For Solo Dwellers! Cut Weekday Food Costs in Half with 2 Hours of Weekend Meal Prep

Cooking at home is the best way to save money, but cooking every day is tough. If you do batch meal prep on weekends, you just need to reheat on weekdays. You'll save big on both food costs and time.

■ Benefits of Meal Prep
- Buying ingredients in bulk reduces waste
- Cost per meal can be kept to 100-200 yen
- Zero cooking time on weekdays
- Nutritionally balanced meals

■ Weekend 2-Hour Schedule (making 5 dishes)
0:00~ Start cooking rice
0:00~0:20 Cut all vegetables (carrots, cabbage, onions, etc.)
0:20~0:40 Season and cook meat (ginger pork, etc.)
0:20~0:40 Simultaneously simmer soup (miso soup or minestrone)
0:40~1:00 Cook side dish 1 (simmered hijiki, dried radish strips, etc.)
1:00~1:20 Cook side dish 2 (blanched spinach, kinpira, etc.)
1:20~1:40 Finish stewed dishes (nikujaga, chikuzenni, etc.)
1:40~2:00 Cool down and pack into containers

■ Shopping List Example (1 week, approx. 2,000 yen)
- Rice 5kg 2,000 yen (2 weeks' worth) → 1,000 yen/week
- Meat (mainly chicken breast) → 500 yen/week
- Vegetables (bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots) → 400 yen/week
- Eggs, tofu, natto → 300 yen/week
- Seasonings (500 yen/month ÷ 4) → 125 yen/week
- Other → 175 yen/week

■ Storage Tips
- Refrigerate what you'll eat within 2 days
- Portion and freeze items for 3+ days later
- Label ziplock bags and containers with dates

Just switching from weekday dining out (800 yen x 5 days = 4,000 yen) to meal prep (400 yen x 5 days = 2,000 yen) saves 8,000 yen per month.

* Listed prices are from 2025. Prices may vary by location and time. Please check with each restaurant for current prices.