* Quarantine mealprep
* Food portal

## Note

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1. ^ "Microwave-safe" is more about structural integrity than chemical safety.[14]

## References

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1. ^ Pare, J. (2000). Make-Ahead Meals. Company's Coming. Company's Coming Publishing, Limited. ISBN 978-1-895455-72-4. Retrieved May 6, 2015. 157 pages.
2. ^ "A Beginner's Guide to Once a Week Food Prep + 20 Starter Recipes and Meal Prep Ideas - Organize Yourself Skinny". Organize Yourself Skinny. 2014-10-24. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
3. ^ "How to Price Your Restaurant Menu". Funding Circle. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
4. ^ "Spending on 9 of the 14 major components of household spending decreased from 2019 to 2020 : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
5. ^ "U.S. Food Expenditures at Home and Abroad". www.fb.org. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
6. ^ "Consumer Expenditure Surveys Tables (CEX)". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
7. ^ Polak, Rani; Tirosh, Amir; Livingston, Barbara; Pober, David; Eubanks, James E.; Silver, Julie K.; Minezaki, Kaya; Loten, Roni; Phillips, Edward M. (2018-09-14). "Preventing Type 2 Diabetes with Home Cooking: Current Evidence and Future Potential". Current Diabetes Reports. 18 (10): 99. doi:10.1007/s11892-018-1061-x. ISSN 1539-0829. PMID 30218282. S2CID 52278193.
8. ^ Zong, Geng; Eisenberg, David M.; Hu, Frank B.; Sun, Qi (2016-07-05). "Consumption of Meals Prepared at Home and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: An Analysis of Two Prospective Cohort Studies". PLOS Medicine. 13 (7): e1002052. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002052. ISSN 1549-1277. PMC 4933392. PMID 27379673.
9. ^ Fiolet, Thibault; Srour, Bernard; Sellem, Laury; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle; Allès, Benjamin; Méjean, Caroline; Deschasaux, Mélanie; Fassier, Philippine; Latino-Martel, Paule; Beslay, Marie; Hercberg, Serge (2018-02-14). "Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort". The BMJ. 360: k322. doi:10.1136/bmj.k322. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 5811844. PMID 29444771.
10. ^ Lachat, C.; Nago, E.; Verstraeten, R.; Roberfroid, D.; Camp, J. Van; Kolsteren, P. (2012). "Eating out of home and its association with dietary intake: a systematic review of the evidence". Obesity Reviews. 13 (4): 329–346\. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00953.x. ISSN 1467-789X. PMID 22106948. S2CID 42613254.
11. ^ a b Hickey, Shane (April 29, 2024). "'Meal prepping' is booming – but beware the health dangers". The Guardian. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
12. ^ a b Hussain, Kazi Albab; Romanova, Svetlana (2023). "Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health". Environmental Science & Technology. 57 (26). ACS: 9782–9792\. doi:10.1021/acs.est.3c01942. PMID 37343248.
13. ^ Krietsch, Beth (June 9, 2025). "6 Ways You Can Control Microplastics From Getting Into Your Food". HuffPost. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
14. ^ Saha, Somdatta (May 21, 2025). "Are 'Microwave-Safe' Containers Actually Safe? Experts Break It Down". NDTV. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
15. ^ Chen, Yalin; Xu, Haiyin (15 August 2023). "Plastic bottles for chilled carbonated beverages as a source of microplastics and nanoplastics". Water Research. 242 120243\. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120243. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
16. ^ Nield, David (8 August 2023). "Microwaving 'Safe' Plastics Can Release Billions of Particles, Scientists Warn". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 3 July 2025.

