Meal Prepping Secrets That Can Save You Time And Money

Summary

Podcast Summary: Am I Doing It Wrong? – Episode: Meal Prepping Secrets That Can Save You Time And Money

Hosts: Raj Panjavi Johnson & Noah Michelson
Guest: Kevin Curry, Cookbook Author & Founder of Fit Men Cook
Release Date: January 23, 2025

---

Introduction to Meal Prepping

In this episode, hosts Raj Panjavi Johnson and Noah Michelson delve into the world of meal prepping, exploring its benefits, common pitfalls, and expert strategies to make it effective and enjoyable. To provide in-depth insights, they are joined by Kevin Curry, a renowned cookbook author and the founder of Fit Men Cook.

[02:28] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
“Are you doing meal prep wrong? Are you doing meal prep at all?”

[03:36] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
“We have with us today Kevin Curry, a meal prep wizard. Let's get in the kitchen.”

Understanding Meal Prepping

Defining Meal Prep:
Kevin Curry breaks down meal prepping as the practice of preparing meals in advance to ensure convenience and adherence to wellness goals. He traces its origins from frozen dinners and family leftovers to its prominence in the bodybuilding community.

[04:02] Kevin Curry:
“Meal prep is just basically having meals that are ready to go. The bodybuilding community really put meal prep on the map because they have strict caloric and nutritional guidelines.”

Benefits of Meal Prepping

1. Time Savings:

   • Reduces daily cooking time by preparing multiple meals at once.
   • Minimizes the time spent deciding what to eat each day.

2. Cost Efficiency:

   • Significantly cuts down on expenses compared to eating out or ordering takeout.
   • Example:
     [05:53] Kevin Curry:
     “I did a challenge where I prepared five meals a day for $75, saving money compared to buying lunches.”

3. Nutritional Control:

   • Ensures meals align with personal wellness and dietary goals.
   • Helps avoid unhealthy choices driven by hunger.

[08:00] Noah Michelson:
“When you prep, you’re not just saving time and money, but also ensuring you stick to your health goals.”

Essential Tools and Gadgets for Meal Prepping

Storage Solutions:

• Tupperware and Containers:

  • Prefer BPA-free plastic or glass containers for safety and convenience.
    [10:56] Kevin Curry:
    “You just need some good food containers. Glass is good, but it's heavy.”

• Big Mason Jars:

  • Ideal for salads and layered meals, offering a neat and portable option.
    [11:23] Noah Michelson:
    “Big Mason jars are my favorite for meal prep. They look less dorky and are practical.”

Kitchen Appliances:

• Slow Cookers and Air Fryers:

  • Essential for hands-off cooking, allowing meals to be ready when needed. [13:46] Kevin Curry:
    “A slow cooker is perfect for on-the-go meals. It boosts confidence in the kitchen.”

• Sheet Pans and Muffin Trays:

  • Useful for roasting vegetables, proteins, and making individual portions like frittatas.
    [26:25] Kevin Curry:
    “Sheet pans allow you to cook everything at once in the oven, saving time.”

Best Practices for Effective Meal Prepping

1. Frequency of Prepping:

   • Twice a Week Strategy:
     • Prepping meals twice a week (e.g., Monday and Thursday) ensures freshness and variety.
       [12:24] Kevin Curry:
       “Prepping twice a week for three days each session keeps your meals fresh and exciting.”

2. Choosing the Right Foods:

   • Optimal Meal Choices:

     • Casseroles, soups, rice dishes, and smoothies hold up well over multiple days.
       [20:05] Kevin Curry:
       “Casseroles and soups are great because they develop better flavors over time.”

   • Avoiding Certain Foods:

     • Seafood can spoil quickly and emit strong odors when reheated.
       [20:05] Kevin Curry:
       “Seafood is best kept at home to avoid overwhelming smells in shared spaces.”

3. Incorporating Variety:

   • Mix and Match Components:
     • Prepare separate batches of proteins, grains, and vegetables to create diverse meals throughout the week.
       [17:12] Kevin Curry:
       “Mix and match ensures you have exciting meals by combining different components.”

4. Creative Meal Planning:

   • Incorporate Global Cuisines:

     • Draw inspiration from different cultures to keep meals interesting and nutritious.
       [35:30] Kevin Curry:
       “Exploring global cuisines can introduce new flavors and make meal prep more enjoyable.”

   • Theme Nights:

     • Assign specific themes to certain days (e.g., Taco Tuesday, Soup Sunday) to add structure and anticipation.
       [38:09] Kevin Curry:
       “Thematic meal prep adds excitement and helps maintain consistency.”

Common Meal Prepping Mistakes

1. Overprepping:

   • Attempting to prepare meals for an entire week can lead to burnout and eating fatigue.
     [46:44] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
     “Don’t try to be a hero and cook for the whole week. You might end up hating everything by day seven.”

2. Ignoring Personal Preferences:

   • Preparing meals based solely on trends or external advice without considering personal taste can lead to dissatisfaction.
     [09:19] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
     “Eat what you like to ensure you enjoy your meals and stick to your prep.”

3. Food Waste:

   • Buying ingredients you don’t use or preparing meals you don’t enjoy results in wasted food and money.
     [10:10] Kevin Curry:
     “Start by writing down what you already eat to avoid unnecessary purchases and waste.”

Expert Tips for Successful Meal Prepping

1. Start Small:

   • Begin with prepping one meal per week and gradually incorporate more as you become comfortable.
     [41:05] Kevin Curry:
     “Choose one meal to prep initially, then incrementally add more as you get into the habit.”

2. Use Quality Ingredients:

   • Focus on using fresh, high-quality ingredients that you enjoy to make meals more appealing.
     [09:03] Noah Michelson:
     “Ensure the food you prep is something you look forward to eating.”

3. Invest in Versatile Tools:

   • Equip your kitchen with multi-functional appliances like instant pots or versatile air fryers for greater flexibility.
     [14:44] Kevin Curry:
     “Multifunction cookers offer more flexibility and save counter space.”

4. Embrace Creativity:

   • Experiment with different recipes and ingredients to keep meals exciting and prevent monotony.
     [44:34] Kevin Curry:
     “Incorporate new ingredients weekly to discover new flavors and keep meals interesting.”

5. Manage Portions and Storage:

   • Properly portion and store meals to maintain freshness and prevent spoilage. Use airtight containers and consider freezing portions for longer storage.
     [40:01] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
     “Choose the right storage methods to keep your meals fresh throughout the week.”

Key Takeaways

In the concluding segment, the hosts and Kevin Curry summarize the key points discussed:

1. Meal Prepping Purposes:

   • It serves for convenience, health, and saving money.
     [46:35] Noah Michelson:
     “Meal prepping can be for convenience, eating well, or saving money. Choose what fits your goals.”

