Meal prep is a popular trend these days. We’ve all been there: it’s 6 pm, everyone is tired and hungry, and there is no meal in sight. Do you resort to pizza or something that might not be very healthy? Meal Prep can be your secret weapon to less mealtime stress, eating better, and saving money.

If you are just getting started with meal prepping, or are looking for some new ideas and recipes, here are some books to check out. Just the pictures alone will inspire you to add these meals to your week.

First up is Damn Delicious Meal Prep: 115 Easy Recipes for Low-Calorie, High-Energy Living by Chungah Rhee (641.555 Rhee). These recipes look damn delicious and contain ingredients you can get at any grocery store.

If you are looking for a plant-based plan, Mostly Veggies: Easy Make-Ahead Meals for Healthy Living by Brittany Mullins (641.5636 Mullins) is it. It includes meal guides for different seasons so that fresh ingredients are readily available for the recipes. She includes instructions for eating the meals right away or meal prepping them for later. Brittany also has a blog called “Eating Bird Food” that I like.

Easy Everyday: 100 Recipes and Meal Prep Ideas for Effortless Eats by Jessica Merchant (641.512 Merchan) is Merchant’s new cookbook for 2025. She will guide you through getting delicious, uncomplicated meals on the table fast. She introduces the “big three” things that guide her meal plans. She starts with three ingredients that are easy, versatile, and make great leftovers, and plans for the week from there. Examples might be roasted chicken, a batch of grain, and a dressing or sauce.

Danielle Walker has perfected recipes that are delicious and free from grains, gluten, and lactose in Make It Easy: A Healthy Meal Prep & Menu Planning Guide (641.5639 Walker). She outlines several meal prepper styles and shares recipes that work with your preferred food-prepping style.

Meal Prep Magic: Time-Saving Tricks for Stress-Free Cooking by Catherine McCord (641.555 McCord) starts out by helping you organize your space to make meal planning go smoothly and efficiently. Everything in its place saves time, money, and reduces stress. Meal Prep Magic continues with tips and strategies for preparing ingredients and finishes with the recipes in your meal plan.

Downshiftology Healthy Meal Prep: 100+ Make-Ahead Recipes and Quick-Assembly Meals by Lisa Bryan (641.5639 Bryan). Bryan’s preferred method of meal preparation is to batch-cook several ingredients and mix and match them throughout the week. She refers to it as having a “buffet bar in your fridge.”

Check out Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life by Gina Homolka (641.555 Homolka) for ideas to streamline making meals for your family. Homolka’s philosophy is preparing meals in advance by utilizing your freezer to prepare entire dishes to eat another day or making big batches and Planned-Overs. Planned-Overs is not just warming up last night’s meal; it’s planning for leftovers to use in a brand-new recipe.

If you’d like to request these or any other books, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Catalog, or call the library at 507-359-8331. New Ulm Public Library is located at 17 North Broadway and is open from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The library will be closed on Tuesday, November 11, for Veterans Day.