As you might expect, this book is a cookbook with a meal-prep-focused twist—it's 80% recipes, 20% an intro to meal prep guide for the uninitiated. As a member of said uninitiated masses, I was excited to check it out!

Ultimately, though, I didn't feel that the book excelled in either area—recipes OR meal prepping guidance. And I really wish it had!

First, I'll start with a disclaimer: I'm a vegetarian, so I of course look at all cookbooks through a lens of how good their vegetarian offerings look. "Easy Meal Prep" appealed because it specified that it was vegetarian-friendly ("whether you’re high-protein, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, low-carb, or just trying to eat healthy"), but it turns out that that list really just refers to a few pages of individual potential meal plans at the beginning of the book—a cool inclusion (we'll get to that later), but perhaps overselling how much dietary flexibility the book offers. Recipes are definitely included for all of these dietary needs/choices, but it never felt like this book prioritized catering to these different audiences. It didn't feel like there was a particularly large number of dishes offered for most of the diets listed, and there weren't nice touches I've seen in other cookbooks like labels on dishes for various diets or notes about possible adaptations that would make recipes accessible to other diets, even when such adaptations might be fairly straightforward). Most recipes seemed designed to cater to the "standard" U.S.-based healthy eater above all else.

In a similar vein, I'm sad to say that none of the recipes included lit me up or got me excited to get meal preppin'. I'm guessing the goal was to present recipes for familiar dishes, but it's almost a vegetarian cliché at this point to joke about how everyone just wants to serve us black bean burgers, falafel, and salads (three of the four main dishes in the proposed meal plan). There are definitely plenty of other veggie-friendly dishes in the book, but many just feel very basic or boring, especially compared to meal prep recipes found online—the breakfast section starts by teaching us to scramble eggs, for instance. Ultimately, I think this may have been a disconnect in vision/execution—it's certainly helpful to share strategies for prepping/reheating cooking staples, but presenting them as recipes has the potential to feel confusing or disappointing (particularly when the strategies for prepping these staples didn't feel particularly unique—I was hoping for more tips to keep things fresh and delicious over time, but those were surprisingly lacking).

(Vision/execution felt like it may have been a challenge overall, in fact. My biggest qualm with this book was its unintuitive organization. My favorite detail? Snacks and Sides starts with Peanut Butter Brownies and Chocolaty Quinoa Squares, then transitions into Healthier Tuna Salad and Vegetables with Greek Yogurt Dip. I understand that TECHNICALLY these are all smaller bites, but turning the page from desserts to tuna salad sure is something.)

All of this would be totally fine if the book fulfilled its main goal, actually demystifying meal prep. And it's certainly a nice intro! It makes a good case for meal prep (in case you picked up the book with no idea what you were getting into) and lays out some solid basics—I particularly appreciated the great breakdown of recommended containers. It also, as I mentioned earlier, includes some lovely sample meal prep meal plans for various diets (all compiled from various recipes from the book itself) to get us newbies started with the meal-prep process. The problem, though, is that this ends up feeling like a handful of blog posts on the topic of meal prepping, not an in-depth enough guide to actually teach the skill of meal-prepping for someone who wants to apply it long-term. The book contains brief directions for planning a prep without the specific step-by-step instructions from the specific plan breakdowns, but I still found myself left with questions and a vague sense of overwhelm: How do I handle dishes and mess? How do I prevent mid-prep overwhelm? How do I solve common food prep challenges (like, we all burn things sometimes—then what?). Even some of the instructions from the book that should have felt reassuring felt a little iffy—"If a recipe instructs you to cook something at 400ºF (200°C) and something else at 450ºF (230°C), it's completely acceptable to
set your oven temperature in the middle at 425°F (220°C)." is exactly the kind of tip I picked up the book for, but there must be a learning curve there, right? I would have preferred a longer meal prepping section where more was explained, even if it meant we lost out on an egg recipe or four.

I can see this being a great starter cookbook for folks interested in beginning a cookbook collection or young people looking for one go-to guide to start cooking food for workweeks. But I wouldn't expect it to be your one-stop shop! Pick it up, learn the tips, and then expect to keep researching to get really good at meal prepping and find recipes you're really excited about. I know that's my plan!