2. Avoid Overprepping:

   • Limit prepping to a manageable number of meals to prevent burnout.
     [46:44] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
     “Don’t try to prep for the entire week; you might end up resorting to unhealthy choices.”

3. Buy What You’ll Eat:

   • Focus grocery shopping on ingredients you enjoy to minimize waste and ensure meal satisfaction.
     [47:03] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
     “Buy what you’re actually going to eat, not what you aspire to eat.”

4. Flexible Prepping Methods:

   • Utilize various prepping styles, such as prepping proteins or creatively using leftovers to maintain diversity.
     [47:12] Noah Michelson:
     “Meal prep can come in all kinds of forms, offering flexibility based on your needs.”

5. Recreate Favorite Dishes:

   • When eating out, take inspiration from restaurant meals to recreate and meal prep at home for cost and health benefits.
     [47:18] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
     “Take what you love from dining out and recreate it at home during meal prepping.”

Final Thoughts

Noah expresses newfound enthusiasm for meal prepping after the discussion, highlighting the importance of making it enjoyable to curb reliance on takeout services. Raj shares her strategies for incorporating new ingredients and recipes into her meal prep routine, inspired by Kevin’s advice. Kevin emphasizes the significance of setting small, achievable goals and embracing a personalized approach to meal prepping to ensure long-term success and satisfaction.

[46:35] Raj Panjavi Johnson:
“I’m obsessed with what Kevin said about trying a new ingredient each week. It opens a lot more doors for what you can make.”

[46:19] Kevin Curry:
“Start small. Incremental steps ensure you stay consistent and avoid burnout.”

---

Conclusion:
This episode provides a comprehensive guide to meal prepping, combining practical advice with motivational insights. By emphasizing flexibility, creativity, and incremental progress, listeners are equipped to adopt meal prepping as a sustainable practice that enhances their lifestyle, saves time and money, and supports their nutritional goals.

Transcript

[Discover Representative]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you still think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report this is a.

[Bombas Representative]

Mini meditation guided by Bombus. Repeat after me. I'm comfy. I'm cozy. Cozy. I have zero blisters on my toes.

[Kevin Curry]

Blisters.

[Bombas Representative]

And that's cause I wear Bombus the softest Socks, underwear and T shirts that give back. One purchased equals one donated. Now go to bombus.com acast and use code acast for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M-B-A-S.com acast and use code Acast at check.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Today's episode is sponsored by eHarmony, the dating app to find someone you can be yourself with.

[Noah Michelson]

Noah, one thing that my friends who are on the apps constantly complain about is getting terribly unoriginal first messages from people. It's such an awful first impression to come out the gate swinging with some cheesy pickup line.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Ugh. Absolutely. I completely remember when I was on the apps, most of my conversations were so boring, but it's hard not to be right. That's where our sponsor eHarmony comes in. Their compatibility quiz helps bring out people's personalities on their profiles. They highlight similarities you have with potential matches so you have a better jumping off point for conversation. It's so much better than just what's up?

[Noah Michelson]

Yup. Plus, eHarmony disables copy and paste for first messages so you can get better messages that lead to stronger connections.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

And eHarmony makes it easier to have better conversations, so you're already one step ahead when it comes to meeting someone who gets you.

[Noah Michelson]

So why not give eHarmony a shot? Take their personality quiz to get started today.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

It's 2025. It's all about simplifying your dating life. No more boring conversations.

[Noah Michelson]

Amen. Get who gets you on eHarmony? Sign up today. Hi, I'm Raj Panjavi Johnson, Head of identity content at Huffp.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

And I'm Noah Michelson, director of HuffPost Personal.

[Noah Michelson]

Welcome to Am I Doing It Wrong? The show that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Okay, Raj, this week I want to know, are you doing meal prep wrong? Are you doing meal prep at all?

[Noah Michelson]

Oh, I'm doing it, and I'm doing it wrong. Wronger than ever. Okay. I just. On Sunday, I'm feeling, you know, aspirational about the week. I put together some meals. They're too, quote, unquote healthy. And by day two, even I'm like, f this, I want to go to Taco Bell, so I really need some help. What about you?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I am really good at it, I have to say. I'm just gonna say that. Put that out there. I do mine on Monday night.

[Noah Michelson]

Okay.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Instead of Sunday, and I do it for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And I don't get sick of the salad I make, but I just do some components. I don't do everything. It doesn't feel overwhelming. I watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. While I do it, and it makes me really happy about my week.

[Noah Michelson]

All right, if anyone wants Noah's iconic salad recipe, email us. And for the rest of us, thank goodness we have with us today Kevin Curry. He's a cookbook author, founder of Fit Men Cook, and all around meal prep wizard.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Let's get in the kitchen.

[Noah Michelson]

Kevin, thank you so much for being with us here today. We're so excited to have you.

[Kevin Curry]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Noah Michelson]

Let's start with the absolute basics. What the hell is meal prep? I think we. We hear the term thrown around a lot.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah. You know, and it's not that complicated, but I was thinking about it myself, and I think I just overthought it too. So let me just down this rabbit hole that I went down. Meal prep is just basically having meals that are ready to go. You know, frozen dinners, I think were the earliest iteration of that. You know, I'm not sure how old y'all were are, but when I grew up, we. It was before the lean Cuisine. I'm talking about the Salisbury steak that was like that. Things like that. When. When convenience was a thing for people and they were trying to get. Get more into that. Right. Then, of course, you had the other iterations of, like, a mom and leftovers for the family and making that. So that was something that was ready to go. And then I grew up at a time, too. My mom was on, like, the Jenny Craig and the Weight Watcher thing, and I think that was an early iteration of it too, just having some of the. Some of those meals ready to go. But I really think, though, that what really put meal prep on the map was the bodybuilding community. And think about it. You know, have you ever seen a bodybuilder? They walk around with like a jug of water as if there's going to be a drought. And they also like their meals ready to go. And the reason is, is they have to have really strict caloric guidelines. They have to have, you know, like, hydration, all of that. So everything is timed to make their physique look a certain way. So they always have to have meals ready to go. And people begin to look at this concept like, oh, okay, well, this is actually a viable path to achieving my wellness goals. Because what people usually do is they just kind of just wing it. Right. And whenever you wing it, especially when you're hungry, wellness doesn't. Wellness is not the first thing on your mind. It's carrying that hunger. And so I think that's where meal prep kind of comes from, is this idea of just having these meals that are ready to go that will push you further to your wellness goals.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, I think it's interesting because it seems like sort of the combination of three things. Like you said. One, saving time. Like, you think about women entering the workforce in the middle part of the 20th century and they didn't have time to cook anymore and they were still the ones who were supposed to be doing it. So you're saving time. The whole wellness nutrition side of it, where you're getting the nutrients that you need because you've pre portioned it and you've thought about it and then just how technology plays into it too. Like now that you can freeze things, now that you can go on TikTok and see people like Kevin telling you how to meal prep, like just all of these things coming together makes meal prep. It feels like we're in the golden age of meal prep now.

