I have to admit; I’m a foodie. Most of my time on social media is spent looking at food recipes and learning how to recreate something new. I’ve been fond of the tasty videos, and I’ve made several of them. 

I hear, “I’m too busy for meal prep.” Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is an excuse. If you have time to watch Netflix, you have time to cook. I think due to the convenience of fast food and our “busy” schedules, we just stopped planning, which is a key component of meal prepping.

I did not grow up on fast food. Going to McDonald’s was like pulling teeth. Going to a restaurant, it had better be a special occasion. Otherwise, it was homemade. I grew up on a Caribbean diet, so a lot of rice and beans with some type of meat. My grandmother owned a restaurant, so I spent a lot of time there, and all the men in the house knew how to cook. So that can make me a bit biased, but I’ve always spent time in the kitchen and have been cooking since an early age.

It was not until pursuing my undergrad that I started to eat out as much as the typical American family.  Even though I was living at home during that time, I began to emulate my friends and just being on campus with all the fast-food restaurants, it just became part of what you did. So, I can see why people say they are too busy to cook. I think it’s just the American lifestyle, not a “busy” or time issue.

If you hate cooking as my wife does, then you will have to put in more effort than someone like me who loves to try new recipes and doesn’t mind spending extra time finding that one obscure ingredient for a recipe. As listed in my past post Saving Money Series, Part 1: Grocery Shopping, I mostly do my shopping at Aldi’s. For ingredients that I cannot find there, I lean on the other stores and Amazon. Therefore, I need to plan or use ingredients that I already have in the pantry. 

What are my secrets to meal prepping?

For those who say that they don’t have time to cook, how important is your health and saving money? If both are important, then you can make time. 

Imagine working part-time, going to medical school full time, and having a family with two kids under five years old. How in the world do you meal prep on that kind of schedule?

My secret is simple recipes and waking up before the family does to meal prep. My kids usually get up by 7-8 am. During my 3rd and 4th year of medical school, I realized that waking up at 6 am on a Saturday or Sunday, I could get a lot of cooking done in those two hours, as long as I planned ahead. Getting the meals out of the way that early gave me the rest of the day to spend with the family and still get some studying in. 

I usually cook 3-4 meals on the weekend, and that lasts our family through the week, and we typically go out to eat Friday or Saturday, sometimes both days. Once again, I like trying new food, and we have that built within our budget. 

During residency, I’ve kept this up. Even during crazy inpatient months where I’m working six days a week, 12-14 hours a day, I still meal prep one day a week.

I’m writing this on Sunday, September 13, 2020. Below are the meals that I prepped on Saturday, September 12, 2020. All these meals took me about 4 hours. I bought the main ingredients the day before at Aldi’s except for two items, which I had to go to Publix to find.

Meal 1: Ribs and Sweet Potatoes

What you need:

· 1 Rack of pork ribs

· 4 Sweet potatoes

· Rib seasoning (of your choice)

· BBQ Sauce (of your choice)

· Cooking spray oil

· Aluminum foil

· Parchment paper (optional)

Not sold at Aldi’s, but these G Hughes’ are my go-to for BBQ sauce. If I can’t find them in-store, look for the next best NO SUGAR option.

How to cook:

· Preheat Oven to 300℉, or 150℃. 

· Ribs:

· Clean ribs, pat dry, and season generously.

· Wrap ribs in aluminum foil and place in the center rack of the oven for 3 hrs.

· After 3 hours, take out the ribs, uncover the foil, and slather it with BBQ sauce.

· Turn your oven to Broil***

· Put the ribs back in the oven uncovered for 5 minutes.

· Take out of the oven, let cool.

· Sweet Potatoes: Two options to cook.

· Option 1: Rinse and peel the sweet potatoes.

· Simply slice the potato regularly to the desired thickness. 

· Spray with cooking spray, season if desired

· Line a pan with parchment paper (aluminum works too, but they get stuck and burn easier)

· Put in the same oven as the ribs for 40 minutes

· Option 2: Rinse and pat dry. DO NOT peel the sweet potatoes.

· Use a fork and poke holes throughout each potato.

· Spray them with cooking oil and sprinkle with salt

· Wrap each potato in a separate aluminum foil

· Put in the same oven as the ribs for 1 hour.

This is the simplest it gets. Ten minutes of preparation time, and you don’t need to do much. This is one of my favorites, so I make it a lot. Otherwise, I could eat that whole rack of ribs in one sitting. I usually make 2-3 racks of ribs.

