The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook: Easy and Wholesome Meals to Cook, Prep, Grab, and Go

I am not one to write a review (this may actually be the first review I've ever written for anything). That said, I feel like I owe it to anyone willing to listen to share how useful this book has been to me. First, I have a small collection of cookbooks by a variety of cooks and chefs (Julia Childs, Alice Waters, Thomas Keller, Magnus Nilsson, David Chang, Amanda Chantal Bacon, and Jeremy Fox come to mind, but there are many others) and always have well-meaning intentions of using them for more than coffee table books, but never do. I should also mention that I have a degree in nutrition, and so I purchased this book with the intention of gaining an RD's perspective on meal planning, mostly to see if I could glean any wisdom that could be passed on to future clients. What I did not expect was to find a book full of truly tasty recipes that are easy and relatively inexpensive to make. Having recently given birth to my son, this book was a lifesaver during my pregnancy and in the last 11 weeks since I've had him. I do not have the time, energy, or money to waste on elaborate dishes with hard-to-find (i.e. must-order-online) ingredients and complicated preparation methods, so this book is perfect. My son's father and I have different ideas about what constitutes a good meal (he calls mine "rabbit food"; I can just feel my arteries clogging and vitamins/minerals depleting with his food), but this book has given us some middle ground at dinnertime. The flavors have not disappointed either of us, and I still feel that I'm eating healthy food. Anyway, it's been well worth the purchase and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a practical cookbook with easy, healthy, and tasty recipes.

Couldn't recommend this more. Short version: great recipes, helpful meal plans, less food waste, more free time throughout the week.I was looking to change things up after following the FitGirlsGuide 28 Day Jumpstart for a while. Although they plan everything out for you, I was ending up with a lot of wasted ingredients and still having to make dinner every night. Some nights I wouldn't feel like it and would go for fast food which wasn't good for my body or my wallet. Plus there were a few recipes I hated so I ended up getting really bored eating the same plan week after week.I sat down on Saturday and decided on the 2nd weight loss plan. I was able to write out the servings and calories per serving and make a plan for the week including snacks based on my calorie needs.It took a dedicated half of Sunday night to make everything but it wasn't any more than what I'm used to for prepping. The best part is that the recipes used everything! All I had left was a half an onion which I can use later and a little kale.Couldn't be happier with the overall flavor of the meals. Can't wait for next week!Pictured is my meal plan, beef stew, pesto chicken w/ turmeric rice and beans, home made granola, Mediterranean chicken and quinoa, and cacao-date oatmeal. Some don't look super appetizing but they are all delicious!

Life can get kind of busy and this meal prep cookbook helped make meal times less time consuming. My favorite recipe is the Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers. I substituted brown rice instead of Farro because I couldn't find any in our little stores. Still turned out AMAZING!This book really simplified meal prepping and if you're just curious about it, this resource is a great place to start!

So helpful I need to find more like these seriously!! Perfect for beginners!

I will start off by mentioning that I am a fellow dietitian who enjoys reading Toby's works and was very excited to get my hands on this book. Though a good read, it did not meet all my expectations.A list of my pros and cons are as follows:Pros:-The healthy meal prep tips and principles are smart and practical-The pantry staples and shopping lists included for the three 2 week meal plans are helpful and time saving-Recipes are labelled to indicate dietary restrictions and preferences that apply (ie: dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, paleo, vegan).-The nutrition information, number of servings, and serving size are listed for each recipe-Storage recommendations for the refrigerator and freezer are provided for each recipe, in addition to how to best warm up leftovers-Sunday meal prep step-by-step instructions make the execution of the weekly recipes fairly easy (~2.5-3 hours start to finish)-9 out of 10 recipes I've tried thus far have been very tasty (poached salmon with chimichurri is a new favorite)-Bonuses: there's a full chapter on ready to go snacks, sauces, dressings, and staples that make great additions to a healthy cookbookCons:-Out of 100+ recipes, there are very few photos of the recipes, which is not something to skimp on when crafting a cookbook-The cookbook is somewhat lacking in providing vegetarian entrees-The nutrition information is missing the amount of total and added sugars-While I appreciate and understand the principles behind the "clean eating" plan, the label "clean eating" has been associated with fad diets and moralizing food. This meal plan could be relabeled to general healthy eating as all three meal plans are based on whole, minimally processed ingredients.-The calorie recommendations provided for each of the meal plans are over generalized, and there does not appear to be a basis for the recommendations. The calorie recommendations in this text are likely geared towards middle aged men and women with little activity. A calorie range for men and women looking to maintain weight, lose weight, or gain muscle would be more appropriate. A table in the appendices or reference to the latest USDA dietary guidelines for estimated energy needs based on sex, age and activity levels would have been helpful.-It's stated that the three 2-week meal plans provide 5-6 meals and 1 prepared snack, but some of the meal plans fall short and are missing at least one entree. The muscle building meal plan #2 is a prime example as it contains recipes for 2 snacks and for 4 meals (2 breakfast and 2 lunch or dinners), which really isn't enough to cover a week.-Some of the serving sizes are on the low side and may not yield that many servings for your household, without the addition of sides.-There are often no pairing suggestions for the entrees that contain just proteins and sauce, resulting in a less than complete meal. For example, one of the meals in the muscle building meal plan #2 is a slow cooker Tuscan Chicken, which is simply chicken breast that is slow cooked in a canned tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and spices. I ended up cooking quinoa and making a salad to round out this meal and fill us up! Additionally, it's a missed opportunity to go without recommending a pairing with one of the vegetable/whole grain/bean recipes in the cookbook.Overall, this is an easy to read text with useful meal planning/meal prepping tips and healthy recipes that taste great. However, there are shortcomings with the meal plans not providing a true week's worth of (complete) meals, the lack of photos, and minimal vegetarian entrees may be a deal breaker for some.