How to Prep One Month of Meals in 1 Day!

I was recently sick for a few weeks which lead to a ton of convince eating and takeout. Now I get it, it happens. But I started thinking, what if there was a better way? And the monthly meal prep was born!

Imagine having breakfasts and lunches already prepared for the entire month. Imagine spending only a fraction of what you normally spend on food while doing it. Now stop imagining and start prepping! I just prepped an entire month of food for my family in just 6 hours for just $93 dollars.

What Type of Learner are You?

If You’re A Visual Learner: Go ahead and watch me make this entire prep over on Youtube! This blog is very comprehensive, but if you are better of watching please do!

Watch here!

If You Need Paper In Hand: I’ve created a PDF Download that makes things easier than reading or printing the blog.

What’s Included:

List of Recipes
Tips and Tricks
1 and 2 day sample schedules
Shopping List
Equipment List
All of the recipes in simple 1-click (no scrolling) printable format!

This product is normally $10 but for the month of February I’m discounting it to just $5 for my blog visitors!!

You can purchase the easy to print PDF here!

Buy my product

Committing to Success

Prepping an entire month of breakfasts and lunches is a commitment. But it’s one I’m willing to make for peace of mind the entire rest of the month. I’m a busy mom of 3 young boys and a wife to a husband who is super handy everywhere but the kitchen. I’m grateful the kitchen is my area of expertise but when life gets busy, getting it all done is hard.

What I Included

In this meal prep, I prepped:

4 weeks of breakfasts and lunches for myself and my husband (10 meals a week). I chose not to include weekends since they are less predictable.
2 different breakfast choices for my 3 young boys. I will have different options for them as well through the month but I like to prep what I can, ahead.
Snacks for the whole family. I picked things we like and tried to make a lot!

If you’re looking for the basics in an easily digestible format check out my free e-book “Mastering Meal Prep” this lays out my the whole process so you can duplicate one-month in one-day meal prep with your own recipes or use some of mine!

More Reasons Why This is Awesome!

I realized after prepping that, since everything is frozen, I can take out a selection of meals each week instead of just one choice. This makes each week a fun mix and match based on what we feel like eating. This is a great way to add variety and not get bored.

I also realized, we do not need to eat all of these meals in 1 month. Most of the frozen items last at least 3 months. We often have leftovers to have for lunch the next day. The great thing about having frozen options, is we don’t need to use them right away. If I have leftovers, I don’t need to defrost a lunch and that leaves me with more for a different day!

Tips For Success:

Make sure your counters are clear and your sink is empty before starting
Gather all of the equipment you’ll need prior to the prep
Gather all of your ingredients prior to the prep
Be resourceful and re-use the same spoons, bowls, etc as much as possible to keep dishes down
Wash dishes anytime you are waiting for something else to finish cooking.

Equipment:

* Links below are affiliate links. I do receive a small commission from anything you purchase with no additional cost to you.

You can find all of these products on my amazon store right here!

What to Make

Ingredients List:

Below is the list of ingredients you’ll need to make: 10 overnight oats, 12 slices of farmers casserole, 12 slices of baked oatmeal, 24 egg bites, 2 pans of pancakes, 32 bagel bites, 10 buddha bowls, 10 chicken teriyaki bowls, 10 Philly cheesesteak bowls, 10 servings of Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili, 14 hard boiled eggs, and 24 Blueberry Banana Muffins.

The total cost of these items at my local Walmart (not including pantry items) is $119.65. That is the exact cost of the used items, however, many times you need to purchase a package size that is larger than needed for the recipe. If you need to purchase the entire package of each. The total comes to $169.48 when purchasing full packages of each.

I had many of these items already on hand when I did my meal prep and my total cost was only $92.58! Regardless of how much you need to purchase, this is still a deal to spend on 2 people for breakfast and lunch for a whole month!

Ingredients:

45 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
0.5 lbs bacon
7.50 cups broccoli
5.00 cups snap peas
6.00 chicken breasts
2.00 pounds ground beef
2.00 green peppers
4.00 onions
4.00 cups mushrooms
6.00 slices provolone cheese
6.00 sweet potatoes
2.00 red onion
2.00 head of kale
2.00 avocado
2.00 cans chickpeas drained
2.00 lemons
0.50 cup tahini 2 head garlic
5.00 cups frozen shredded hash browns
1.50 shredded Monterey jack cheese
2.00 cups cubed ham
0.50 cup green onion
1.00 can evaporated milk
6.50 cup milk
9.50 cups old-fashioned oats
10.50 ripe bananas
1.00 cup vanilla protein powder
2.00 cups unsweetened almond milk
2.00 cup instant oats
2.00 cups chopped pecans
4.00 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
4.00 tablespoons shredded coconut flakes
6.00 tablespoons butter melted
1.00 can diced tomatoes
1.00 can diced tomatoes with green chilis (rotel)
1.00 can corn, drained
3.00 cans drained black beans (or kidney beans or pinto beans)
2.00 packages of Pillsbury southern style biscuits
2.00 8oz packages of cream cheese

Pantry Items:

1 Oil Sprayer 1 a handful of veggies (optional)
1 salt and pepper
0.75 cup soy sauce
0.75 cup honey
2.50 tablespoons sesame oil
1.00 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2.50 teaspoons cornstarch
4.00 cups rice
14.00 tablespoons olive oil
1 sesame seeds
4.00 teaspoons Worcestershire
0.50 cup beef broth or bouillon
2.00 cups quinoa (uncooked)
9.00 teaspoon cumin
2.00 teaspoons paprika
1.50 teaspoons garlic powder
1.00 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1.83 cups peanut butter
1.79 cups maple syrup
0.50 cups oil or coconut oil
8.00 teaspoons baking powder
2.00 teaspoons baking soda
2.00 teaspoons cinnamon
4.00 tablespoons brown sugar
8.00 cups flour
1.75 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning

Schedule:

Here is the 1-day schedule and below is a 2-day schedule as well. Cooking in one day is about a 6 hour affair which is why like to break this up over 2 days. Good news is, you won’t need to meal prep again for a whole month!

2 – Day Schedule

Breakfast Recipes:

Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

Farmers Casserole

Vegan Baked Oatmeal

Egg Bites

Sheet Pan Pancakes

2 Ingredient Bagel Bites

Lunch Recipes:

Buddha Bowls

Chicken Teriyaki Bowls

Philly Cheesesteak Bowls

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

Snack Recipes:

Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs

To make these perfectly cooked eggs, I use my rice cooker. I use the steam setting and set it for 14 minutes. When the timer starts, I add the eggs in the steam basket. When the 14 minutes is up, place the eggs in an ice bath. Once they cool they are ready to eat!

Blue berry Banana Muffins

Protein Granola

Watch Me Make this Meal Prep on My YouTube Channel:

FOR MORE MONEY SAVING TIPS CHECK OUT THESE VIDEOS:

MORE MONEY SAVING RECIPES TO TRY:

Maria Ronan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links on this site may include affiliate links to Amazon and its affiliate sites on which the owner of this website will make a referral commission. Thank you for supporting Meals With Maria! My videos and website are for entertainment purposes only. Any information related to food, food safety, cooking, recipes, etc. are my opinions only. Maria Ronan is not liable and/or responsible for any advice, services, or product you obtain through this video and websit