✨Who is this cookbook great for?✨
• Fans of Erin Romeo, I'm sure!
• Folks interested in meal prepping who want to start with more basic recipes
• Health-conscious meal preppers—this is one of those cookbooks that tells you to buy dates :)

✨Who isn't this cookbook great for?✨
• Fellow vegetarians (or, I'm assuming, folks looking for unique high-protein, dairy-free, gluten-free, or low-carb recipes)—unless you just want to use this as a jumping-off point, in which case it might be great for ya!
• Folks with preexisting meal prep experience looking to take their meal preps to the next level
• Folks who are TOTALLY new to meal prepping and need extensive guidance

✨Standout recipes✨
• Biggest recipe win for me so far: Cheesy Egg Bites
• Most Intrigued By: Tomato, Egg, and Lentil Bowls
• Honorable mention: Lemony Pasta Salad with Asparagus

Easy to read, full of great food prep inspiration and broad appeal to everyone rolling up their shelves to cook - definitely a book every modern kitchen should have!

3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐½

Erin Romeo’s Easy Meal Prep offers a straightforward and approachable guide for anyone looking to simplify their cooking routine and make meal prep a part of their everyday life. What stands out the most is how the book focuses specifically on meal prep, offering practical tips and advice that make the process less daunting and more manageable. The introduction at the beginning was incredibly helpful for understanding what meal prep actually is and how it can be adapted to any lifestyle, making it a very flexible approach. While I absolutely love the idea of meal prep, I’ll admit I don’t currently have the discipline to fully put this cookbook into action so take my review with a grain of salt.

The one change I did manage to make was starting to prep my snacks for work in the evenings instead of in the rush of the morning. I used to end up packing nothing worthwhile, but now, I’m excited about what I’ve prepped ahead of time, which makes a big difference. It’s definitely a routine I’d love to stick with!

I really love that Erin provides multiple starting points for different lifestyles. I always envisioned meal prepping as an “all or nothing” task where you prep everything for the entire week in one day. But Erin introduces the idea of mini-preps, which feels more manageable. Her five-step process is a great starting point, taking you through everything from getting the right containers and grocery shopping to cooking, portioning, and packing your meals. It's thorough and well-organized.

This book is perfect for anyone wanting to try meal prep but unsure where to start. It’s also great for seasoned meal preppers, offering a ton of useful tips both in the introduction and throughout the recipes. Each recipe not only guides you on how to cook the dish but also explains how to properly divide it into containers, how long it will store, and the best way to reheat it to maintain flavor.

Overall, I think Easy Meal Prep is a wonderful resource for those just getting started with meal prep or looking to refine their routine.

Thank you Quatro / Rockpoint and NetGalley for this ARC in return of my honest review.

If you are new to meal prep or menu planning or looking for inspiration this book could be well suited. The basics of food storage, food labelling are explained to get you started.

The book had a few different menu plans, one for gluten free, vegetarian, for example.
The recipes were attractively photographed and the recipes were quite inspiring although I’m not sure how some of them (avocado in salads or cooked fish) would go for pre prep or to eat later.

Overall a good book for beginners but if you look through lots of recipes or have done menu planning and food prep previously I don’t think there is anything new that stands out. I do have chicken thawing and am looking forward to trying one of the recipes tomorrow as it sounds tasty and like all the recipes, seems easy, with ingredients that most well stocked pantries will have on hand.

This is a great introduction to meal prepping! I appreciated the detailed steps for prepping that start the book. They are accessible and clear. The book has 5 meal plans for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and 2 snacks a day. They include a plan for gluten free meals, vegetarian meals, low carb meals, high protein meals, and dairy free meals. There are recommendations for the steps to take to prep each meal plan in a few hours, which is a great example for how to do the same with your own chosen recipes. Overall the recipes included are easy and nutrient dense. I didn’t like flipping back and forth between the prep instructions and the recipes. I would have preferred the steps and recipes to be grouped together, but I do understand why the organization was set up the way it was!

I received an ARC of this cookbook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great cookbook. It's full of easy to make recipes that are delicious!

This is a beautiful book! I love the organization and suggestions. Easy to follow. Photos are beautiful.

A good inspiration for healthy recipes as well as tools and techniques.
Would make a good gift too.

A great resource for mastering the art of meal prep. I have always struggled with this and now feel much more able to plan the week's meals with ease. Would make a great gift for newlyweds or singles with busy lives who could benefit from adding this important skill to their cooking toolkit.

When I saw that the book was addressing so many diet plans, I thought there was no way that they would be able to meet the needs of all those folks--dairy free, gluten free, high protein, vegetarian, etc. I was pleasantly surprised! By keeping it simple and providing a sample week with repeating dishes Romeo is able to provide a starting point for anyone wanting to start meal prepping, including family dinners, packed lunches for commuters, grab and go snacks and breakfasts. Recipes don't include macros but are based on whole foods and would be easy enough to calculate. Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Rock Point for a digital review copy.

This book has easy to follow instructions and is so well organized. I’ve struggled with meal prep books feeling disorganized so this was a huge relief to me. I love the inclusion of dairy-free, high protein, vegetarian, low-carb, and gluten free diets!! They recipes look so delicious, I can’t cook all of them right now, but I’m definitely starting with the pesto tilapia!!

