Meal prep made easy

Summary

Life Kit Podcast Summary: "Meal Prep Made Easy"

Life Kit by NPR, hosted by Marielle Segarra, delves into practical strategies to navigate everyday challenges. In the episode titled "Meal Prep Made Easy", released on February 18, 2025, Marielle explores the art of meal prepping with Kevin Curry, founder of the online community Fit Men Cook. This comprehensive discussion offers listeners actionable tips, insightful anecdotes, and expert advice to simplify their meal preparation routines.

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1. The Challenge of Daily Meal Decisions

Marielle Segarra opens the episode by addressing a common dilemma: "What's for dinner tonight?" She paints a relatable picture of the daily grind involved in meal preparation—from grocery shopping to cooking and cleaning. This sets the stage for understanding why many individuals find meal planning daunting and how it can lead to a feeling of food controlling one's life rather than the other way around.

Notable Quote:

"It's easy to lose motivation or to get in a rut. At that point, it can feel like food is just kind of happening to you."
– Marielle Segarra [00:46]

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2. Defining Meal Prep with Kevin Curry

Kevin Curry shares his personal journey from feeling overwhelmed by daily meal decisions to discovering the benefits of meal prepping. He defines meal prep broadly, encompassing various approaches:

• Batch Cooking: Preparing large quantities of a single dish to consume over several days.
• Freezing Meals: Cooking and freezing meals for later use.
• Ingredient Preparation: Cooking multiple ingredients separately to mix and match throughout the week.

Notable Quote:

"It is basically having food that's readily available and accessible, that's already cooked."
– Kevin Curry [02:06]

This flexible definition highlights that meal prep can be tailored to individual preferences and lifestyles.

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3. The Benefits of Meal Prepping

Kevin delves into the multifaceted advantages of meal prepping, emphasizing both financial and health benefits:

• Budget Control: He recounts how meal prepping helped him reduce spending on lunches, which previously cost him nearly $100 a month.
  Quote:

  "One of the big ones for me when I first started out was for a budget just because I needed to control my spending because it was getting out of control."
  – Kevin Curry [05:00]

• Health and Wellness: Meal prepping allowed Kevin to manage his diet better, especially after being warned about being prediabetic. By controlling ingredients, he could ensure balanced, nutritious meals.
  Quote:

  "When you know what's going into your food and you start to learn about each of the ingredients..."
  – Kevin Curry [06:01]

He also touches on the skills gap many face when transitioning to independent living, highlighting how meal prepping fosters self-sufficiency and culinary competence.

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4. Selecting the Right Foods for Meal Prep

Marielle and Kevin discuss which foods are ideal for meal prepping, focusing on versatility, durability, and nutritional value:

• Vegetables: Bell peppers, green onions, spinach, chard, and kale are staples due to their flavor, nutritional benefits, and affordability.
  Quote:

  "They pack a lot of flavor. And you got an antioxidant punch in there because all the different colors..."
  – Kevin Curry [07:22]

• Grains: Moving beyond staples like brown rice, Kevin introduces varieties such as black rice, forbidden rice, jasmine rice, basmati, quinoa, and farro to keep meals exciting.
  Quote:

  "I have just Farro. So I'll just prep in bulk, like foods like these, like a stir fry with a whole bunch of vegetables or just roasted vegetables..."
  – Kevin Curry [07:22]

• Proteins: Options include chickpeas, chicken, seafood (like white fish or salmon), and beef (used sparingly). This variety ensures balanced nutrition and prevents meal monotony.

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5. Storage Tips and Best Practices

Proper storage is crucial to maintaining the freshness and quality of prepped meals. Kevin offers several practical tips:

• Avoiding Spoilage: He advises steering clear of ingredients that spoil quickly, such as dairy products and fresh berries. Instead, opt for plant-based alternatives and frozen fruits to extend shelf life.
  Quote:

  "I try to stay from things that are spoiled faster, like dairy... you can buy them fresh, but the best thing to do is to buy frozen."
  – Kevin Curry [09:14]

• Freezing Meals: For proteins like chicken, it's advisable to cook and then freeze portions not intended for immediate use. Defrost them in the fridge the night before consumption.
  Quote:

  "If you're not going to eat the meal within two days, just cook that meal and then freeze it right away..."
  – Kevin Curry [09:14]

• Reheating Techniques: Addressing common concerns, Kevin shares methods to retain the quality of reheated foods, such as crisping pizza in a skillet or using plant-based milk in oats to prevent sogginess.