[Noah Michelson]

Yes. And we need Kevin here because I feel like the fitness people that you see, I'm just gonna call them fitness people, will walk around with like a Tupperware full of grilled chicken or like boiled chicken. And I'm like, no, it has to be better than this.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yes, completely. I would love to just start with talking about, like, what are some of the benefits that you see of meal prep, especially for someone who isn't a bodybuilder or isn't a busy parent? Like, why would the average person want to think about meal prepp?

[Kevin Curry]

One of the first things is that, like, it does help you to save time on meal planning. I'm pretty sure everyone can kind of relate to this idea of roaming around the grocery store through the aisles trying to find something to eat. And it's like you're just waiting for, like, a meal just to jump out at you, like, into your cart. And so meal prepping kind of takes out all of that guesswork because you're planning, like, your weekend out, you know, essentially, so you actually know, like, what you're going to be able to eat. Also, this is not just for grocery shopping. This is for, like, every single day. So when you come home from work, you know, there's food there that's ready for you to go. You don't have to try to cook. Cook anything. Right. And people also forget that when you meal prep, you're not just. Hopefully you're not making just a meal for that night. You're making meals for multiple nights. And so, again, you are saving time throughout the week, so that way you don't have to keep on cooking each and every day. The other thing is, is about saving money. In fact, this is how I started my heritage in meal prep. I was known as a 75 meal prep guy, and it came from this idea with I was working in corporate America. I was trying to lose weight, and I was also on a really small budget. Like, I didn't have lots of money, and I was doing my finances, and I was like, Yo, I spent $75 on lunch this week with coworkers. And for me, that was huge. I'm like, yo, this is a lot of money. And then I thought, what if I could actually just take all that money and buy groceries? So I did this challenge on YouTube where I got. I did five meals for five meals a day, offer $75. So taking my lunch budget. And so I was showing you can actually save a lot of money, because, remember, lunch was just one meal, but now I had five meals for that same price. Right. So it's a way to save money, you know, like, that way, you know, as well, especially if you're on a fixed income. So it does help out tremendously. And then I think, you know, somebody mentioned the decision fatigue, and I think just taking out the guesswork. I hate opening up the, you know, the fridge and just staring at it, being like, what am I going to eat? What am I going to eat? Same thing in the pantry, when you already have options that are ready to go, it just. You just have it there. So it makes it really easy.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah, you kind of have to, like. I feel like this is a practice, right, Because I have tried to meal prep, but I feel like you have to really like the food that you're meal prepping. You can't just. You know what I'm saying? And that's your whole brand. Like, actually meal prep what you want and look forward to eating.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right? Not just making six grilled chicken breasts and, like, a cup of broccoli and, like, you know, a bun or whatever. Like. Yeah, yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

No, I mean. And you hit the nail on the head. There are so many people that actually just meal prep because Dr. Oz or some talking head on TV said to eat this and that, and they'll come up to me, man, I hate this. I was like, well, why are you eating it? You're supposed to be cooking things that you actually like to eat. It's a pitfall for many people. And I call it, you know, the aspirational buying. When you'll walk into the grocery store, you'll see, like, the produce section. You're like, all right, this is the week. I'm gonna just eat this and that and this arugula and this. And then fast forward. It's a science project in your. In your fridge by Friday, because you just didn't do it, and you don't want that.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right.

[Kevin Curry]

So I tell people, first off, just write down what you're already eating, like, right now.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

And then backsaw that way. So that way you're eating foods that you like. And you're also not contributing to food waste.

[Noah Michelson]

That's what I was gonna say, too. I feel like if you are intentional about it, there'll be. Food waste is a huge problem for me. Like, I have the best int. But it's, like, horrible to throw away food.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right. Food waste equals money waste, too. You're just literally throwing money into the trash can if you're buying stuff one you don't want to eat or stuff that you're not going to eat in time. So I love that idea, Kevin, though, starting with writing down, taking sort of an audit. An audit, exactly. Of what you're already eating and going from there. What about. I think one of the things I think of the most with food prep is storage containers. So what are your thoughts about, like, what do we need to actually have in terms of the materials to food prep?

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, you just need some good, like, Tupperware. And I say Tupperware, but not the brand Tupperware, but just some good, like, food containers. I always do the BPA free ones. Glass is good, but glass just tends to be really heavy.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

If you're toting that around. So just an FYI, there are some people that are really, like, into that if you are the Kind of person who's like, I don't want the plastic. Well, you can store it in the plastic and then take it out and put it onto a plate to warm it up as well. So there's another option.

[Noah Michelson]

I have to tell you guys, I have a strong opinion about this. You know what the ultimate hot girl food storage is? Big Mason jars. Okay, listen, it's my favorite thing. You can layer salads and pour it out. It looks less dorky. I'm sorry. It's really.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

You get a great seal on it.

[Noah Michelson]

You get a great seal. You can go through a roller coaster and nothing's going to fall out. I know it's a little heavy, but that'll contribute to your gains, Kevin.

[Kevin Curry]

Well, yeah, I mean, hey, I'm all about that, but I just don't eat a stacked salad every single day.

[Noah Michelson]

No, it could be pasta.

[Kevin Curry]

Sometimes I want chicken fried rice. Sometimes I want a casserole, like a lasagna. I mean. Yes. And I do use those jars as well. And if that works for you, do it. I love it. I love it. So do what works for you at the end of the day. But yes, jars are really good for that.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

What are we doing in terms of when are we prepping? Are we doing this once a week? Are we doing this twice a week? If we want to have dinners or lunches for the whole week, what are your thoughts about when we should be doing this?

[Kevin Curry]

Okay, so I used to be at the school of thought, like, you just need to prep one day of the week. And I'll be honest with you, a lot of these people who say that they do that, let me tell you what's happening behind the scenes by like Thursday or Friday, they're hating the food. So they're either like drenching it in a whole bunch of sauce or cheese like everybody else just to get it down, or they're going to be tossing it it. So I found out that the most efficient way, at least for me, would be to prep twice a week, and I would prep about three days worth. And I know people are like, oh, my God, that's so much work. Actually, you're cutting down your time because three meals, that's about a 45 minutes in the kitchen.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

You know, just making something up, just, you know, so it doesn't take you that long. And the. The benefit of doing that too, is that it's always going to be fresh, you know, and so you're. So you are kind of tricking your taste buds into looking forward to something Else, right? And it be some of the same ingredients. But at least if you're prepping it twice a week, you can maybe make one or two swaps, which makes it exciting for you to eat that food again.

