Meal Prep 2.0

When people hear the term “meal prep,” they usually picture a kitchen counter lined with rows of Tupperware—chicken breast, broccoli, sweet potatoes, hard-boiled eggs… (insert frowny face emoji). But meal prep isn’t about spending your entire Sunday cooking—it’s about getting the right food into your body at the right time, no matter how you do it. The key is preparation. Thinking ahead. Being proactive. And depending on your time, skill level, and lifestyle, you can delegate different parts of the process.

Delegating the Process:

Take protein as an example. The basic steps are:

    1    Buying it fresh

    2    Cooking it

    3    Storing it

    4    Eating it

Each of these steps can be outsourced—and the more you delegate, the more expensive it gets. But the cost of convenience is nothing compared to the value of consistency. If the goal is to hit your protein target every day, start at whatever level works for you.

Levels of Meal Prep Delegation

1. Fully Outsourced – Restaurant Delivery

This is the most convenient option. Order from a restaurant like Urban Plates and have it delivered via DoorDash—freshly cooked, still warm, and ready to eat. Whether it’s chicken breast, steak, sea bass, or even chicken strips—something is always better than nothing.

2. Semi-Prepared – Grocery & Meal Kit Delivery

A step down from restaurant delivery is having precooked food delivered from Whole Foods or a similar grocery store. They sell ready-to-eat proteins like rotisserie chicken, grilled salmon, or steak. These aren’t served hot, so you’ll have to heat them up if you prefer them warm. Another option in this category is meal kit delivery services like HelloFresh, Blue Apron, or Factor. These provide pre-portioned ingredients or fully cooked meals, making meal prep easier while still allowing you some control over cooking and nutrition.

(Pro tip: There’s a skill to heating food properly. Microwaving without drying it out, steaming, using an oven or pan—it all takes practice. But if you’re short on time, eating it cold works too.)

3. Pick-Up – Meal Prep Retail Services & Grocery Stores

Instead of having it delivered, you go pick up precooked food yourself. This requires a little more time and effort but is still a simple, efficient way to stay on track.

Beyond grocery stores, there are meal prep retail services like Fit Mealz in Dublin, which offer freshly made, portioned-out meals ready to go. These options are great if you want healthy, balanced meals without cooking, while still keeping costs lower than ordering from a restaurant.

4. Full Prep – Cooking From Scratch

This is the most time-intensive option but also the most cost-effective. You buy fresh ingredients, cook them, store them, and portion them yourself. Full prep gives you the flexibility to choose specific ingredients, which can be especially helpful if you prefer higher-quality, organic options. Even within this level, there are different approaches:

    •    You can weigh out each serving ahead of time for easy grab-and-go meals.

    •    Or store everything in bulk and weigh it as you go.

While it requires more time and effort, full prep is by far the most cost-effective choice in the long run. Plus, you have full control over the quality of your ingredients, whether you’re prioritizing organic produce or leaner cuts of meat.

How hard this step is depends on your cooking, planning, and shopping skills—but, like anything else, it gets easier with practice.

How I Use These Strategies

At this point, I can prep 6 lbs of chicken breast, 4 lbs of steak, and 1,200 grams of rice in about an hour—and I’ve been doing it almost every weekend for two years.

But here’s the thing: I still use every one of these options when needed.

    •    When I travel, I make sure my hotel room has a fridge and make a Whole Foods run. I’ve done this in Vegas—where, instead of relying on overpriced hotel food, I stocked up on pre-cooked proteins and kept everything in my room.

    •    If I have a packed Sunday, I opt for grocery store delivery instead of cooking.

    •    If I’m really in a pinch, I’ll DoorDash a meal from a restaurant.

The point? Meal prep isn’t about perfection—it’s about consistency.

Final Thoughts

Start wherever is easiest—even if it costs more—because you can’t put a price tag on habits and skills. Over time, you’ll get better at meal prep, build intuition, and ultimately gain confidence in your ability to stay consistent.