Meal prep doesn't require expensive, all-organic ingredients or making an entirely different meal every day. Batch-cooking a base protein and dividing it into different flavors, "ingredient prepping," combined with frozen produce and canned staples, builds variety and convenience without the overwhelm most people associate with meal prep.
A lot of the meal prep content people see online is genuinely unrealistic: unusual, expensive, all-organic ingredients that don't reflect how most people actually shop or cook. Zach Coen, founder of Affordable Meal Prep, breaks down how to make meal prep work with everyday, accessible ingredients instead.
Ingredient Prepping vs. Traditional Meal Prep
One of Zach's core strategies is what he calls "ingredient prepping": cook a large batch of a base protein, like a big pack of chicken slow-cooked and shredded, then divide it into separate containers and season each one differently, ranch, buffalo, parmesan garlic, whatever you like.
That battles the people that say, I really don't want to eat the same meal every day. We're creatures of variety, and this way you can have this flavored chicken one day, this flavor the next.
This single technique solves one of the biggest reasons people abandon meal prep: boredom from eating the exact same thing repeatedly.
The Frozen Food Myth
Zach directly challenges a common misconception: that frozen vegetables and fruits are somehow less nutritious than fresh. In reality, frozen produce is often frozen at peak ripeness and freezing helps retain nutrients, meaning frozen produce is frequently just as good, or even better nutritionally, than fresh produce that's traveled and sat for days.
Similarly, canned vegetables and beans, despite sometimes containing added sodium, are a perfectly reasonable option if they get you eating vegetables consistently, which matters far more than chasing an imagined "purity" standard.
Buying 70-80% of Your Groceries Frozen
Zach recommends buying the majority of produce and protein sources frozen, including proteins that just need to be microwaved. This dramatically reduces the time, cost, and spoilage risk associated with fresh grocery shopping, while still supporting a genuinely healthy, nutritious diet.
A Simple Approach to Get Started
- Ingredient prepping, batch-cooking one protein and varying the seasoning, builds in variety without extra cooking effort.
- Frozen produce is often nutritionally comparable or superior to fresh, since it's frozen at peak ripeness.
- Canned vegetables and beans are a reasonable, practical option, especially if they help you eat more vegetables consistently.
- Buying 70-80% of groceries frozen significantly reduces prep time, spoilage, and cost.
- Boredom from repetitive meals is one of the top reasons people quit meal prep, and it's directly solvable with simple flavor variation.
Meal prep doesn't have to mean hours in the kitchen or an all-organic grocery bill. A single batch-cooked protein, a few seasoning packets, and a freezer stocked with vegetables can carry you through a busy week with genuine nutritional variety.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ingredient prepping and how is it different from traditional meal prep?
Ingredient prepping means batch-cooking base proteins and staples, like a large batch of shredded chicken, and dividing them into different flavors or seasonings, rather than assembling identical complete meals for the whole week. This builds in variety without extra work.
Are frozen vegetables and fruits less healthy than fresh?
No, frozen produce is often nutritionally comparable or even superior to fresh, since it's typically frozen at peak ripeness, and freezing helps retain nutrients that can otherwise degrade during fresh produce's longer transport and storage time.
Does meal prep have to involve expensive or hard-to-find ingredients?
No. Effective meal prep can be built almost entirely around everyday, affordable ingredients, canned beans, frozen vegetables, common seasoning packets, rather than requiring specialty or all-organic products.
What's the biggest reason people give up on meal prep?
Boredom from eating the exact same meal repeatedly is one of the most common reasons people abandon meal prep. Ingredient prepping with varied seasonings and sauces addresses this directly by building variety into the process.
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