[Noah Michelson]

I want to ask you about different gadgets in the kitchen that we see people really tout on TikTok and whatever. My little brother is a bit of a bro. He's like, I want to set it and forget it, bro. And with his slow cooker. So he loves you. So what do you think about air fryers, slow cookers? Do these things help with meal prep?

[Kevin Curry]

Oh, heck, yeah. Absolutely. Especially for a bachelor. Bachelorette families, too. But look, if you're on the go, a slow cooker will get you right. You can just put your food in there, pop the top and leave and come back home to a wonderful meal. I even say this, you know, for college students, if they can have that in their dorm rooms, but it's such an easy one. And even if you aren't the best in cooking, you know, putting everything into a crock pot, into a slow cooker is just. It's super easy. So I. I think that one, that this device probably gives people the most amount of confidence in the kitchen. Like that. With a buddy, we have, you know, like, steak night, and he's like, oh, man. This instant pot thing, he's talking about as if. I don't know. I'm like, yeah, it's awesome, isn't it? He's like, I love it. It's just, you know, it's wonderful, man.

[Noah Michelson]

It's also accessible. Like, I feel like slow cookers and air fryers, you can get for, like, a little bit cheaper. You know, instant pot's a little pricier, but you can get a slow cooker for, like, $30.

[Kevin Curry]

So because the technology has been, like, increasing into so many different competitors now, they're. They're much more, like, affordable now. And I always, you know, if you can get the multifunction cooker, maybe it's about 20 bucks more. But with the multifunction cooker, you get the slow cooker, you get the pressure cooker, you can sear inside of it. There's tons of other things that you can do. You can steam, and so it just allows you a lot more flexibility. And then also it's a counter space saver. So they're usually pretty small. They could fit there out of the way. The air fryer, same thing. I know that the most popular kind is like the egg frame kind, right? And I think those are Great. Like, with the bin, my only thing with those is that I don't like to cook food batches. I don't want to make 10 fries, and then I got to put, you know, like, take those out, cook the other fries. So I tend to get the air fryers that look kind of like an oven. They're not as small, but at least the bin and the trays are much larger. And I see. And I find that you get, like a crispier coating on there, but also you can do larger batches of food.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah. I will also say, I think with meal prep, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. So I make the same salad. I've talked about this on the show before. Every night, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And on Monday night, I prep most of it. I put a bunch of beans in a Tupperware. I make sweet potato. But every night I add something that I do that night, and it takes me 10 minutes. So I put tofu in the air fryer, so that's something I do at the night. Or I put two fried eggs on top of it. And so I have some of my prep, but some of it I'm making fresh. And, like, I love that.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Gives me more options. There's something fresh that I'm putting on it, and it doesn't feel quite so. Like just the same thing every night.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah. Like, kind of like a partial, I think. Anything to save you time is so good.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, for sure. But it does. When I get home tonight, I'm going to the eye doctor after this, after a full day of work, and then I know I already have my food ready for me. I'm going to make some tofu.

[Noah Michelson]

No sexy life. Your life is just wild.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I don't want to fuck around. You know, my time is. Is. Is like time is money to me. So I love not thinking about my meals on the weeknights.

[Kevin Curry]

That's actually my preferred way to actually meal prep, too. Like, I call that mix and match meal prep, where, like, you can make, like, batches of different foods. So you make a batch of protein or just baby chicken or turkey, and then a batch of some grains, some beans and salad. And then you just mix and match throughout the week. And you can add a simple ingredient. And that's one of the best ways to do it. Just because every day you're like, what am I in the mood for? All right, put these things together and there's my meal.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right. You can make a tacos with some of it one night, or you can make a pizza with one. You know, you've done a lot of the next night. Exactly. Right. I think that. Or make a salad. Like, I just think having the options. But the bulk of the work has already been done. Yeah, I love that.

[Noah Michelson]

I think that's what the core of it is. I will turn anything into a taco. Truly.

[Kevin Curry]

Yes.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Oh, of course.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

The other day, I saw someone at a restaurant. They had pancake tacos. They took the pancakes and put fruit in the middle of them and we're eating them like tacos.

[Noah Michelson]

This is the kind of meal prep I want to do.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

It was incredible.

[Kevin Curry]

Pancake tacos because they forgot the bacon because the pancakes.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Tuck it in.

[Noah Michelson]

Listen. Get it how you live. Okay? This is happiness above everything.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Noah Michelson]

Let's take a quick break and we'll be right back.

[Kevin Curry]

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big roas man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[Discover Representative]

Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be.

[Bombas Representative]

To be it's 2025 and a new year means new opportunities. Been thinking about starting your own business. Shopify's got you. Shopify makes it simple to create your brand, launch your store and get your first sale. With customizable templates and PA powerful tools to sell on social media, you can start selling everywhere people scroll. They'll handle the shipping, taxes and payments so you can focus on growing your business. Don't wait. Start today and make 2025 the year your idea takes off with Shopify. Your first sale is closer than you think. Established in 2025. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com retail. All lowercase. Go to shopify.com retail to start selling with Shopify today. Shopify.com retail this episode is brought to.

[Discover Representative]

You by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Noah Michelson]

Welcome back to Am I Doing It Wrong? We talked A little bit about that. You should switch it up and meal prep two days a week. Are there certain foods you should not prep and, like, leave for a while? Because, you know, food safety, obviously we know the basics. We had a great episode on it. But like, like, is there anything you want to warn us about?

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, I think the seafood ones probably, you know, the most concerning. And not just because when you heat it up, they could. They could clear out a room, but also that seafood tends to spoil a lot faster. In fact, I have a funny story about that. When I was in corporate America and I was trying to, you know, like, get fit and stuff, and everyone's like, you got to eat cod.

[Noah Michelson]

Cod, yes.

[Kevin Curry]

You got to eat salmon. And so I was like, all right, cool. So I make it and then I'm in the break room heating it up. Up.

[Noah Michelson]

No.

[Kevin Curry]

And then I have a friend, it's like, I hear, she's like, what is that smell? Yeah. And she comes in, she's like, oh, my God, that is so rude and disrespectful. And I was like, what are you talking about? She's like, the whole place smells like fish because of you. Yeah. So that may not be the best thing to prep at work. If you do use it, I think maybe like salmon in a salad. Yeah. You know, like. But keep the fish stuff at home. Yeah, that's what I would recommend.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I remember the same thing. My friend Jason, he heated up Salm in at work one time and this guy, I will never forget this guy Angus, I didn't know him very well, but he ran out of his office and he said, I think the toilets are overflowing. And we were like, no, Angus, that's just. That's Jason salmon.

[Noah Michelson]

Wait, why does heating up fish smell like hot ass?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

It does.

[Noah Michelson]

Fish is so delicious. Like, what's.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I don't know, but you want it fresh. Unless it's fish sticks. Like, that's the only thing I can think you want to heat up, you know?

