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21 College Kitchen Essentials For Basic Cooking and Meal Prep

College Meal Prep Tips Every Student Needs To Know

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workweeklunch

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What’s your favorite pasta meal? 👇🏼
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🍝After spending time in Mexico I definitely came home with a strong pasta craving for whatever reason. Last night I totally got my chicken noodle soup on. 😍 I loooove making sauces from scratch and I can always go for an orzo skillet!
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🍝Meal prep and cooking helped me heal my relationship with pasta. I used to avoid it and restrict it (in my head it was labeled as “unhealthy” for years) but my desire to have more variety in meals eventually brought me to cooking with pasta again and EMBRACING it. Life is just better with pasta involved yknow?
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🍝Looking forward to seeing your favorite pasta dishes in the comments!

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MEAL PREP FAQ! Here are the most common questions I got from yesterday’s Q&A post (with my answers!)
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❓How do you reheat chicken?
✅ Making sure you don’t have dry chicken is all about how you *initially* cook it - not really how you reheat it. Practice cooking chicken to perfection. If it’s juicy when you first cook it, it will be pretty juicy when reheated. When in doubt, fix it with sauces, dressing or a squeeze of lemon juice!
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❓How many days do you cook for in advance?
✅ 3-4! Prepping for 3-4 days allows for more flexibility and it’s easier to manage.
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❓How do you not get tired of repeating meals after a few days?
✅ The better your cooking is, the more you’ll look forward to repeating meals. This takes practice but it’s possible for each and everyone of you. Choosing the right recipes helps too - we have you covered in the WWL Program with recipes MADE FOR meal prep! Learn more in my bio link.
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❓How much time does meal prep really save you?
✅ On average I spend about 4 hours cooking on the weekend which saves me around 2 hours a day during the week because I don’t have to choose meals/a restaurant, no waiting in lines, no cooking, no cleaning. Just eating!
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❓How do you multitask in the kitchen?
✅ I always make a prep plan! Usually I deal with foods that have to be baked in the oven first, then deal with stove top items. I try to choose meals that are easy to multitask too. More on this in a future post!
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❓How do you prevent sogginess when reheating meals?
✅ the best way to do this is to let meals cool to room temp before you seal them and store in the fridge. Condensation inside the container causes sogginess! The other thing is to avoid using too much oil when roasting veggies. Lastly, it comes down to the type of meal you make. Not all meals work for prep.
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❓How can I avoid getting overwhelmed with meal prep?
✅ Start small! Seriously just prepping 3 lunches a week can make a huge difference. I’ve been doing this for over 4 years and am a pro, but I started with just 3-4 lunches a week.
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Hope this helps! Always happy to answer more questions in the comments. Meal prep can help you in so many ways and I hope these answers help motivate you!

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Would you eat a chili with beans, lentils, tomatoes and chocolate?! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m obsessed with this one pot, freezer friendly vegan Rocky Mountain lentil chili I made last week and the recipe is coming to the WWL Program TOMORROW! Learn more or sign up today in my bio link.
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👉🏼Couple things: the kidney beans and soyrizo didn’t actually make it into the chili. And it made 3 servings, not 2. I just ate one before snapping the “after” pic. To make this a meat recipe, simply use your favorite ground meat instead of lentils. Done.
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🙏🏼This is a perfect lazy Sunday meal prep recipe that’s super cozy and filling as a lunch or dinner! Can’t wait for you to try it this weekend on the new meal plan.

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Last week’s prep was perfect! Not pictured are some of the servings we ate before I snapped this pic but I ended up with 13 meals from 4 different recipes.
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Deets👇🏼
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🍳Breakfast tortilla bake! The vegetarian version is already available in the WWL Program - vegan version is coming.
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🥗Crunchy spinach apple carrot salad with chicken! Recipe is already in the WWL Program
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🌶Vegan Rocky Mountain Chili - recipe coming to the WWL Program this week
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🍔Spinach feta turkey burgers with lemon dill rice (this was a winner) - recipe is already in the WWL Program!
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👉🏼If you’re not a member of WWL yet, you can join to get access to all of these tested meal prep recipes + 300 existing ones in my bio link!
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✅Reheating: in the microwave as needed
✅Storage: in the fridge until we eat them
✅Calories: don’t know, don’t count, don’t care
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❓Got questions about this prep or meal prep in general? Drop them below!
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🌞Today is our last full day in Mexico and I’m feeling so inspired to cook when I get home tomorrow!! I always look forward to meal prep after a vacation because it helps my body get back in its regular feel-good groove.
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Have an amazing Monday!!

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I don’t count macros or calories! That’s one of many reasons why I don’t include them in my recipes, my program or my IG posts. (All recipes in this pic are featured in the WWL Meal Prep Program and are for members only- sign up in my bio link!)
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👇🏼Other reasons why I don’t include them:
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1️⃣ macros tell us nothing about flavor, taste or satisfaction when it comes to meals. These are factors I’d rather focus on.
2️⃣ counting macros is still a form of dieting! As an intuitive eating advocate with an anti-diet approach to food, counting macros doesn’t align with my mission.
3️⃣ including macros makes us second guess our food decisions instead of listening to our gut/intuition
4️⃣ even if I included macros in recipes there’s NO WAY you’d replicate the recipe exactly the same in your kitchen, thus making the count inaccurate and kind of irrelevant
5️⃣ including macros would be very triggering to those who are dealing with or recovering from an ED or disordered eating. I want my page to showcase meal ideas in a way that’s safe for those who struggle(d) with this.
6️⃣ counting macros is simply too time consuming!! I’m meal prepping to save time, why would I add macro counting to the process?
7️⃣ I want people to see beyond the numbers. Does the meal look or sound appealing? What are the ingredients and are would they taste good? Is this easy to cook at home? Is this affordable? These factors matter.
8️⃣ even though I don’t count macros I still make sure there are macronutrients in each prep: protein, carbs and veggies as micronutrients. I don’t spend as much time on the fat aspect- but fats are there too if we look close enough. There’s a way to make sure all the macronutrients are present without counting.
9️⃣ my philosophy is... we simply have more important things to worry about in life than macros
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🤘🏼I get this question a lot but haven’t been able to fully explain it. If you do count and it helps you- that’s great. I’m not here to bash you. I’m just explaining my position on this topic - we don’t have to all agree here. As always I welcome discussion in the comments, but remember that there’s no right or wrong here!

