While in college as a full-time student, I find that figuring out my meals are one of the least important aspects of my day. I am too busy focusing on the homework assignment due tomorrow morning, remembering the choreography for an upcoming dance rehearsal, or going to work at my part-time job.
Monday through Friday, I am basically at school from 8:30 am-7:11 pm, and I only have a few short breaks each day to figure out my lunch and sometimes dinner. Breakfast is easy for me because I just eat before I go to school; however, when it comes to lunch and dinner I have found it helpful to pack my meals the night before school.
Sometimes it’s even hard to find time at night to prepare a meal for the next day, so I make a large portion of whatever food I want to eat for the rest of the week on Sunday night. This way, I have enough food prepared for my lunches (and dinner if I need them for the upcoming week) to last for the whole week, and I take a portion of my food from Sunday each day for my lunches.
On top of being able to save time during my hectic weeks, I find that by bringing my own lunch helps me to eat healthier as well. If I am the person preparing my food, then I am able to control what goes into it. With our school’s food, it is difficult to be fully aware of what is actually in the food that I am eating.
When I used to pay for my lunch at the dining hall at school, I found that the cost of purchasing their food every day started to add up. I now tend to purchase all of my ingredients for my meals in “bulk”. This way I am spending less money on pre-made meals because it is much cheaper to buy just the ingredients you need which will carry you through the week.
I recommend for anyone who is trying to save time, eat healthier, or save money to start meal prepping. I find it to be such a life saver for my hectic college life, and I’m sure that anyone, not just students, would benefit from meal prepping!