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, well, fish sticks are fishy too, I think, because when you heat it up in the microwave, it's really cooking it again. And it's cooking from the outside. And so it gets. So it gets like really fragrant and dry. And as you dry fish out, it gets a lot more fragrant.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

No, thank you. I think the other thing too, that's smart about doing the two day prep where you do one on maybe Monday and one on Thursday or Wednesday, is that a lot of foods, just in general don't stay fresh for more than Three or four days. So you probably don't want to prep for five or six days.

[Noah Michelson]

No.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Because by the day five, it's going to be pretty nasty.

[Noah Michelson]

I do feel like some people in life are food for fuel people. There are a few people out there who are like, I don't care. This is good. I'm going to eat it it every single day. I and Noah, like, we eat for the experience. I think about food 90% of the time. Like, I'm thinking about dinner right now. So like, I think this is, I know a lot of people like me. So you want to make this fun so you can keep doing it so you're not like, okay, Taco Bell instead.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right.

[Noah Michelson]

Because you're right, Kevin. When you get hungry, the hunger you get, the crazier your like, like mentality is about food. Like I know, like if, if I'm super hungry and I wait, it's like a donut sandwich with a burger in between. Like it will get, get the pits.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

It's like out the window. You're like, yeah. Oh my God.

[Noah Michelson]

So you go into survival mode at that point.

[Kevin Curry]

Exactly, exactly. And that's what you're doing, you know? And I said the same thing, like, don't go grocery shopping like when you're hungry because some of your choices are going to be made out of hunger and not out of your wellness goals. Right. So you kind of have to think about these things. There is somewhat of a lifestyle change whenever you're trying to really just attack your wellness goals, but just grow into those changes. Don't do everything on day one. So I would never advise anyone to overhaul their diet on day one. Don't do that. I don't think it's necessary. And I also think you set yourself up for failure because you're going to get burnt out. And you also want to know what's working for you. Right. So whenever you make too many changes, you don't know if it's coming because of this change over here or this change over there. Right. So as you grow into things, you will find out what works for you. And I think that's the most frustrating thing about Walmart wellness that people don't get because we're marketed like we got four day abs, you know, slim down in two weeks. Right. But wellness is a lifelong journey. And your hormones change, your body changes, your environment changes, all these things affect you. And so stop rushing, you're good.

[Noah Michelson]

And in that note, I want to know what you recommend is like the best things to meal prep Because I have to say there are things such as, like, veggie chili or pasta that, like, let's be real, they get better the next day because, like, ingredients.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Noah Michelson]

So, like, what's your take?

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, casseroles and soups. Those are my go tos. I mean, I made some lentils yesterday and they're even better today. Like, it's just because the flavors can melt together. So casseroles and soups. I do like a lot of rice dishes, similar to what Noah was doing about the mix and matching. I do like making, like, batches of different proteins, beans. And then you can pair them either with like, veggies or with other grains, you know, or. Or like cauliflower rice and things like that. So those things actually prep, like, really well. Also, people can prep smoothies. I don't think people kind of, you know, realize that you can put these things aside and just do like a quick, like, dump, and then all of a sudden there's your meal, you know, all ready to go. And so probably the things that I would probably not try to prep are just like, I'd be careful on prepping vegetables and freezing them, only because once you thaw them out, they kind of turn to water. But I do highly recommend people buying frozen fruit and frozen vegetables, because if you don't get to them, they're not going to go bad.

[Noah Michelson]

Okay.

[Kevin Curry]

It'll never be like a science project.

[Noah Michelson]

And I think there's like a stigma against canned and frozen stuff, but, like. No, you know, yes, absolutely.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

It can be another thing that I do every night. I have broccoli in my salad, but I microwave that every day, you know, and so that's not something that I'm going to prep. But that takes, you know, three minutes or whatever. It's so easy.

[Noah Michelson]

Exactly.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

One of the things that I bought maybe like a couple years ago that I just got, like, I just fell in love with were those, like, stasher bags, the silicone bags.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Because they trap in heat, like, really well. And so you can make a whole, like, baked potato in four minutes. In the microw, when you put them in those bags, it just kind of just like, it just cooks it really well. And steaming works well, like, in those two. And so I think those types of tools and hacks can really help you to crack the code in your diet.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Definitely.

[Noah Michelson]

I mean, on that note, is there anything else you would recommend? We've talked about, like the kitchen gadgets and the bags, but like, anything else you might. I'm like a Child, if you make something fun for me, I'm gonna do it more. So if there's, like, anything I can buy, food or appliances or whatever that I can get. Get at HomeGoods.

[Kevin Curry]

Sheet pan.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Oh, yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Putting everything on there and putting into the oven, and then you're good to go. And there are tons of different recipes out there. I've got some on my website, but those are really easy, too. That and then, like, a muffin pan, because I got into making breakfast frittatas in there, and they're great. Like, little bites that you can go, you know, and then just making muffins, too, like, for the morning time as well. So these are just small things that you can do and use. You don't have to go out and buy Gordon Ramsay's most expensive cookware. You just need enough just to get you by.

[Noah Michelson]

And it's actually shocking how much money you can save. Like, I always get those little sous vide egg bites from, like, Starbucks or wherever. And I started making them myself, and I think I'm fucking Martha Stewart.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right?

[Noah Michelson]

Like, I'm like, oh, my God, bae, look at how we've saved 375 this week. And it tastes so good. And you put what you want in it. Yes. You gotta find 20 extra minutes in your schedule. But it feels really adulty.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

No, I love that it does.

[Kevin Curry]

And 375 for 2 versus 375. And you made a whole, like, batch. You know, it's hard to compete with.

[Noah Michelson]

More money left for shoes.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

And you don't know exactly what they're putting in there.

[Noah Michelson]

No, you don't.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

How much oil's in it, how much sodium's in it.

[Noah Michelson]

I know. There's a ton of control. Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

That's why it tastes so good. Yeah, you can control that. The thing that I think is such a great hack. And I don't use this anymore because I'm not eating meat anymore. But rotisserie chicken, I mean, you can get a rotisserie chicken at Costco, I think, for 4.99. Now, that's like two. Two to four meals right there. You can make tacos with it. You can make sandwiches with it. You can make so many things.

[Noah Michelson]

I make chicken stock with the bones.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I love that.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah. So good.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah. That was part of my, like, weekend routine. That was my treat, actually, was to go to Walmart market and get the rotisserie chicken there. And that was my, like, weekend meal. Like, I would love it. You know, I give the bones to my dog so everyone would be happy here. And again, it was so easy. I'm not having to cook anything. If anything, I have some rice I can buy, you know, like frozen rice. Rice. Yeah, put that in there, you know. Absolutely. I, I love a hack like that.

