How Much Does It Cost to Meal Prep for a Month?
The cost of meal prepping for a month can vary widely based on several factors, including dietary preferences, food choices, location, and portion sizes. This article breaks down the estimated costs and provides tips to help you budget and plan your meal prep effectively.
Factors Influencing Meal Prep Costs
Dietary Preferences: Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or specific dietary needs can significantly influence the costs of meal prep. For example, plant-based proteins like beans and lentils are usually cheaper than meat.
Food Choices: Choosing fresh produce, organic items, and specialty ingredients can increase costs. However, staples like rice, pasta, beans, and frozen vegetables are more budget-friendly.
Location: Grocery prices vary by region and store. Shopping at discount grocery stores or buying in bulk can help reduce costs.
Portion Sizes: The number of meals you plan to prep and the serving sizes will affect the total cost. Preparing a larger quantity of a few meals can save time and money.
Estimated Costs
Basic Meal Prep: A simple meal prep plan, such as including rice, beans, vegetables, and a protein for 30 meals, costs might range from $150 to $300, averaging around $5 to $10 per meal.
Varied Diet: Including a variety of proteins, fresh produce, and specialty items could increase the cost to $300 to $600 or more.
Tips for Reducing Costs
Plan Meals: Create a meal plan to avoid impulse purchases and minimize waste.
Buy in Bulk: Purchase staples in larger quantities to save money and reduce the frequency of trips to the store.
Use Seasonal Produce: Choose fruits and vegetables that are in season for lower prices and optimal quality.
Cook in Batches: Prepare larger quantities of a few meals at once to save time and money.
Strategies for Budget-Friendly Meal Prep
Meal prepping is a fantastic way to save time and money, but the initial investment and ongoing costs can vary. The key is to budget and plan effectively.
Take the day to batch cook and scour sale circulars beforehand to see what you can get cheap. Make your meal prep list based on these sales.
There will always be meals that are cheaper to make than others, even with sales figured in. For example, homemade vegetable soup can be very cost-effective, while a roast might be more expensive when not on sale.
Consider options that are budget-friendly, such as casseroles bulked up with rice, or pasta dishes. Poor Man’s Lasagna can be very reasonable.
Start Slow: If you haven’t meal prepped before, start by prepping enough for a week and see how much that costs. Evaluate it and whether it fits your budget and needs. Gradually increase the number of weeks as you get more comfortable with the process.
Some people find it works best to prep a few meals and have them as "heat and eats" to supplement regular cooking, rather than doing a full month's worth of meal prep.
Ultimately, budgeting around $200 to $400 for a month of meal prep is a reasonable estimate for many individuals. However, personal choices, dietary preferences, and location will greatly influence the total.