## Further reading

[edit]

Look up mealprep in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* Foods and Meal Preparation
* Kitchen Afloat
* Meal Preparation as a Family Therapy Intervention
* A Guide to Meal Management and Table Services' 2004 Ed.
* Planning Related to Meal Preparation
* Space Allowances for Meal Preparation and Service in the Southern Rural Home
* "A Value-Added Approach to Household Production: The Special Case of Meal Preparation". jstor.
* Ortiz, Bonnie; MacDonald, Maurice; Ackerman, Norleen; Goebel, Karen (1981). "The Effect of Homemakers' Employment on Meal Preparation Time, Meals at Home, and Meals Away from Home". Home Economics Research Journal. 9 (3): 200–206\. doi:10.1177/1077727X8100900303.
* Candel, M.J.J.M. (February 2001). "Consumers' convenience orientation towards meal preparation: conceptualization and measurement". Appetite. 36 (1): 15–28\. doi:10.1006/appe.2000.0364. PMID 11161342. S2CID 10043760.
* Jiang, Irene. "This online calculator shows you exactly how much food your household needs to buy to last a 14-day quarantine". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
* Chan, Kaitlin (19 April 2020). "How to Meal-Prep for Self-Quarantine". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-05-07.

* v
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Meals

Common meals|

* Suhur
* Breakfast
* Second breakfast
* Elevenses
* Coffee break
* Brunch
* Lunch
* Tea
* Merienda
* Tiffin
* Dinner
* Supper
* Iftar
* Siu yeh

Components
and courses|

* Apéritif and digestif
* Hors d'oeuvre
* Amuse-bouche
* Soup
* Entrée
* Roast
* Main course
* Salad
* Side dish
* Entremets
* Dessert
* Savoury
* Meal replacement
* Snack

Table service|

* Buffet
* smörgåsbord
* Conveyor belt sushi
* Dish
* Finger food
* Full-course dinner
* Platter
* Rodízio
* Service à la française
* Service à la russe
* Silver service
* Small plates
* Table reservation

Presentation|

* Al fresco
* Dining room
* Eating utensils
* Food presentation
* Garnish
* Nyotaimori
* Pièce montée
* Serving size
* Table setting
* Tablecloth
* Tableware

Dining|

* Dress code
* Table manners
* Eating utensil etiquette
* Toast
* Waiting staff

Regional styles|

* Anju
* Antipasto
* Cicchetti
* Banchan / Korean table d'hôte
* Bandeja paisa
* Dastarkhān
* Dim sum / Yum cha
* Fika
* Izakaya / Sakana
* Kaiseki
* Meat and three
* Meze
* Okazuya
* Plate lunch
* Pu pu platter
* Rice and three
* Rijsttafel
* Sadhya
* Smörgåsbord
* Tapas
* Thali
* Tiffin
* Zakuski

Packed|

* Airline meal
* Bento
* Convenience food
* Dosirak
* Ekiben
* Emergency rations
* Fast food
* Field ration
* Frozen meal
* Instant breakfast
* Jūbako
* Ninja diet
* Packed lunch
* Space food
* Take-out

Menus and
meal deals|

* À la carte
* Blue-plate special
* Combination meal
* Free lunch
* Free refill
* Happy hour
* Kids' meal
* Menú del día
* School meal
* Suspended meal
* Table d'hôte
* Tasting menu / Degustation
* Value menu

Communal meals|

* Banquet
* State banquet
* Barbecue
* Commercium
* Dining in
* Iftar
* Picnic
* Potluck
* Seder
* Sittning
* Soup kitchen
* Supra
* Tableround
* Tea party

Catering and
food delivery|

* Food delivery
* Online food ordering
* Virtual restaurant

Places to eat|

* Café
* Cafeteria
* Dining room
* Food truck
* Inn
* Kitchen
* Mess
* Picnic table
* Restaurant
* Soup kitchen
* Street food
* Tavern
* Traiteur

Related|

* Coffee culture
* Cook
* Cookbook
* Cooking
* Chef
* Culinary arts
* Cuisine
* outline
* Drink
* Eating
* Food
* Lists of food and beverage topics
* Meal preparation
* Outline of food preparation
* Salumeria
* Tea culture

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* Commons

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