8 Tiny Meal Prep Habits

Starting Small

Many people have the best of intentions when it comes to meal prep, but somehow the groove doesn’t get established. There could be lots of reasons why: not finding the ideal day and time to do it, not being able or willing to devote enough time to it, not getting to the store, not knowing what to prep, or just not interested enough to pull it together. If any of these resonate with you, you might benefit from starting small and building from there.

Both James Clear in Atomic Habits and B.J. Fogg in Tiny Habits advocate for starting small when it comes to building new habits, especially major ones. Both teach that when you make a habit almost laughably easy, you remove resistance and build momentum. Clear calls these early behaviors “two-minute habits” (the smallest possible version of the routine you want), because the point is to show up consistently, not perfectly. Fogg adds that pairing a tiny action with something you already do (like making coffee or doing the dishes after dinner) helps it stick. When you shrink meal prep down to these light lifts, you create small, reliable wins, and those wins naturally grow into a rhythm that begins to feel second nature. You can build from there as you feel ready.

Two-Minute Meal Prep Habits

So here are my suggestions for “two-minute meal prep habits.” Some maybe take a little longer than that, but the actual hands-on time for these is small.

  1. Prep one “foundation food” each week

    • Choose something that anchors meals, like a cooked grain, roasted potatoes, or a pot of beans. You can build around your anchor for a few days.

  2. Make a sauce, dressing, or other topping

    • Choose and make a jar of dressing, a sauce, vegan parmesan, or other topping. Or buy a spice mix like dukkha. It will help turn whatever you have on hand into a real meal.

  3. Make a protein that will last 3–4 days

    • This could be baked tofu, a batch of soy curls, some bean burgers, or an easy lentil soup. This source of protein gives you a nutritional anchor for part of the week.

  4. Cook double of something you’re already making

    • Instead of a whole prep session, just double one dinnertime dish or staple, whether that be a casserole, stew, soup, or batch of quinoa. Refrigerate or freeze it and you’ve accomplished some meal prep.

  5. Try pre-cut or frozen vegetables

    • Buy frozen edamame, corn, peas, broccoli, or cauliflower, or buy cleaned and prepped vegetables in the produce aisle. There’s little nutritional impact compared to fresh versions, and they’ll make mealtime easier.

  6. Compile a tiny list of go-to meals

    • Take a few minutes and write down 3–4 meals you enjoy and can make quickly, like spaghetti with marinara and chickpeas, tacos with black bean filling, an entrée chopped salad, plant-based burritos, or baked potatoes topped with chili beans. Keep the list on your fridge or in a notes app and keep ingredients on hand. Add more ideas as you think of them and stock your kitchen to support the list.

  7. Create a single “on repeat” day of the week

    • Maybe it’s “Taco Bowl Monday” or “Baked Potato Bar Wednesday.” You’ve decreased meal planning effort and you’ll get more and more efficient each time you make the meal.

  8. Keep a running “Prep Wins” list

    • Every time you do something that makes future cooking and eating easier—like making a batch of rice or beans, making a double batch of soup, or prepping ingredients in the morning for that evening’s dinner—add it to your list. Seeing progress reinforces the habit.

Just Start

Meal planning and prep aren’t an all or nothing game. No one’s perfect at it, and everyone has to feel their way to a system that works for them.

Whether you’re starting with tiny habits this year or can flex already developed planning and prep muscles, you’re supporting consistently healthy eating, and that’s what’s important.

When You’re Ready, the Next Steps

Starting is the hardest part, so once you’ve begun, you’ve tackled the most challenging part. When you feel ready to level up, consider expanding your "two minutes" to 15 minutes once or twice a week. In that small window, you could:

  • Create enough single servings of salad to last a few days

  • Chop vegetables for two weeknight meals

  • Make two foundation foods instead of one (e.g., rice and baked tofu)

This incremental growth keeps resistance low while increasing your meal prep output. Consistency is definitely the path to healthier eating.

Eating Habits, Meal PlanningLinda TylerMeal PrepComment