Adventures in Meal Prep
It’s that time of year again! In my house, both of my kids are going back to school and I am in my final semester of graduate school. Between schedules for various school and work obligations, time is about to be in very short supply. I am fortunate that my husband is a very good cook and often takes care of dinner when I work in the evening, but the local pizza places have also seen an increase in business from us in the last couple of years. While we love to support local small businesses, our waistlines and wallets would appreciate more meals prepared at home. Enter meal prepping.
Meal prepping can take multiple forms. One approach is batch-cooking large meals, then portioning out individual servings. You can also prepare components to allow for quick final preparation at mealtimes. My mom was ahead of her time in the 80’s and took this tack with “The Sauce”. My dad immigrated from Italy and red sauce was a fixture on our table multiple nights a week. My parents would make large batches of sauce and freeze single-meal-sized portions along with a portion of meat (meatballs, sausage, lamb). On spaghetti night, my mom only had to cook pasta, warm the sauce and protein and serve a salad or marinated vegetables on the side. She could also take a container of sauce and turn it into a soup like pasta fagioli or minestrone.
While you can meal prep using your own recipes, a book such as Meal Prep in an Instant by Becca Ludlum can be useful when getting started. It includes groups of recipes that help you prepare a number of meals for a week, but also includes strategies for shopping, organization and, in this case using a specific appliance (the Instant Pot), to help you create meals for a family or just one or two people.
Mercer County Library System has resources in many different formats to help inspire you to meal prep and build your cooking skills. Who knew your library card was your ticket to less stress meal prepping?
-Christina - Lawrence Branch
Books
Cook Once, Eat Twice: Time-Saving Recipes to Help You Get Ahead in the Kitchen by Nadiya Hussein (winner of the Great British Bake Off 2015 (Hussain, N., 2026) offers recipes and strategies for batch cooking, meal prepping and repurposing leftovers.
The Ultimate Meal-Prep Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen is available as a physical book and also an eBook through Libby. America’s Test Kitchen has been a fixture in cooking education since 1992, and produces magazines and cooking shows as well as cookbooks (America’s Test Kitchen, 2026). They apply their methods to meal prep shopping and cooking. This book includes shopping lists, 25 meal plans and flexible strategies for meal prepping.
Downshiftology: Healthy Meal Prep by Lisa Bryan is a great resource for anyone looking for a meal prep cookbook with gluten free recipes. Lisa Bryan includes sections on nutrition, meal prep strategies and sections on breakfasts salads, main dishes and desserts.
The “I Don’t Want to Cook” Book: Dinners Done in One Pot by Alyssa Brantley. While this book is not strictly about meal prep, Brantley’s approach to simple meals made with minimal cleanup is well suited to making meal prep accessible. The book is broken up by cooking method with sections on meals made in a skillet, dutch oven, casserole, sheet pan, slow cooker, and more.
Prep + Rally: An Hour of Prep, a Week of Delicious Meals by Dini Klein. Dini Klein plans a week of meals for you (and includes modifications for special diets and picky kids) and breaks everything down into shopping lists, directions for a prep session at the beginning of the week, and a last minute “rally” when you finish assembling the meal at dinnertime.
Sleep On It: Prepare Delicious Meals the Night Before that You Can Pop in the Oven the Next Day! by Carol Gordon. The recipes in this book come from inns and bed-and-breakfasts around the country so much of the book contains breakfast and brunch dishes that can be assembled the night before and baked in the morning. Also included are appetizers, dinners and sweets that can all be assembled a day or more ahead of time.
Databases
“Craft & Hobby”
Craft & Hobby is a new resource available with your library card! It includes video-on-demand and live resources for a variety of crafts and hobbies including cooking, yarn crafts, woodworking, photography and more! Craft & Hobby includes videos like “Slow-Cooker Savvy”, “Mindful Meal Planning” and “Ready, Prepped, Go” to help you meal prep successfully.
AtoZ World Food is a digital encyclopedia about the food and drink from 174 countries around the world. Each country’s listing includes recipes, traditions and even etiquette. In addition, AtoZ World Food includes videos about basic cooking techniques to help you get started cooking. This is a great resource for anyone looking to expand your palate and understanding of the world through food.
“Library Chef”
Library Chef offers both live and prerecorded classes for adults, teens and children on cooking and nutrition.
“Cooking And Food Magazines & Drink Magazines | PressReader”
Pressreader offers digital editions of magazines and newspapers including a wide variety of magazines about cooking in 18 different languages!
Classes
“Cook Talks-Lawrence Headquarters Branch”
A monthly program at our Lawrence Headquarters Branch featuring a guest speaker. Topics include food insecurity, dining out on a budget, and more.
Visit Hopewell once a month for this fun program of mocktail and snack pairings. Enjoy sampling the treats and go home with the recipes!
References
America’s Test Kitchen (2026). About Us. Retrieved from About Us | About Us 8/27/26.
Hussain, N. (2026). About Me. Retrieved from About me · Nadiya Hussain 8/26/2026
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