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6. Meal Prepping Schedules and Variation

Establishing a routine is key to successful meal prepping. Kevin advises selecting specific days for preparation, such as Wednesdays and Sundays, to organize meals for the upcoming days.

Example Routine:

• Ingredients Cooked: Chickpeas, chicken, green medley (spinach, chard, kale), jasmine rice, and assorted roasted vegetables.
• Meal Combinations: Creating diverse dishes by mixing and matching these ingredients throughout the week, adding sauces like tahini or barbecue to enhance flavors.

Notable Quote:

"I cook about five things... I did this in about 45 minutes. And with those five foods that I prepped, I made about 10 different meal combinations."
– Kevin Curry [10:45]

This approach prevents dietary fatigue and keeps meals interesting without the need for constant cooking.

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7. Equipment Essentials for Meal Prepping

While meal prepping doesn't require extensive equipment, certain tools can streamline the process:

• Quality Containers: Invest in microwave-safe, airtight glass containers to preserve freshness and facilitate easy reheating.
  Quote:

  "I love the ones that are glass and that kind of snap because it locks in a lot of that freshness."
  – Kevin Curry [14:13]

• Cutting Boards and Knives: Essential for efficient ingredient preparation and chopping vegetables, meats, and grains.

• Multifunction Cooker: Devices like slow cookers or pressure cookers can significantly reduce cooking time and free up stove space.
  Quote:

  "There's got to be a faster way to make pulled chicken. There's got to be a faster way to cook up this rice..."
  – Kevin Curry [14:13]

Kevin also shares his budget-friendly strategy of gradually building his container collection by purchasing a few each week, ensuring affordability and sustainability.

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8. Balancing Meal Prepping with Dining Out

Contrary to popular belief, Kevin emphasizes that meal prepping doesn't eliminate the joy of eating out. In fact, dining out can serve as a source of inspiration for new meal prep ideas and flavors.
Quote:

"When you go out to eat, that gives you inspiration for your diet. That's where I get some of these ideas like... make this, make a version of this that I could eat every single day."
– Kevin Curry [15:28]

This balance ensures that meal prepping remains enjoyable and dynamic rather than restrictive.

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9. Recap and Final Tips

Marielle wraps up the episode with a concise summary of the key takeaways:

• Start Slow: Begin by preparing a few ingredients to mix and match throughout the week.
• Balance Your Meals: Include a grain, protein, and vegetables in each meal.
• Avoid Rapidly Spoiling Foods: Limit inclusion of ingredients like dairy and fresh berries.
• Personal Preference: Only meal prep foods you enjoy to ensure adherence.
• Hero Meals: Prepare one substantial meal weekly that can be consumed multiple times or frozen for later.
• Essential Equipment: Utilize microwave-safe, airtight containers and basic kitchen tools to facilitate the process.

These actionable steps provide a roadmap for listeners to embark on their meal prepping journey effectively.

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10. Production Credits

The episode was produced by Claire Marie Schneider, with Meghan Keane as the supervising editor and Beth Donovan as the executive producer. The production team included Andy Tagle, Margaret Serino, and Sylvie Dunno Douglas, supported by engineers Patrick Murray, Neil Tivolt, and Carly Strange.

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For more insights and practical advice, listeners are encouraged to explore other Life Kit episodes, such as reducing food waste or transferring colleges, available at npr.org/lifekit. To receive updates and additional content, subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter at npr.org/lifekitnewsletter.

Transcript

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[Marielle Segarra]

Today you're listening to Life Kit from npr. Hey everybody, it's Marielle. So what's for dinner tonight? That's the eternal question, right? And if you're like me, just hearing that question can send a chill down your spine. I mean, look, food is a beautiful part of life. It's something we get to enjoy and savor every day. Yeah, every day. It's relentless. You have to feed yourself constantly, make a grocery list, go to the store, unpack the bags, cook the food, wash the dishes, and then do it all over again. It's easy to lose motivation or to get in a rut. At that point, it can feel like food is just kind of happening to you.

