3 Steps to Forming a Meal Prep Squad

The pitfalls of healthy eating tend to be twofold: having nothing nutritious to eat and having no time to eat it. That’s where meal prep—preparing a week or so worth of dishes in advance—comes in.

Problem is, if you’re spending Sunday in the kitchen slicing and dicing while everyone else is out enjoying restaurant fare, meal prep can become more of a good idea in theory than an actual plan worth following. “If it is just you, it is easy to tell yourself, ‘We can order in tonight, I’ll do it tomorrow,’” saysIlyse Schapiro, RD, coauthor ofShould I Scoop Out My Bagel?

Enter a meal prep squad—a group of like-minded people who cook together, eat together, break up tasks, or simply meet to discuss the ins and outs of preparing good-for-you dishes. “If you have a group you are contributing to and people who are counting on you, you are less likely to let them down,” Schapiro says.

Plus, meal prepping in a crew has its perks. “You no longer have to be responsible for making all the various types of dishes,” saysDana Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD,an adjunct assistant professor and senior dietitian at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “You can expand your palette without putting in all the work.”

With multiple minds at work, you’ll also be introduced to new ideas, products, and ways to make meals, saysKristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RDN, a wellness manager at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute and coauthor ofSkinny Liver.

Don’t look forward to solo time in the kitchen (or Sundays for that matter!)? Says Hunnes: “Humans are social creatures, and we like to eat with other people. By having a group, you can do that while exploring more flavors.”

Here is how to form your squad.

“It makes it so much easier if there is a leader who can delegate who shops for what, what supplies you need, and where the meal prep party will happen,” says Schapiro. “Systems work best to make sure the meal prep is efficient.”

Consider a revolving-door strategy where at each gathering, a different person makes the entrée, salad, and dessert; or try sign-up sheets where people get to choose what they will make, suggests Hunnes.

It’s also a good idea to have a budget in place that works for everyone.

Don’t forget nonfood items, says Hunnes. “You don’t want to have a gathering and realize you have nothing to eat off of!”