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🙅🏻‍♀️Me: I don’t want to travel so much this year
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✈️Also me: *takes 7 plane trips in 2019*
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👈🏼Swipe left to see all my plane food grams! Not sure why, but you guys seem to love them. And yes, ALL of this food got through security (which is different than customs - this food was eaten on the plane not taken into other countries).
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🌏Travel is a big part of my life and it’s one of the reasons I started meal prepping in the first place (to save money to use for trips). When I started prepping, I saved $260/month and all of that went toward travel and savings. It’s why I keep doing it!
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☀️This year I went to California 3 times, Turks and Caicos, Toronto and Israel. And now I’m headed to Cancun with my amazing mom for a few days! Next year? Japan and maybe Spain or the UK with my partner.
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🍌Why do I bring food on the plane? Having food I know I will enjoy makes my travel experience better AND I don’t have to spend so much money at the airport.
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👇🏼Products I travel with:
@stasherbag reusable bags
@gocontigo water bottle
@stojo collapsible cup
Containers vary, but I stick with plastic for plane travel because they’re lighter and won’t break.
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Have an amazing Friday!

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These spinach feta turkey burgers with lemon dill rice were a hit! 💯The recipe for these and the vegan/vegetarian version is in the WWL Program for members as of today!!
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✅If you’re a member, a new meal plan is already waiting for you in your inbox with this recipe in it.
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👉🏼And if you’re not a member yet, you can sign up in my bio link for $7.99/mo to get weekly meal prep plans that change every week, a library of 300 tested meal prep recipes and access to our INCREDIBLE private Workweek Preppers FB group. Cancel anytime if it’s not for you.
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🍋This recipe is bomb because the flavors compliment each other and it’s made with very simple, easy to find ingredients.
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ℹ️It’s not freezer friendly but it can last in the fridge for up to 4 days. It reheats well in the microwave or on the stove. I have no idea what the calories are because we don’t count here at WWL!
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🤘🏼Can’t wait for you guys to try this one. Have a kickass Thursday!

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We all screw up in the kitchen! Here are just of a few of MANY epic meal prep fails from this year:
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🍕Pizza quesadillas with a side salad - might come back to this. The quesadilla was just sad, not filling or flavorful enough. Side salad and dressing too much work for what it was.
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🍳Hashbrown egg cups - just wasn’t into this greasy mess of a meal at all! Everything about it was weird.
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🤨I think I attempted curry noodles and it all just clumped together. Super ugly meal, terrible texture, will probably try again because I love the flavors.
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🥘Quinoa sausage butternut squash skillet - these flavors go well together but not in skillet form. Was going for a one pot meal but it turned to mush. Might try again!
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🍠Turmeric tofu Thai stir fry. This combination of ingredients literally came to me in a dream 😂 and might try again because I loved it, it just needs a sauce!
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🍔Vegan, GF black bean burgers. Guys I tried these 4 times with no luck. Bland, bad texture, just the wrong ingredient combos. Will definitely come back to it, but needed a break after so many failed trials.
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🥞Not pictured: French toast. I tried sooooo many meal prep French toast recipes but they were all awful. Great in theory, terrible in practice.
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🥦Also not pictured: the epic broccoli soup fail you may have seen on stories 2 weeks ago
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🤘🏼I’m not here to be perfect. If you watch my lives and stories, you know that I screw up often, laugh it off and embrace it. It’s part of cooking. It’s impossible to learn how to cook without screwing up many times. 👉🏼The only way to learn is by DOING. Each “failure” is a lesson. Time and time again, mistakes lead to something awesome if we keep going.
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☺️Can’t wait to see what failures I come up with next year
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✅And if you want access to my meal prep success recipes, you can join the WWL Program in my bio link!! All the recipes that work out (Over 300) end up there for members only.

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Introducing the MVP of the week: this breakfast tortilla egg bake! 😍I had it for breakfast this morning and I can’t wait to eat it again tomorrow and the next day (and the next!).
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👈🏼Swipe left to see what it looks like inside 👀🤤🤤 I added black beans at the last minute
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✅ This breakfast is kind of like lasagna but with tortillas. It can last in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for 3-6 months (it’s all about how you store it!). I’m reheating it in the microwave, but the stove or oven (or toaster oven) would work just fine!
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🙅🏻‍♀️Dont know what the calories or macros are because I don’t count and don’t encourage counting. We eat food, not numbers!
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🤘🏼Recipe, including the vegan version, will be in the WWL Program this week! To get access to new and existing meal prep recipes, join the WWL Program in my bio link for just $7.99/mo (less than the cost of 2 takeout breakfast sandwiches!!)

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About Workweek Lunch

Hey! I'm Talia Koren, founder of Workweek Lunch. Here are the basics: I'm 27, I live in Queens, NY with my boyfriend and I've been meal prepping vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian and ...

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