[Kevin Curry]

So it just became like an afterthought. For me, it wasn't something that was really intentional.

[Marielle Segarra]

Kevin Curry is the founder of the online community Fit Men Cook. And he was in a rut too, until he discovered meal prep. Now, just to set definitions here, for some people, meal prep means making a huge pot of chicken noodle soup and a lasagna on Sunday and eating both of those all week. For some people, it's making meals and freezing them. For Kevin, it's cooking a bunch of ingredients at once and then mixing and matching them throughout the week. But he says these are all meal prep.

[Kevin Curry]

It is basically having food that's readily available and accessible, that's already cooked.

[Marielle Segarra]

So it's not going to the grocery store at 7pm on a Tuesday starving and being like, what can I what is there anything here I can eat?

[Kevin Curry]

Right. That's that place sounds all too familiar for me. Maybe for everybody else, too. But no, it's not that.

[Marielle Segarra]

You can think of meal prep as one possible solution to the what's for dinner? Question. And on this episode of Life Kit, we'll give you the tools and tips you need to try it out and to keep it interesting.

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[Marielle Segarra]

Before we dive into the rest of the show, I just wanted to check have you followed us on Instagram? Yeah, we have an Instagram now. It's NPR Life Kit. There you'll find exclusive videos, comics and more. Again, that's NPR Life Kit. See you there. Why might someone want to start meal prepping?

[Kevin Curry]

One of the big ones for me when I first started out was for a budget just because I needed to control my spending because it was getting out of control. I was spending, you know, close to $100 a month just on lunch with my co workers and at my salary range, that was not going to work. But I think just from a wellness standpoint, there are so many benefits. When I started on my wellness Journey, my doctor was telling me that I was pre pre diabetic. And so with meal prep it just allowed me to better control my diet. And I realized too, gosh, in my 30s when I first started out with this Stuff that I was just not as competent about food. And I don't think that's something that we think about. We don't grow up thinking, like, what am I going to eat? Well, first off, because our parents kind of do that, and then once our parents are. We're to that age to go to school, the schools do that for us. And we don't really kind of get that until we go to college. Then all of a sudden you're like, whoa, I do have to feed myself. And how do I do that?

[Marielle Segarra]

Yeah, it reminds me, like, my brother, I think he was in college or just after college. I remember one time him calling me and asking me how to make a can of soup.

[Kevin Curry]

That was me calling my mom.

[Marielle Segarra]

Yeah, you're making me think, too. Even on the health and wellness front, when you know what's going into your food and you start to learn about each of the ingredients, you learn like, oh, this type of food has a lot of fiber, or this type of food has a lot of, I don't know, vitamin C in it or whatever.

[Kevin Curry]

Right. You know, and meal prep, actually, it's. It's a discovery. In fact, my first time having quinoa was because of meal prep. And I remember the interaction. I went to the grocery store and I couldn't find it anywhere. I didn't know. And I said, excuse me, sir, can you help me find the. The quinoa? And he looks at me, he says, quinoa. And I said, no, no, no, no, no. It's definitely quinoa. It's right here written down. I kind of doubled down on it. And then he's like, sure, it's over here.

[Marielle Segarra]

But that's so fair, though. I mean, yeah, you. If you've never said it before, I feel for you.

[Kevin Curry]

I know, right?

[Marielle Segarra]

So, okay, what kinds of food work well for meal prep?

