Meal Prepping Without the Pressure

To Prep or Not to Prep

… that is the question.
Whether it’s nobler to prep and suffer
under the pressure of your knives and spoons,
or take arms against a kitchen full of food…

I’m kidding. But then again, I’m not.

On the Menu

The Meal Prepping Myth

If you’re anything like me, you’ve watched dozens, if not hundreds, of those meal prep videos, where a happy, healthy young chick is cooking up a storm, resulting in a fridge and freezer full of meals. Enough to feed an army for a week. At the very least. And all of that in under two hours time. How do they do that?

Part of the answer is in what you don’t see. The planning, the shopping, the dishes… That’s a lot of work, and none of that is included in those one or two hours of meal prepping. It looks fast. Flashy. Flawless. Maybe even—dare I say it—glamorous.

For most of us, however, meal prep is a messy, tiring, and nowhere near as quick and effortless as these videos will have you believe.

The other part of the answer? I can’t be sure, but it might just be the magic that comes with the being young and healthy.

Why My Meal Prep Looks Different

So here I am. Neither young nor healthy—and since you are reading this, chances are you aren’t either. Sure, you might be young, but I have yet to meet the first healthy Spoonie, so there’s that.

My reality? I live in constant pain, battle chronic fatigue, am wheelchair-dependent, and autistic, with perhaps a side of ADD (but I’ve never been tested for that, and by now I’m old enough to think it doesn’t really matter any more).

My meal prepping easily takes all day (or more realistically, all weekend) and still, I end up utterly exhausted and with unfinished tasks. The results of all my hard work will feed only me. Usually not even for an entire week.

But you know what? I’m OK with that. I do what I can and it works for me.

That’s enough.

Is Meal Prepping worth it?

That’s a question every person has to answer for themselves. To me, it certainly is. Most of the time.

But I love homemade food. And I love cooking. Spending ~~one day~~ two days a week prepping saves me a lot of time and energy later on. I get to enjoy lovely homemade meals and treats all week long, without using up all my spoons in the kitchen every day. That‘s a definite win to me.

A close-up of a wooden surface features bowls of green peas and diced vegetables, alongside chopped peaches and tomatoes—perfect for meal prepping with fresh cucumber and yellow bell pepper.

You may be different. You might not enjoy cooking and just want to find a way not to starve or go bankrupt ordering takeout. Spending an entire day cooking may not be enticing, or even feasible for you at all.

If that’s you, don’t despair. Below, I’ll share my three best meal prep tips with you.

Easy Meal Prep Ideas That Actually Work

Double up and freeze
- You don’t have to do it all in one day. Maybe you could make double portions of each meal you prepare. Eat one now, freeze one for later.
Prep extra veggies
- Maybe you could clean and chop double, or even triple, the amount of vegetables you need. Use one part, save the rest for later.
Use five-minute prep blocks
- If you can prep for just five minutes at a time—and maybe two or three times a day—do it. Because even that will help you achieve your goal of eating more homemade meals.