[Noah Michelson]

Let's take a quick break and we'll be right back.

[Bombas Representative]

When the energy is high and the music is right, pushing past your limits.

[Kevin Curry]

Becomes that much easier.

[Bombas Representative]

Take a reggaeton run or strength class.

[Noah Michelson]

On the peloton tread and you'll quickly see why these are the workouts you've been searching for. Every day brings new challenges from expert coaches who train and speak the same language as you do. Level up your workouts with Peloton Tread.

[Bombas Representative]

Find your push, find your power.

[Kevin Curry]

Peloton visit1peloton.com Lemonade sings a pet insurance customer review My new puppy Swallow Bone.

[Bombas Representative]

Still a good boy though.

[Noah Michelson]

Anyway, was I glad that I had lived. I was pay back quickly and efficiently. Everyone was so nice. Get this pet insurance.

[Kevin Curry]

And get a.

[Bombas Representative]

[e-mail] pet what makes a great pair of glasses? At Warby Parker it's all the invisible extras without the extra cost. Their designer quality frames start at 95 including prescription lenses plus scratch resistant, smudge resistant and anti reflective coatings and UV protection and free adjustments for life. To find your next pair of glasses, sunglasses or contact lenses or to find the Warby Parker store nearest you, head over to warbyparker.com that's warbyparker.com.

[Noah Michelson]

Welcome back to Am I doing it wrong?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Do you have other thoughts about breakfast? Kevin like I love the idea that you said for smoothies but if someone is like I have no time in the morning or my kids have no time, what are you thinking about in terms of prepping breakfast?

[Kevin Curry]

People may think this is kind of weird, but you can actually make granola bars like pretty easily with just granola and some almond butter and honey. You could put your dried fruit in there, mixing that up and those are pretty energetic to get you going in the morning time. And sometimes people just don't like eating. But I feel like some of these like little bites like that can help to trigger your appetite but also get you going in the morning because there's such nutrient caloric dense foods. Yeah, so that's one of my go tos. And then I had a buddy ask me recently, he was, he's going through like his own like health kick. He's like, yeah, I'm trying to make my smoothies better. I'm trying to eat more protein and the protein powder is really expensive. And I said, yeah, get it. But I used to and still do at times use the pasteurized egg whites inside of a smoothie instead of water. Or you can do like half and half. Half egg whites and half, like, plant milk and then put your protein powder in there. Or you can use yogurt. So there are other things like that that you can do to boost your protein intake as well. I think people kind of sleep on ingredients like the cottage cheese and yogurts and even quinoa, which also, I don't know, but for some reason, people think that eating vegetables, all their muscles are gonna just fall off.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right?

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah. No, vegetables are good.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yes, completely.

[Noah Michelson]

I did learn from our breakfast episode that we do need more protein in the morning, and I actually didn't know that. So I think, like, what you're talking about, like, creating these kind of shortcuts are important. Cause otherwise I'm grabbing a croissant which has zero, like next to zero protein and all carbs. That should not be my go to. It should be an egg or like a granola bar, Something with at least a little protein in it.

[Kevin Curry]

Even chicken broth, chicken stock has protein, people. You can have a cup of that, and it's almost like 15, 16 grams of protein in there, right?

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

So I like breakfast, but not all the time.

[Noah Michelson]

Sure.

[Kevin Curry]

But for some reason, I like a good soup and a good savory flavor. So I can drink broth in the morning time and maybe have it, you know, like, with some egg whites or whatnot. And that's easy for me.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, I know. People also love, like, overnight oats. You can do that the night before, or you can make a. A slow cooker full of oatmeal. Also, you know, when I would travel in Asia a lot of times for breakfast, they have like a savory soup or like congee, like rice.

[Noah Michelson]

I'm also a savory hot thing.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

And that is so delicious. Like, instead of making it with, you know, brown sugar and fruit, you put soy sauce and an egg and some vegetables, and it's. It's amazing. I love it.

[Noah Michelson]

I kind of love the idea of, like, you know, study other people's cultures, see what you like. It doesn't need to be the thing you're used to.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yep.

[Noah Michelson]

Because. Yeah, if that works for you, try it, you know.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Sure. And it's going to just give you more possibilities for what you're going to make.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I think the other thing, too, that we should talk about is just that, you know, we've Said, you can save time, you can save money, you can work on your wellness, but maybe just one of those things is your goal. So maybe if you have a little more money, then you are buying some more prepared foods. I mean, you can buy things that are already pre chopped now. And for some of us, like we're going to spend the extra time on Sunday or Wednesday to do the chopping ourselves, but if that gets you to your wellness goals quicker and you spend a couple more dollars, like maybe that's.

[Noah Michelson]

What you choose, it's still going to be cheaper than takeout, like, right?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Than doing Uber eats every, every day for dinner or lunch or whatever. Yeah, yeah, I agree.

[Kevin Curry]

I mean the best thing that you can ever do is just do stuff that you can manage.

[Noah Michelson]

Yes.

[Kevin Curry]

And I tell people all the time, like the best diet is the one that you can manage. The best way to prep is the one that you can manage. Like, don't do too much. You don't have to go and try to boil the ocean, you know, like on, on day one. You just need to just heat it up little by little. So grow into those things.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, for sure.

[Noah Michelson]

Any other tips for avoiding boredom? Because that's like really my biggest concern. Like we talked about like the swapping out things and stuff like that, but anything else you want to talk about?

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, you kind of touched on it too. I tell people about like traveling and like eating out now whenever I first lost weight, I had so much anxiety by eating out because I didn't want to like gain the weight back. And I was telling friends, no, I can't hang out, do all this. And I was really kind of putting myself into a box. And once I got out of that and lost the anxiety, realizing that like one meal out is not going to derail everything, start to get a lot of inspiration. So when you travel, I tell people it's not just about the experience, but also think about the things that you can take back into your own life to enrich it. Which is how I got the idea to eat more savory soups in the morning. And you know, like being in Thailand, they were giving me shrimp, shrimp rice soup in the morning. I was like, what is this? It's like I kind of like this myself. Right. And so eating out can give you a lot of inspiration for your meals. And so, so when you eat something, let's say that you love burgers. All right, all right. Think about the core ingredients of that burger and let's try to back solve and swap out things that are you know, with heart, healthier, you know, like, ingredients. So maybe not using, you know, the 80% fatty beef. Maybe we're going to use turkey. Or maybe we use bison. Right. Instead of doing, you know, the Texas toast with the Texas toast buns that we do here.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Maybe we're going to use some whole grain bread, or maybe we're going to put it into a wrap. Right. So there are different ways that you can do things to, like, break down the foods that you really like back solve them, and just make these healthful swaps so that way they push you closer to your wellness goals.

