Are you looking for help on what to buy at the grocery store, how to put meals together, and of course, all in a healthy way so you can lose weight? I’ve got you. If you are a busy professional (or just busy in general) and you want to learn how to meal prep on a budget, read on.    

Does the thought of meal prep sound inundating?  Where do you start? How does it all come together? Is meal prep going to cost me a fortune?

Well, I’ll tell you, having a plan makes all the difference.  For me, that means having a grocery list for meal prep to get the job started.

To spell out this process, here’s what goes into a meal prep grocery list:

1st – Nail down your grocery list (see below freebie grocery list)

2nd – Shop for groceries (I’ll tell you where)

3rd – Bring it all home and batch cook (I’ll tell you how)

In this post I’ll tell you my top tips for a cheap meal prep and include a bonus, done-for-you grocery list you can copy/paste right into your iPhone notes (or whatever notes you use in your phone).  

CHEAP GROCERIES

Shop smart. Buy what’s in season and buy in bulk (Costco is your friend). Aside from Costco, I like Sprouts or Trader Joes. Big grocery chains tend to be heavy on my wallet for fresh ingredients. Shop at the smaller guys or buy in bulk if possible to get the best bang for your buck. For families, nothing beats Costco/Sam’s Club. For 1-2 people, Sprouts is my absolute favorite.  

CHEAP MEAL PREP TOOLS

Get the tools you need to keep food fresh and make cooking a breeze.  I created a post with all my favorites. Check out The Kitchen Tools You Need For Easy Meal Prep.

When you have the tools to make meal prepping easy, it’s a less daunting task and you’ll love the time you save.

FAST MEAL PREP

Batch your cooking to save time. I wrote about this in a previous post: The Easiest Way to Meal Prep for Weight Loss in Four Simple Steps. 

Here’s how I like to cook:

• All protein on the grill at once.
• All carbs cooking at once – rice in the rice cooker, sweet potatoes in the oven or air fryer.  
• Veggies either on the grill or cast iron.  

GROCERY LIST 

After years of writing down all my groceries on a post-it, only to forget the post-it and realize it once I’m in the grocery story parking lot, I’ve devised a new way.  

There are probably a million apps you could use, some paid, some free.  But I’ve found a purely simple, free method I love, using iPhone notes! (Guess what, I’ll give you this freebie below). 

I like to share this note with my partner so we can add to the list wherever we are (our phones are always with us), mark off the items we pick up while in the store (so we don’t get duplicates), and truly make the grocery shopping list process as easy as possible.

Cheap Meal Prep + Grocery List Included

Check it out, I’ve decided to put together my handy-dandy iPhone notes grocery list just for you.  Pop in your email below and I’ll send it over 🙂

You can use my grocery list meal prep favorites or add your own. Just make sure to keep it clean AKA, whole, real, food. I even include instructions on how to use this. No tech-savviness required.