[Jen Jones Donatelli meal-prepping in the pandemic]Jen Jones Donatelli * Jen Jones Donatelli is a full-time freelancer and a mom to 4-year-old twins. * She became interested in meal-prepping to help save time and money during the coronavirus lockdown. * A friend recommended the book, "Cook Once, Eat All Week," which involves making a variety of easy meals each week using just three main ingredients. * All of the recipes are gluten-free — and even her son likes them. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. As a full-time freelancer for nearly 15 years and a mom to 4-year-old twins, I've become a master at multitasking, mostly out of necessity. At any given time, I'm juggling around six to eight clients and roughly the same amount of requests for snacks and cuddles — often simultaneously these days, thanks to the 24/7 togetherness of the COVID-19 crisis. With this in mind, meal prepping always seemed like a logical solution, with its promise of efficiency and potential time and cost savings. But in reality, time (to grocery shop and cook a large portion of food) and desire has always eluded me. Plus, variety is the spice of life, and eating the same thing all week felt a little too "Groundhog Day" for my greedy palate. Enter the 2020 quarantine, when suddenly I was spending more time in the kitchen than ever before. Maximizing our grocery haul and saving money became a priority. The crisis forced me to finally give meal prepping a try, and when a friend in my "moms of multiples" group suggested the "Cook Once, Eat All Week" cookbook by Cassy Joy Garcia, I was all-in. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I WAS DRAWN TO GARCIA'S APPROACH IS ITS ALL-IN-ONE APPEAL. Unlike other meal prep methods, Garcia streamlines and simplifies the process by using one "main" set of ingredients that can be used in up to five different meals throughout the week. There's also a good range of cuisines represented, from Asian, Italian, Mexican, to Greek. ALL RECIPES FEATURE A PROTEIN, A VEGGIE, AND A STARCH. Each week calls for a different trifecta of main ingredients, like shredded pork-kale-plantains or ground beef-broccoli-potatoes combinations. According to Garcia, the three-ingredient lineups are intentionally chosen to include one protein, one veggie, and one starch; additionally, many of the same staples are used week to week, such as chicken or beef broth, extra-virgin olive oil, and various vinegars and spices. THE PROCESS STARTS WITH A SUNDAY MORNING PREP SESSION. This is when all ingredients are prepped and stored, but the actual meals are made gradually throughout the week utilizing the ready-to-use ingredients. These prep-and-cook sessions are short, sweet, and super easy to accomplish after a long workday. SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER SEE ALSO: * Wine businesses and smaller restaurants are getting creative to stay afloat, according to a master sommelier — but even as alcohol purchases boom the industry needs our support * The most impactful strikes in history — for better or worse * Disaster recovery experts and IT specialists offer 8 steps companies should take before reopening the office to protect their team's health and business' safety
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