[Noah Michelson]

I think that's such an amazing idea. And I actually do that a lot already. Like, whenever I'm. I've been doing a lot of, like when I go to a Korean restaurant, I'm like, oh, my God, what is this? Like, this is high protein, you know, low bad shit. Like, let's. Let's do this in Japanese too. Like, I went through a phase where I was, like, eating a lot of, like, raw fish, seaweed, and. And, like, veggies and stuff, and I was like, oh, my God, I ate this somewhere. I loved it. I can recreate it for cheaper.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Totally replicate it at home.

[Noah Michelson]

So much joy. Because I can't do the, like, slice up cucumbers and put boiled chicken next to it. Like, everyone has their thing. Eat the vegetables you actually like. If they're a little cooked, so be it, you know?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

But eating out, though. Eating out is such an important part of the wellness journey. And not just eating out at just places that you're, you know, comfortable with, but me being exposed to going to, like. I think I went to a Middle Eastern restaurant when I was in Boston one time, and I was like, yo, this food's kind of great. And I just. And I had never even considered the fact that, you know, meals could both be savory and sweet at the same time. And so that took me down a rabbit hole. And this is a really important point, too, because I think with the language of wellness out there, people, we have this tendency, or the marketing does, to say, like, these foods are only good, these foods are bad over here. What's happened is that we've seen a lot of people turn away from their cultural foods and trying adopt this identity of, like, wellness. Right. But inherently, a lot of these other cultures, their foods are already inherently healthy. They've been, you know, they're good for you. But when we come over here with the Western eyes, we, you know, the portion sizes are bigger when you Want more flavor, more butter and all these things. Then all of a sudden, we're kind of like, switching it over a little bit. But inherently, those foods were actually fine, you know, so just work on your portion control and work on how you are preparing foods.

[Noah Michelson]

Decolonize your fridge, people.

[Kevin Curry]

Hey, Ye. It's so important. I was talking to a dietitian, and she was working with, you know, with the Latino community, and she was saying for the first time in many years, they're seeing a decline in tortilla sales. And it was. And they're attributing it to that, like, this whole, like, phenomenon. Like, hey, you can't eat these things and. But no, the foods that are made from scratch and whole foods are actually good for you. What's not good for you is to eat everything all at once.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah. And ultra processed.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Ultra processed foods. Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

The other thing I've heard that people. It gets them sort of more adventurous or they look forward to it is doing something like choosing a day. So you're going to do meatless Monday, and you're going to try something for that day. Meal prep for that. Or like, Taco Tuesday.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Soup Sunday. And so then you have these things that are, like, parameters to work around. You don't just feel like, what am I going to do? But you can do something new every single week. And I like that idea, too.

[Noah Michelson]

Me too.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah.

[Noah Michelson]

Turning it into an event.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Let me make it thematic. One of the things that helped me out in corporate America, too, is just like, I love to eat out, you know, with coworkers. So I would make Thursday and Friday, you know, like that day. And so it would be like, my treat for meal prepping throughout the entire week.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

To do that. And then. And also, as I'm going out, I would also choose things that I would consider to help me out with my wellness goals. I wouldn't just go ham.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Oh, I am so treat motivated. Like, I. That is. I know. It's like Raj has one bacon, egg, and cheese a week, and she gets to choose what day she has it on. And some days she needs it on a Tuesday, and some days she waits till Saturday.

[Noah Michelson]

Listen to your heart and body.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I love that. But I love the idea of, yeah, I'm gonna do this for three nights, and then on the fourth night, I get to do whatever I want or, you know, whatever.

[Noah Michelson]

And it tastes so much better. Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

And it's exciting to look forward to.

[Noah Michelson]

It is.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Kevin, what are your thoughts about, like, doing something as simple. Like you're gonna make a lasagna, and you make two lasagnas, like doing double batches of stuff. Is that a way that people can meal prep, too?

[Kevin Curry]

Yes, they can. You know, I've seen that mainly with, like, people with, like, large families and. And that makes a lot of sense. But I just, again, whatever you do, just make sure that you're gonna eat it.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

And also that you can follow you, like, proper storage guidelines with it. So. Yes. You know, you can free but freeze it, like, right away to lock in that freshness.

[Noah Michelson]

Okay.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I mean, when I was growing up, I feel like everyone had an extra freezer in their basement, and then they would just put, you know, all that stuff in there, and then you could go get the lasagna in three weeks or whatever.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah. But not in New York City.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

New York City apartments. It's very. You have to choose what you're going to have.

[Noah Michelson]

It's a problem because we want to freeze stuff, but it's like, you don't.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

It's like, get rid of your ice cube trays. There's no room.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

But you can save some things like that. You don't have to save, like, you know, like, the complete meal. So if you're making marinara, you can put that into a Ziploc bag. I've done that. And, you know, and you freeze that, and that's your rainy day food. And those things, too, can lay flat in a freezer. So you can kind of stack those things even if you're not putting it into the freezer. You want to make sure that your food is kind of almost cooled down before you put the lid on, because you don't want it. The steam to continue to cook the food and make it mushy. Right. So storage and how you store it is, you know, is like everything, I'd say.

[Noah Michelson]

What are meal prep mistakes that you see people make often? Like the condensation and stuff where you're like, oh, ah, you're. You know, you're not gonna enjoy the experience because you're doing it wrong.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, right.

[Kevin Curry]

That one also doing too much at one time. So people trying to prep for seven days. Yes. There are those people that are out there, and they are the unicorns that I can only eat for fuel and not for a taste. Yeah, that's good. I can't do that. Right. So by Thursday, if I cook something, you know, for like a Monday, by Thursday, I'm tired of it. Right. So I think people are doing that and they're Playing themselves. Because you know what? That stuff looks great on social media, but the practicality of it is not really there.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

You know, period. And also just the aspirational buying, I think that is a big one that I always find with people is that, like, they aspire to eat something. They aspire to eat well.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

And so that's why just take a step back for a second, you know, and just choose one meal. Just choose one meal that you want to prep for that week. That's all you have to do. You don't need to overhaul your entire diet. If it's breakfast, prep that. If it's a lunch, if it's a snack, just prep that. Just do that consistent, consistently.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

And then meal by meal, you can figure out, you know what, that. That wasn't so hard. Why don't I prep this meal, too? And then you're growing into it. One of my favorite things to do is kind of geeky, but I don't know when wellness just kind of gets you, like, excited about stuff. And I had never tried arugula before. I was like, this stuff. And I went into the grocery store one time, I was like, yeah, I need to find this, like, quinoa. And the guy said. And I said, no, it's definitely quinoa. Right. So each week, each Saturday, I would find one ingredient that I have never cooked with before and find a recipe on the Internet. And then that led me to, like, discovered, like, these different flavors. Tahini. Had never eaten that before. I grew up in the South. What is that?