[Kevin Curry]

Yes, I love this question. So I pretty much have some staples. So I like things that pretty much kind of pair well with a little bit of everything. I like bell peppers. They pack a lot of flavor. And you got an antioxidant punch in there because all the different colors and if you just get the green ones, they are pretty budget friendly. That's one thing that I'll buy each week, along with green onions, because they're easy to toss into recipes. I try to select at least one grain each week to have. So thinking beyond the brown rice, which everybody will tell you to go ahead and eat it in terms of wellness, but there are so many other grains out there. I've Discovered black rice, forbidden rice. I have just Jasmine rice is so amazing. Basmati, quinoa. The quinoa. We're gonna put the quinoa in there. And one of my favorite ones as of late, Farro. So I'll just prep in bulk, like foods like these, like a stir fry with a whole bunch of vegetables or just roasted vegetables that I love and then a grain and then I'll pick a protein. So proteins for meal prep are generally like a chickpea chicken, seafood, like a white fish or salmon. Beef I use sparingly. But beef is also amazing. But I'll just select one of those things from these different categories and then I'll just mix and match my diet throughout the week.

[Marielle Segarra]

I'm also, I'm thinking about like certain vegetables or certain foods. I feel like they're gonna get soggy in the fridge, you know, or they're just like gonna get kind of dry or I don't know how long you should leave rice sitting in the fridge. Like, are there any rules when it comes to meal prep? Like definitely don't, you know, make a pizza because that does not reheat well.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, well, and just to say this just in case there are people out there that love pizza like me. Pizza does reheat well. Just put it into the skillet and just kind of crisp up the bottom and it's kind of like you just got it brand new. Just cover it up to melt the cheese and it's actually pretty dope. Oats. Oats and with using plant based milk actually store really well in the, in the fridge. And I try to stay from things that are spoiled faster, like dairy. Not that I exclude them from my diet, but just in case I don't get to them right away. The plant based options inside the fridge will store really well if you are going to buy something that tends to spoil. I have learned my lesson through many science projects that I have discovered in my fridge. To buy them in smaller amounts, things like berries, you can buy them fresh, but the best thing to do is to buy frozen. You could even buy fresh stuff and then freeze it. In terms of the meals here, here's what I advise people to go ahead and do. Like, chicken will last three to five days in your fridge, but if you're not going to eat the meal within two days, just cook that meal and then freeze it right away and then defrost it in the fridge the night before you're going to eat it.

[Marielle Segarra]

So in that. Okay, so let's say you take you Pick a day. What's your day?

[Kevin Curry]

My days are Wednesdays and Sunday.

[Marielle Segarra]

Okay, so on Sunday, can you give me an example of how many things you might be cooking and what they would be?

[Kevin Curry]

Sure. I cook about five things. In fact, I just did this this past week. And I'll cook up chickpeas. I made chicken, and then I got. I did some green medley of, like, spinach and chard and kale. And then I picked a grain, and I think I picked jasmine rice. And I just got a ton of vegetables that I could roast up, throw into the oven. And that was my prep. And I did this in about 45 minutes. And with those five foods that I prepped, I made about 10 different meal combinations. Because one day I was like, you know what? I think I want chicken, rice, and greens. Boom. Another day, you know, I think I want the chickpeas, roasted veggies, and the greens and maybe a little bit of rice. Mix everything together. And, you know, I'm adding a sauce to it if I want. Add a tahini or a barbecue sauce, and I'm just mixing and matching whatever.

[Marielle Segarra]

I feel by Wednesday. Are you trying to cook entirely different things? Cause you're so bored of rice. So, like, you're like, I'm gonna make some, I don't know, chickpea pasta and some meatballs and whatever, you know. Do you really mix it up?

[Kevin Curry]

Oh, absolutely. You have to, because I would go crazy otherwise eating the exact same thing. And that's what I've learned. I mean, and I know that in this information sharing age on social media, that it looks very sexy to have a countertop full of all these meals. And I am telling you from experience and talking to people and working with people, people are not doing that. They are not eating that. There's. That's a really select few people that are actually cooking the same thing and eating it for seven days straight, because we're just. We just get tired of it.

[Marielle Segarra]

Yeah, yeah. Because that is the other way that people talk about meal prep. It's like, okay, on Sunday, I'm gonna make a huge pot of chicken noodle soup and also a lasagna. And then I'm gonna, you know, freeze a couple of containers of chicken noodle soup and, like, freeze a bit of the lasagna, and then, you know, eat this once or twice through the week. And that's another way to do it.

