Meal Prep Monday Podcast™

In today's episode, chef and RD Allison Schaaf shares a subscriber-inspired tip about how to fit meal prep into small pockets of time. Even minimal, simple meal prep can make a huge difference in your week. You don't have to devote 2 hours to healthy meal prep in order to have nutritious, homemade meals on the table on weeknights. It's not all or nothing. Keep your meal plan a little bit flexible...

Wondering how to start beekeeping? Are you curious about how much effort and expense are involved and whether or not it's worth it? In today's episode, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf teams up with her husband Brook Schaaf to share how they've started beekeeping and harvesting honey. They talk about how they got started, lessons learned and the benefits they've seen. Even if you don't plan to har...

Host Allison Schaaf's husband Brook joins her today as they talk about the benefits and drawbacks of the Lettuce Grow Farmstand system. Lettuce Grow is a self-watering, self-fertilizing hydroponic farmstand that lets you grow greens (and other veggies!) year-round, either inside or out. Here's what they have to say: Benefits of the Lettuce Grow Farmstand: Saves space: it's a vertical tower requiri...

Chef, RD and mom of two kids under three shares tips and essentials for prepping for a long road trip with kids. From preparing them ahead of time to what toys and food to pack, she shares her experience from two recent road trips. A little preparation can really set you up for success when traveling with kids! Allison's Road Trip Tips: Signposting: Share the (detailed) plan with your kids ahead o...

Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares how she does meal prep while traveling, in both a hotel and an Air BnB. Get tips for meal prep breakfasts while traveling as well as simple dinners that require minimal equipment or spices. With a bit of strategic meal prep, you can stick to your healthy meal plan even while traveling!   Meal Prep Breakfasts While Traveling: - Soaked Oats: Also known as "ove...

In today's episode, chef and meal prep expert Allison Schaaf explains how to do a "freezer marinade". This is an awesome meal prep hack, great for those busy weeks when you have no time to prep! What is a freezer marinade? You simply add a protein and marinade to a freezer bag or container and stick in the freezer. When you're ready to eat, all you have to do is defrost and cook! It will marinate...

When's the last time you defrosted your freezer? It's so easy to forget this kitchen task but defrosting your freezer can help it keep things cold more efficiently. And while it takes some time, it's actually pretty simple! In today's episode chef and Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf walks you through the simple steps you need to follow to defrost your regular freezer or deep freeze. And make sure...

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? In today's episode, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf talks about the lessons she's learned from starting multiple businesses. Take a peek into the world of an entrepreneur and get 5 practical tips you can use in starting your own business (or deciding if you even should start one!) 5 Entrepreneurship Tips Solve A Problem Make sure your busine...

In today's episode, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf walks you through a 5 minute exercise to make meal planning super easy. No need to go through the Pinterest rabbit hole or get out the cookbooks. This easy meal planning strategy will save you so much time! Grab a pen and paper for this one if you can so you can do the exercise with Allison. Easy Meal Planning Exercise: Think of meals you've mad...

It's easy to forget about lunch when you make your weekly meal plan. Having a healthy, satisfying lunch can make a busy day so much better though! Today chef and RD Allison Schaaf shares three healthy meal prep lunch ideas that her family loves. Whether you have toddlers at home or it's just you, these tips will set you up for success during busy weeks. Healthy Meal Prep Lunch Ideas: Soup or Stew...

Hiring an au pair is a big decision. You have to find someone who you trust and who you're comfortable living with. Prep Dish founder and mom of two Allison Schaaf shares her insider tips into what to look for when hiring an au pair. Factors to Consider: Location: Some au pairs want to live in the country and others wish to be in a big city. The location has to be a fit. Age Preference: Does the p...

Host and meal prep expert Allison Schaaf shares how Prep Dish meal plans make it easy to delegate some of the meal prep to her family's au pair. Whether you have a nanny, au pair or a babysitter, having a clearly written grocery list, meal prep instructions and cooking instructions for each night makes it super easy to hand over some of the work to someone else! Prep Dish Meal Plan Elements: Groce...

Are you curious about the au pair experience? If you're a working mom (or hope to be a mom someday), figuring out childcare options can be a huge challenge. Today, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares how she decided to hire an au pair, including the pros and cons of an au pair versus a nanny versus daycare. An au pair is someone who comes from overseas to live with your family for 1-2 years an...

