Let’s face it, we’re all busy. We want to eat healthier but cooking and preparing meals every night can be a huge hassle. Coming up with new menu ideas is not easy. Then you need to build a grocery list. Next is finding the time to run to the store (which ends up being a multiple-times-a-week ordeal). Now you need to find the time every night to cook, clean up the mess, and somehow result with a complete meal after a long and exhausting day. Chef and food personality, Dini Klein, hears these types of complaints all the time on her Instagram channel.

Klein created Prep + Rally, a subscription meal planning website that helps busy people make weekly meals that are easy and delicious while saving time and money. “Working as a personal chef for years, I would cook staple dishes for my clients every week to get them from Monday through Thursday,” she says. “After a long exhausting day cooking for clients, I needed to feed my own family—and that was the last thing I wanted to think about after working on my feet all day. It was time to start implementing meal prep and weekly menus.”

Klein conceived of her meal preps to facilitate wholesome and vibrant meals for herself as well as her social media community. Her philosophy is to use ingredients you already have in your pantry as much as possible to create delicious and healthy recipes, as well as take leftovers and repurpose them into new meals.

Also, by prepping meals ahead of time can ease the stress in the kitchen. When prepping a meal, Klein suggests:

– Start with a clean kitchen and clean as you go so that you never get overwhelmed!
– Go in with a plan. Create a menu, find recipes that use similar ingredients, so you don’t need to buy as much.
– Make sure you have a nice balanced meal consisting of starch, vegetables, and proteins. You can even throw in some sweet treats if you’d like!
– Cut corners! Buy store bought items to save time such as pie dough, pizza dough, vegetable stock, egg roll wrappers, etc. You can even buy pre-cut vegetables to save time as well.
– Only buy what you need for that week to ensure nothing goes to waste. And as always, shop ONCE for the entire week.
– Place garbage in close distance to your workspace when prepping to save time running back and forth.
– Pre-wash (peel if applicable) all produce to save time.
– Set out all containers and cookware in advance so you don’t scramble.

In today’s fast-paced world, people are increasingly aware of the importance of homemade food but there are not enough hours in the day to do it all.