[Kevin Curry]

Right? Yeah. And I call those hero meals, hero recipes, because it's like, it's an actual recipe. Like, lasagna is an actual thing. That's involved with multiple ingredients. Whereas the way that I'm doing it is just taking one ingredient, kind of jazzing it up, and then mixing it with other ingredients throughout the week. And I think there's a place for both of those. Like, I'll do one hero meal a week. I think there's nothing wrong with that. I think that I've seen greater burnout that way, because, yeah, you just have lasagna now after that. After that. And I have. You bought, like, six ingredients for that.

[Marielle Segarra]

Whereas with me, do you call it a hero meal? Because you're a hero for doing it? Because it's such a big lift.

[Kevin Curry]

Yeah, it's a big lift. And it's also, like, the star. Like, ooh, look what I did. It's like it's an actual meal that you're making. So, yeah, that's why I call it a hero meal. For me, it's like, this is it. It's the star of the week. There you go. I know I have a quirky way of talking about my food, but that's what I do.

[Marielle Segarra]

I love it. I love it. Is there any new equipment that you need if you're gonna start meal prepping? Like, do you need specific Tupperwares that are good for the freezer, for being microwaved? Anything you can think of?

[Kevin Curry]

Things that I would invest in right away would be some quality meal containers. I love the ones that are glass and that kind of snap because it locks in a lot of that freshness. The last thing that you want at the end of spending time in the kitchen is that your food kind of go bad. Here's how I did it on a budget. I started out doing meal prep when I was on food stamps. And here's how I build up my collection. Every week, I would buy the same brand of meal prep container, and I would buy two each week. So I'd spend 10 bucks each week. And then over time, I just kind of had enough for literally about five days worth, and that was good for me. So the advice there is to grow into it. So as you become a meal prepper, you're going to think about, I hate doing xyz. Okay? Buy something to solve that. So for me, that looked like, all right, you know what? Let me buy a multifunction cooker, because I don't like taking up all this space on my stove. And there's got to be a faster way to make pulled chicken. There's got to be a faster way to cook up this rice and a slow cooker multifunction cooker, pressure cooker, did just that.

[Marielle Segarra]

Yeah. So do you still go out to eat?

[Kevin Curry]

Oh, absolutely, in fact, and people are always surprised by that. But I love going out to eat because when you go out to eat, that gives you inspiration for your diet. That's where I get some of these ideas like for meal prep, like, oh, snap, that would be cool if I could make this, make a version of this that I could eat every single day.

[Marielle Segarra]

Kevin, this is great. Thank you so much for all the tips.

[Kevin Curry]

Thanks so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

[Marielle Segarra]

Okay, time for a recap. If you want to try out meal prepping, start slow, pick a day and prepare a few ingredients that you can mix and match throughout the week. It's a good idea to include a grain, a protein and some veggies. Also, avoid things that spoil quickly, like dairy products and fresh berries and anything that might get soggy once it's been sitting in the fridge for a couple days. Not that you shouldn't eat this stuff, but don't expect it to last as long as your meal prepped items. Now, this may seem obvious, but only meal prep foods that you like. Lentils might be a great option for somebody else, but if you think they taste like cardboard, you're not going to eat them all week. For meal prep, you can also prepare one big meal. Kevin calls it a hero meal. Eat a couple servings during the week and freeze portions of it for later. Lastly, you don't need a lot of equipment to start meal prepping, but what can help are a couple of microwave safe, airtight glass containers and a few cutting sheets so you can chop vegetables, meat and other kinds of food and easily dump them into your delicious recipe. For more Life Kit, check out our other episodes. We have one on how to reduce food waste and another on how to transfer colleges. You can find [e-mail] LifeKit and if you love Life Kit and want even more, subscribe to our [e-mail] lifekitnewsletter. This episode of Life Kit was produced by Claire Marie Schneider. Meghan Keane is our supervising editor and Beth Donovan is our executive producer. Our production team also includes Andy Tagle, Margaret Serino and Sylvie Dunno Douglas. Engineering support comes from Patrick Murray, Neil Tivolt and Carly Strange. I'm Marielle Segarra. Thanks for listening.

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