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

You know, so just choosing one thing each week and just a small portion of it, and then those things can inform your, you know, like, your future decisions about food. For me, I go to the grocery store at the end of. Of the week, too.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

Because they have sometimes, you know, the manager specials with, like, some of the proteins and the fish.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

And you'll buy at the discount and then freeze it right away.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

That's smart.

[Kevin Curry]

And I like fries, and I like doing that rather than buying the already frozen foods just because they've got so much water in them already.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

But it's my way to save.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

No, I like that. But I also like the idea of, like, I'm not the guy who brings leftovers home because I eat everything when I go out.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

But if you do have leftovers, you can also use those in and imagine that in a new meal, too. You know what I mean? And so. So you can put whatever your protein was on top of a Salad or. I think there are so many ways to think outside of just what we've told. What we've been told. Meal prep is you can get really creative. I love everything that you've told us, Kevin, because there's a lot of stuff I hadn't thought of.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah. And this is something, Kevin, you talk about too, and you do on your social media is just like, kind of being really creative about the way you eat vegetables and fruits. And it doesn't need to be this, like, very boring. Exactly what you think of when you picture a salad. Go on TikTok, you know, go on Kevin's page. Look at the, like, exciting, sexy things that people are doing with vegetables. Like, so many excited by it.

[Kevin Curry]

I went to California once, and there was a spot called Chopped, I think it's called, and I've never been there. And they were chopping up the salad. So finally. And they put all this stuff in there, the dressing. And I hate vinegar. Do not like vinegar, but they put, like some creamy, like, avocado thing on there. And I was thinking, yo, this is a good ass salad. And I've never. And I just didn't realize, like, if you chop it up so finely like that and put the sauce. Sauce, like, I just ate a whole head of lettuce.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Right.

[Kevin Curry]

Without even knowing it. And it's so good. So there are also, like, different methods that you can use to even enjoy foods.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

That is such a good point. Same with kale. I mean, I like kale in general, but when kale. When it has been massaged.

[Noah Michelson]

Yes. With. With, like, sesame oil and really finely.

[Kevin Curry]

A little bit.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah. It is so much better than just like a big chunk of raw kale.

[Noah Michelson]

This is why you have to go out to eat, because these chefs know this shit. And then you can copy them.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Yeah.

[Noah Michelson]

But I love that I'm a big proponent of asking, like, what did you guys do to this cabbage or whatever.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, I do all the time. I do that consistently. Tell me what to do. Yeah.

[Noah Michelson]

It's beautiful.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I feel full. How do you feel?

[Noah Michelson]

No, I feel hungry.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

But you're hungry. I'm full of knowledge.

[Noah Michelson]

Yes.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Kevin, thank you so much for this. This has been brilliant.

[Noah Michelson]

So much fun.

[Kevin Curry]

Thank you for having me. Yeah. I love food. There's one, like, takeaway that I will tell people, especially for this new year. You are on your own path. You're on your own journey. Sometimes you do need to. You may need to mute some feeds that actually make you feel not so great about your choices. Don't. Don't let social media be be a mirror for how you view yourself because you are on your own path. You don't have to justify your goals. Your one of those goals to anybody, right? So start small. And I guarantee you the way that you start this year, if you start small, you will end the year the exact same way. So, right, rather than you, you have your, you know, your big goal for 20, 25 maybe, right? I want you to set a goal for January and then set a goal in February and then inch your way along. And then by the end of it, you're gonna look back and be like, dang, I did all that.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Kevin Curry]

I can't believe it. Yeah, so just make it small, y'all. We're in no rush. We are in no rush, right?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I love. That's the best advice I've heard in a while.

[Noah Michelson]

Absolutely.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Thanks again, Kevin.

[Noah Michelson]

We appreciate you.

[Kevin Curry]

All right, y'all. Thanks so much. Appreciate, appreciate y'all.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

It's time for Better in Five. These are your top five takeaways from this episode.

[Noah Michelson]

Number one, meal prepping can be for convenience, eating well, or saving money. Or all three, choose your own adventure that fits your goals.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Number two, don't try to be a hero and cook for the whole week. You're probably just going to end up hating everything by day seven and ending up at Taco Bell.

[Noah Michelson]

That's real.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Maybe not a bad thing.

[Noah Michelson]

Not a bad thing. Number number three, when you're grocery shopping for meal prep, aim to buy what you're actually going to eat, not what you aspire to eat.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Number four, meal prep can come in all kinds of forms. Maybe you're just going to prep proteins for the week, or maybe you're going to find a creative way to use leftovers.

[Noah Michelson]

And number five, when you're eating out at a restaurant, pay attention to what you love and recreate it at home when you're meal prepping.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

All right, Raj, where are we at now? Have you been doing meal prep wrong?

[Noah Michelson]

I mean, for sure. And I think Kevin really helped me think about meal prepping differently and more like liberated. Because I gotta tell you, I need to save money in 2025. My DoorDash and grubhub is out of control, as I'm sure many audience members can relate to. So he just helped me think about it in a fun way. I'm gonna actually meal prep stuff I like and, you know, get a little creative and make time for it because I think all around it's just gonna be good for me. What about you?

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

I have been doing it right. But I loved. I'm obsessed with what he said about when he tries a new ingredient every week and then sees how, how that can sort of open a lot more doors to what he's gonna make. I wanna do that too. I love that Benji and I have been trying a new recipe every Sunday night.

[Noah Michelson]

Oh.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

We spend a couple hours together. We get to like hang out if we've been busy. And that's really fun too. But I love this idea of just like, what are the possibilities? And you don't know what you don't know.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

So the more you can take inspiration from that meal you had at a restaurant or the recipe you saw, or TikTok, Goddess help us. I think that that's just great. And I loved what he said at the end too about like, this is your journey.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Don't worry about what other people are doing. Take the small incremental steps and who knows where you'll be a year from now.

[Noah Michelson]

I'm all for that.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Love it.

[Noah Michelson]

Yeah.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Anyway, until next time. As long as there are things to get wrong, we're going to be right here to help you do them better.

[Noah Michelson]

Love y'all.

[Raj Panjavi Johnson]

Do you have something you think you're doing wrong? Email us at amidoing it [e-mail] and let us know.

[Discover Representative]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Kevin Curry]

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big roas man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[Discover Representative]

Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do get a hundred dollar credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.comresults to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.comresults results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be to be. Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you still think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, if you wear.

[Bombas Representative]

Glasses, you know how hard it is to find the perfect pair. But step into a Warby Parker store and you'll see it doesn't have to be. Not only will you find a great selection of frames, you'll also meet helpful advisors and friendly optometrists. Yep, many Warby Parker locations also offer eye exams. So the next time you need glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses or a new prescription, you know where to look. To find a Warby Parker store near you or to book an eye exam, head over to warbyparker.com retail.