Today Allison Schaaf walks you through ten proteins that are totally delicious with just plain salt and pepper. Part of setting yourself up for success with cooking homemade meals is remembering that it doesn't always have to be fancy or complicated. Keep your meal plan simple with one of these delicious proteins plus some salt & pepper: Salmon Chicken Drumsticks Chilean Sea Bass Chicken Wings Ste...

In today's episode, host Allison Schaaf shares what she's eating and drinking these days while breastfeeding her 7 month old son. From specific foods that support milk supply to just staying hydrated, these tips are great for any breastfeeding moms, or anyone looking for ideas on healthy snacks and beverages to add to your meal plan! Breakfast Oatmeal - Oats are great for milk supply! You can make...

Today wraps up our Tiny Habits series! Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf walks through ten ideas for tiny meal prep habits you can start right away, in line with BJ Fogg's concept of starting small. One Time Actions: Buy nice meal prep containers - (See Allison's favorites here: https://prepdish.com/meal-planning/best-meal-prep-containers/ ) Choose a 1 hour block of time and mark it on the calendar...

Chef and RD Allison Schaaf continues the series on BJ Fogg's book, Tiny Habits.   Today's episode focuses on Fogg's concept of a "Super Fridge," which he discusses in Chapter 6, page 185 of Tiny Habits.   What is a "Super Fridge"? On the weekends, author BJ Fogg does all of the prep work for a week of beautiful, healthy meals - chopping veggies, making whole grains, etc. He celebrates at the end,...

If you'd like to try our time-saving meal plans, check out our 2 week free trial for podcast listeners here: prepdish.com/mpm How do you break a bad habit? Today Allison Schaaf walks you through chapter 7 of BJ Fogg's book, Tiny Habits and discusses how you can apply it to meal prep and healthy eating. She talks about how to break a bad habit, without relying on willpower and motivation. When tryi...

How do your family, friends and community impact your habits? How do we change together?   In today's episode, host Allison Schaaf invites you to join the conversation as we continue to explore BJ Fogg's book Tiny Habits, and what it means for meal prep.   Community plays a huge role in habit change so please join our Facebook group if you haven't already! Simply follow this link and request acces...

In today's episode, busy mom and entrepreneur Allison Schaaf explains the tips and hacks behind Prep Dish's new Fastest Meal Plan Ever! Learn how to speed up your meal prep and create a meal plan that is delicious, healthy and won't have you spending all day in the kitchen. Quick meal prep for the win! Sign up at prepdish.com/mpm for a two week free trial for any subscription in June 2021 and get...

If you'd like to try our time-saving meal plans, check out our 2 week free trial for podcast listeners here: prepdish.com/mpm In today's episode, chef and RD Allison Schaaf talks about how to take the tiny habits you've started, and really make them part of your life and part of who you are. Think about the greater meaning behind a habit, why is it important to you? For example, with the habit of...

Before we get to the show notes, don't forget to check out our 2 week free trial for podcast listeners here: prepdish.com/mpm Continuing with our Tiny Habits series, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf discusses the role of emotions in creating habits. Tiny Habits Author BJ Fogg emphasizes the importance of using positive feelings, rather than negative ones, to create change. Celebrating small succes...

In today's episode, host Allison Schaaf talks about how to create a prompt, or reminder, for new habits. There are hundreds of prompts every day that drive your actions. No behavior is happening without a prompt. BJ Fogg describes three types of prompts in his book, Tiny Habits: Person Prompt - You remind yourself to do something. This is not the most reliable. Context Prompt - Something in your e...

Continuing with the "Tiny Habits" theme, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf talks about the Ability element of behavior today. Based on BJ Fogg's book, Tiny Habits, "ability" refers to how easy/convenient versus difficult/inconvenient a behavior is. Allison walks you through questions to ask yourself to determine what is making a new habit difficult. She also goes through 3 strategies to make a new...

Before we get to the show notes, don't forget to check out our 2 week free trial for podcast listeners here: prepdish.com/mpm In today's episode meal prep expert and healthy habit enthusiast, Allison Schaaf discusses why motivation is unreliable when it comes to forming lasting habits, and tools you can use instead. She also walks you through a quick and fun exercise to help you pinpoint exactly w...