I’ve been trying to find a way to make meal prep not terrifying and I think Erin Romeo hit the spot for me!! As I said before the organization of this makes so much more sense to me than books I’ve read previously. While reading through it, every time I had a question, it was answered or the answer was extremely easy to find in no time!

For more detail on how the organization worked better for me, the meal plans were all in one place, and after that ALL the recipes were listed together. The last book I read had a meal plan, then all the recipes for that plan, then another meal plan, then those recipes, and that might work better for someone else, but Erin’s organization is top-tier for me!!!!

Thank you for writing this!!!

I absolutely loved this beginner's guide to meal prepping! It was incredibly easy to follow, making the concepts approachable for someone just starting. I gained valuable insights into batch cooking, organising meals for the week, and planning grocery lists efficiently. The tips and techniques shared in the guide have inspired me to take the plunge into meal prepping.

I’m genuinely excited to put these new skills into practice and transform how I approach cooking and nutrition. Once the paper copy is released, I plan to purchase it so I can refer back to it whenever I need it.

I’m also eager to share this resource with my friends and family to help them simplify their meal planning too!

I enjoyed flipping through this! There was nothing that I found super profound or new, but lots of great reminders about best practice less for grocery shopping and checking nutrition labels. Given the emphasis of some foods as part of “low carb” or “high protein” plans, it would have been helpful to see the breakdown of macros per serving for the recipes. Overall pretty solid!

Great meal prep recipes and advice. Recipes are full of heathy foods made with common pantry ingredients. Book layout is attractive and easy to follow.

This book can be a great time saver for people who are organized - or who want to learn to be. And she provides healthy recipes that can be prepared ahead of time.

The author begins with some help on how to get started. You're going to need some sort of containers to store your food. what do you have on hand and what should you acquire? Glass or plastic? She's even provided some meal plans for special needs, including a High Protein Plan, a Gluten-Free Plan, a Dairy Free Plan, a Vegetarian Plan, and a Low Carb Plan with options from the provided recipes for Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, and Dinner.

She provides recipes for make ahead breakfast meals that I wouldn't have thought of, including omelets and breakfast sandwiches. Likewise for main meals and snacks.

However, for me, this book isn't terribly helpful. I'd actually make only a few of the recipes, and I'd like more instruction on how to plan multiple meals and prep for those.

Very amazing cookbooks, lots of tips to an easy meal prep, well written and a lots of good recipes, i've tried a few and it's definetely kids approved!

I will check out other cookbooks by this author

This is a user-friendly guide with over 75 recipes designed to make meal prepping easier for beginners, focusing on healthy, time-saving meals. While the book offers accessible instructions and creative ideas, it could benefit from including nutritional info and macro breakdowns, though the snack and sides section is a standout for me.

This book was made for me! There are so many meal plans with recipes that the average chef/cook can master. Easy to follow instructions and lots of pointers and tips to help the newbie in us. I highly recommend this Easy Meal Prep book for all of us wanting to venture into meal planning and prepping.

Thank you!! #NetGalley #EasyMealPrep

I LOVE this book! Easy meal prep is just what a stay at home mom of 8 kids needs. And to be honest the front cover of the book had me before I even read the title! I have to have a well organized fridge and this book helps with food and makes planning and prepping a dream.

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group – Rock Point for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: "Easy Meal Prep" by Erin Romeo offers practical guidance and over 75 recipes to help you efficiently plan, prep, and enjoy healthy meals tailored to various dietary needs.

My review: Erin Romeo’s Easy Meal Prep is a practical and visually appealing guide designed to simplify the process of planning and preparing meals for the week. Featuring straightforward steps, the book provides a solid foundation for beginners who are new to meal prepping. While the book doesn’t break much new ground for seasoned meal preppers, it compensates with accessible instructions and creative recipe ideas. I wish that it had included nutritional information and macro breakdowns as most meal preppers do count calories and/or macros. The snacks and sides section was my personal favorite. Some standout recipes for me to try: Berry Vanilla High-Protein Pancakes, Chocolate Raspberry Breakfast Quinoa, Thai Bowls with Peanut Sauce, Roasted Vegetables and Chicken Wrap, Savory Rice and Beans (although, I'd add sausage to it!), and roasted Chickpeas.

Genres/Themes: Cooking / Methods - Quick & Easy / Health & Healing; Health & Fitness / Diet & Nutrition

Easy Meal Prep: Save Time and Eat Healthy with over 75 Recipes by Erin Romeo is scheduled for publication on January 14, 2025, by Quarto Publishing Group – Rock Point.