How to save time and money with Meal Prep – A guide for beginners
Kira Zabe
September 5, 2024
In our hectic world, it is often difficult to incorporate healthy and balanced meals into everyday life. This is where the concept of Meal Preps comes into play. Meal Prep, or the advance preparation of meals, is a great way to not only save time and money, but also to ensure that you are eating healthily. In this article, you will learn how to get started with Meal Prep as a beginner and what benefits it holds for you.
What is Meal Prep?
Meal Prep means planning and preparing meals for several days or the entire week in advance. This involves buying ingredients in bulk, cooking the meals, and then dividing them into portions. These can then be stored in the refrigerator or freezer and simply reheated when needed.
The Benefits of Meal Prep
Time-saving: Instead of cooking every day, you only take one or two days per week to prepare all your meals. This gives you more free time on the remaining days.
Save money: By shopping purposefully and using your supplies, you avoid impulse buys and waste less food.
Healthy Eating: By planning your meals in advance, you have control over what you eat. This way, you can ensure that you consume nutrient-rich and balanced meals.
Stress reduction: With Meal Prep, you avoid the daily question "What should I cook today?" and the associated rush.
Step-by-step guide to getting started with Meal Prep
Planning: Start by planning your meals for the week. Think about which dishes you would like to prepare and write a shopping list. Make sure to choose a variety of nutritious recipes.
Shopping: Purchase all the necessary ingredients. It is often cheaper to buy in bulk, especially for non-perishable food items like rice, pasta, or frozen vegetables.
Preparation: Choose a day when you have time to prepare all meals. Cook the dishes and divide them into portions. Use airtight containers to keep the meals fresh.
Storage: Keep the meals refrigerated if you plan to consume them within 3-4 days. For extended shelf life, you can freeze the portions.
Warm up and Enjoy: When you're ready to eat, all you need to do is reheat the meals. It's quick and easy, so you can have a ready-to-eat meal on the table in just a few minutes.
Tips for Successful Meal Prep
- Diversity: Avoid cooking the same dishes every week. Try new recipes to bring variety to your meals.
- Portioning: Make sure to choose the right portion sizes to avoid eating too much or too little.
- Flexibility: Also plan for spontaneous meals so you don't feel like you have to strictly stick to your plan.
- Use tools: Utilize apps like "Pantry.App" to organize your supplies and plan recipes. This way, you can keep track and shop and cook more efficiently.
Photo by Ella Olsson / Unsplash
Conclusion
Meal prep is an effective method to make your daily life easier, save money, and live healthier at the same time. With the right planning and some practice, meal prep will quickly become an integral part of your lifestyle. Give it a try and discover how much simpler and stress-free your week can be!
New laws on food waste in Spain
Spain has recently passed a groundbreaking law to combat food waste. This law requires all actors in the food chain, from producers to retailers, to implement specific plans to prevent food loss.
Key provisions of the law:
Obligation to donate surplus food: Supermarkets with a floor space of more than 1,300 square meters are now required to form partnerships with non-profit organizations to donate surplus food that is still fit for consumption. These donations are exempt from value-added tax.
Offer of packaging for leftover food: Restaurants and bars are required to provide their guests with free, reusable or recyclable packaging so that they can take home uneaten food. The aim is to raise consumer awareness of food waste and encourage them to take leftovers with them.
Promotion of the sale of products with approaching expiration dates: Retailers should offer products that are nearing their expiration date or have aesthetic defects at reduced prices to encourage their sale and reduce waste.
Hierarchy of priorities for dealing with surplus food: The law establishes an order for handling surplus food. Priority is given to human consumption through donations. If this is not possible, the food should be used for the production of processed products. The last options include using it as animal feed or for energy generation.
Sanctions for violations:
Companies that violate the provisions of the law can expect fines ranging from 2,000 to 500,000 euros.
Critique and Outlook:
While the law is considered an important step in the fight against food waste in Europe, there is also criticism. Some voices argue that the strict framework of sanctions could disproportionately burden companies and that the law does not sufficiently address the role of consumers, who are responsible for a significant portion of food waste.
Nevertheless, the law is seen as a significant advancement in reducing food waste and promoting a more sustainable awareness in society.
Join in and reduce food waste! 🌱📲
Spain's new law demonstrates: Sustainability starts in the pantry! With the Speisekammer App you can keep track of your groceries, plan meals efficiently, and avoid unnecessary waste.
👉 Download the app now and join the movement for less waste and more conscious consumption! 💚 Try it now!
Get the most out of your Smantry App: Activate these premium features!
🖼️ Private photos for your articles
Make your inventory management visual! With the feature "Upload Your Own Images" you can add a photo to each item – for example, of the packaging, the jar, or the portion in the freezer. This is especially helpful if you share with others in a community or if you want to visually remember your supplies better.
