College meal prep can be infuriating.
Cooking, planning meals, tracking calories, estimating macros… it can be difficult at times.
However, taking the time to do all your calculations and then prep a whole bunch of meals for the week is a solid plan for diet success.
This way you don’t even need to think about what you’re eating and the muscle almost builds itself (or the fat loses itself).
When I first started cooking for myself, meal prep sucked and I wasn’t good at it.
However, over time I started using some simple tips that made the whole experience less stressful and more efficient.
Let me share some tips on meal prep for college students…
1. Plan 2-3 Different Meals Based on Your Calorie/Macro Targets
If you limit the number of meals you’re ultimately making, you don’t have to prepare as many different kinds of food (which makes the prep process easier).
So when you’re done calculating your calories and macros that match your fitness goals, map out 2-3 meals that meet those calculations (without a lot of variation), and start prepping.
2. Invest in Quality Containers
My food storage containers are constantly breaking, melting in the dishwasher, and warping in the microwave.
Thankfully, Travis Forde (the king of meal prep) has some good container recommendations that I think you should pick up (I’ll probably check them out soon too.)
3. Season Your Meat Well
I know this tip sounds lame, but when I hear guys complaining that they don’t like health food, it’s because they don’t know how to season shit.
Seriously, when it comes to meal prep for college students… you’ll enjoy the process more when you know your food is going to taste delicious when you’re done.
[Tweet “If your meal doesn’t have meat, it’s a snack – Ron Swanson”]
It’s not that hard either – just buy those neat little mixes from McCormick with a bunch of herbs already in it.
There’s no need to follow a recipe with a list of 5-8 different seasonings.
Just get a single mixture, make sure you season your meal well, and then enjoy.
4. If Using an Oven, Put Everything on Separate Baking Sheets
Almost everything you put in the oven is going to have different cooking temperatures and times from everything else.
The first time I tired meal prepping, there was a lot of smoke and things came out looking like skid marks in a drag race.
When cooking temperatures of 2 or 3 things vary by about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, just pick a temp in between and put everything in at once on a separate backing sheet.
Then you can check each item individually and remove as they separately reach their optimal cooking times/temperatures.
5. Cook Rice (Just Do It)
Rice is one of the things that I suggest you buy in my Muscle Foods Cheat Sheet for Poor College Students because of how insanely cheap it is.
Not to mention, it’s really simple to cook and you can freeze it or keep it in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Plus, it goes with almost everything you make and can be easily seasoned with spices or some sort of sauce.
(It can turn just meat into one of those very easy college meals.)
Got a Meal Prep for College Students Tip in Your Back Pocket?
Leave a comment below and tell me you favorite college student meals and how you prep them to make the process easier.
I’m sure you’ll help someone out (and I’m always up for learning something new).