Meal 2: Chicken Veggie Pasta

What you need:

· 3-4 Chicken breast

· 1 Jar (24 oz) of Marinara Sauce

· 1 box of Pasta of your choice 

· 1 Onion (sliced)

· 4 cloves of garlic

· Veggies of your choice (below are what I used)

· 8 oz of sliced mushrooms

· 8 oz of baby spinach (sliced)

· Bag of sliced baby carrots

· Toppings of choice (i.e., cheese)

I don’t eat regular pasta anymore, but I’ve found these varieties to be very tasty. Each box is 7.5 oz for a total of 22.5 oz of pasta. I cook all three bags at the same time.

How to cook:

· Chicken:

· Slice up the chicken breast and season with the seasoning of your choice (I just use salt and pepper).

· Cook chicken on medium heat until it is no longer pink, add the sliced onions and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes.

· Add the Jar of Marinara Sauce and your veggies. Let cook for 3-5 minutes.

· Pasta:

· While the chicken is cooking, boil pasta, follow the direction on the box. For the pasta listed above (I boil all 3 in the same pot for 5 minutes with 1 teaspoon of salt). 

· Once done cooking, drain

· Return the pasta to the pot with the chicken, sauce, and veggies.

· Simmer for 5 minutes

***This is a lot of pasta and will last a single person all week. 

Meal 3: Ground Meat and Veggies

· This is a variation of the pasta and chicken above, this time all veggies and meat. Once again, simple, few ingredients, and easy to make.

What you need:

· 2 lbs of lean ground meat (Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Bison, Beef). If you are going to use beef, recommend Lean 90%, 10%

· 1 Jar (24 oz) of Marinara Sauce

· 1 Onion

· 4 cloves of garlic

· Veggies of your choice (below are what I used)

· 12 oz Butternut Squash Spirals (one bag) *Could not be found at Aldi’s. Publix’s produce section has them fresh, not frozen.

· 8 oz of baby spinach (whole bag)

· 8 oz of sliced mushrooms

· Seasoning of your choice

How to cook:

· Meat:

· Heat skillet to Medium-high heat

· Season meat and cook until fully cooked through

· Add sliced onions and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes

· Add Marinara Sauce and remaining veggies and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Meal 4: BBQ Chicken Sandwich

What you need:

· 3-4 chicken breast

· BBQ sauce of choice (see above)

· 1 Onion

· Sliced bread (wheat, white, whole grain, does not matter)

· Premade salad, or make your own

· Toppings of your choice (coleslaw, pickles, cheese)

How to cook:

· Bring enough water to boil that covers the chicken. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Once it boils, lower to medium heat and boil chicken for 10-12 minutes.

· While chicken is boiling, sauté onions to a dark brown, remove from the stove, and set aside.

· After chicken is done boiling, let cool for 2-5 minutes, then use two forks to shred the chicken (or use your hands, but it will be hot).

· Add the chicken to the same pan used to sauté the onions.

· Coat chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce; use as much as you want—Cook for 5 minutes.

· Turn off heat and add the onions.

· Use bread to make a sandwich with your favorite toppings and condiments

· Eat with a side salad

As you can see, these are simple recipes. You don’t need to be a foodie or world-class chef, to be able to make simple great tasting food at home, especially with a “busy” life. The key is to plan ahead and set the time aside, even if you have to wake up early on your only day off. 

As a physician, I’m very conscious about my health, especially seeing obese patients with diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol every single day. The best way for me to educate them is by setting an example. I can tell them how to meal prep on a budget. I can tell them what kind of workout to do, I can tell them about these fad diets because I’ve tried them all. I always try to put myself in someone else’s shoes before trying to give them advice. Therefore, “I’m busy” is just an excuse. We, as a society, simply prefer the convenience of fast food. Unfortunately, we are paying the price with our health for that convenience.

For those who are still saying they don’t have four hours to meal prep, you can decide to break them up; for example, you can make 2 meals on Saturday, and 2 meals on Sunday, or 1 meal each day of the week, but make it in bulk.

Hopefully, these tips will help you make healthier choices and learn to enjoy the kitchen.  For the non-meat eaters out there, you can replace the meat with more veggies, tofu, or other plant-based meat substitute for a vegan style meal. Bon appétit!