Activation: Open app → Account (last tab in the mobile app) → Settings → "Activate Personal Pictures"
🔍 Target nutritional information
The app automatically displays calorie and nutritional information – super convenient when you're shopping or eating mindfully. Don't need this info right now or want a cleaner view? You can also simply hide the display!
Control:Profile → Account Settings → Enable “Hide Nutritional Information”, to hide it.
💶 Prices & Expenses at a Glance
If you want to know how much you spend on which item or how much money is lying dormant in your pantry, the Price Entry feature can help you. With it, you can plan your shopping even better and even track your budget.
Activation: Open app → Account (last tab in the mobile app) → Settings → “Enable price input”
💡 Prepper Mode: Even More Control
The Prepper Mode has been introduced for those who really want to keep track of everything – including minimum quantities, emergency supplies, and individual notes for serious situations. It's also useful if you just want to make sure you never run out of anything important.
Activation: Open app → Account (last tab in the mobile app) → Settings → “Show Prepper Information”
Here's how you can find your account settings
In the mobile app you can find the settings easily in the last tab on the far right (Account). In the web app click on Account → "Settings".
All mentioned features are part of the Premium-Version. If you don't have a premium license yet, feel free to check in the app or on app.speisekammer.app/upgrade – there's also a family license available!
✨ Conclusion: You have more options than you think. Activate the hidden premium features now and get the most out of your Smantry app. Because smart inventory management starts with the right tools.
If you have any questions about activation, feel free to contact support or check out our Help Center. And if you have feature requests – we always welcome your feedback!
Never forget leftovers again: Soon you'll be able to mark opened products 🧃✨
💡 The new feature: Mark products as "opened"
With the upcoming update, you will soon be able to specify in the Pantry App when a product was opened. This way, you always keep track:
- What is already open
- Since when it has been open
This is particularly useful for fresh or perishable food items, but also for sauces, canned goods, spreads, or snacks.
🔔 Reminders included
Of course, if you wish, you will also be automatically reminded, when an opened product should soon be consumed – all in keeping with the motto: Use rather than waste.
🎯 Why this is important
Food waste often doesn't occur while shopping – but at home, in everyday life. If we know better what is open and should be consumed, it becomes easier to make the right decisions. And that's exactly what the Pantry App wants to support you with even better with the new feature.
🛠 When will it be time?
We are currently working hard on the implementation – the feature is expected to be rolled out in the next update. So you will be able to test it very soon yourself.
If you want to participate in the testing or have feedback, feel free to write to us in support. We look forward to your ideas!
With the Pantry App, stockpiling becomes not only more sustainable, but also easier – step by step.
Stay tuned – it's getting exciting! 💚
🌍 Small ideas – big impact: These companies help you save food in everyday life
🍏 Foodsi (Poland)
This mobile app connects users with restaurants, bakeries and cafés offering surplus food at reduced prices—especially valuable in Polish cities like Warsaw or Kraków.
🛍️ OLIO – Share Surplus Food with Neighbors
OLIO connects neighbors and local businesses to share surplus food instead of throwing it away. Users can offer or request free food via the app — reducing waste and building community.
🍌 Imperfect Foods – Selling "Ugly" but Edible Food
This U.S.-based grocery delivery service rescues "imperfect" produce and surplus goods that major supermarkets reject due to appearance or overstocking — and delivers them directly to your door.
🔗 https://www.imperfectfoods.com
📦 Dispatch Goods – Reusable Packaging for Takeout
Dispatch Goods partners with restaurants to replace single-use containers with reusable packaging. This reduces packaging waste — and their system tracks and collects the containers for reuse.
🔗 https://www.dispatchgoods.com
🥬 Fresh.Land – Farm-to-Consumer to Prevent Waste (DK)
Fresh.Land shortens the supply chain by connecting consumers directly with farmers. This means fresher produce, longer shelf life, and fewer losses due to long storage or transport.
🧊 ColdHubs – Solar-Powered Cold Storage in Nigeria
ColdHubs installs solar-powered cold rooms for small farmers and markets to store perishable foods. This innovation significantly extends shelf life and reduces spoilage in hot climates.
🧃 Winnow – AI to Track Food Waste in Commercial Kitchens
Winnow’s smart scales and AI help restaurants and hotels measure and reduce food waste. By showing how much food is wasted and why, kitchens can adapt their behavior.
🔗 https://www.winnowsolutions.com
Why this matters for you
When you use the Smantry app, you can track and manage rescued food items in your pantry – whether they came from Foodsi, Karma, or another initiative. We’re building integrations to log these products, set reminders, and reduce waste in your household.
Know any other businesses doing this well?
We’d love to hear about them! Email your favourites to kira@mantry.com or write us in the chat or social media. Your tip might inspire others and be featured next. 🌿