How are you currently managing your food?

control · Jan 13, 2026

So I recently watched a podcast with Andrew Huberman and James Clear. James Clear wrote the book Atomic Habits, which is all about putting systems in place and creating habits that set you up for success (excellent book and highly applicable to bodybuilding). It got me thinking about how I can improve my food management.

Right now my main source of protein is grilled chicken breasts. My wife got me a Traeger grill and it's pretty bad ass. I've been buying chicken breasts and cooking 9-10 pounds at a time, a couple times a week. This has been going pretty good for the last couple months, but it is time consuming and, I hate to bitch, but I hate prepping raw chicken. I'm kind of a germ-aphobe so I have to basically disinfect the whole kitchen after I prep chicken. It seems like raw chicken juice is everywhere (Has anyone here ever had salmonella?).
Anyways, I might need to take a break from this for awhile.
I'll probably go back to ground turkey/beef for awhile, but I'm open to suggestions.
The other think I do is blend up 10-12 scoops of whey protein at a time in a pitcher with a hand mixer, so I've got that ready to go.
I guess I'm just wondering how everyone else is doing things these days. I need to have food prepped or I won't hit my daily protein requirement.

Jefe · Jan 13, 2026

I just rotate the food. Cook a bunch of chicken at once, put half in the freezer. Make 2 other types of meals.

Cook chicken once but eat it at 2 separate times kind of thing.

Reno911 · Jan 13, 2026

The crock pot is your friend. I like to switch it up with the Sous vide but it's a little bit more work.

pistonpump · Jan 13, 2026

I do like 3-4 lbs of chicken breasts air fried, then I'll do 2-3 lbs of ground beef, next day I'll do salmon, next day shrimp, next day chicken breast or steak, and just keep doing it that way. There's overlap with the meats so I'm not just having once option. I'll have a container of this meat or that and I just add to rice. I don't freeze anything so I only make what will be eaten in a few days.

specter · Jan 13, 2026

I drive up to the window at Micky´Ds say my order and drive around to the next window and pickup my happy meal, then home and eat it..

d4ve · Jan 13, 2026

Two orders from Walmart grocery per week, each arriving on an off day from training - one large (Sunday), one mid-week small (Wednesday). Trip to HEB (badass TX grocery store) once per week, usually Sunday, for most produce and meat. The Walmart orders include a bit of the produce and most of the "other" stuff - eggs & egg whites, pantry items (oats, rice, cream of rice), etc.

Two cooking sessions on the off days - That covers pretty much all meat, veggies, and rice. First and least meals cooked fresh daily, the others are assembled with the pre-cooked ingredients.

Basically every day has the same structure

M1 - eggs / egg whites, oats, fruit, sourdough, yogurt
M2 - cream of rice, whey, nut butter, rice cakes - swap with yogurt, whey, chia seeds, fruit, granola on off days
M3 - meat, rice, veg, added fat, fruit
M4 - meat, rice, veg, added fat, fruit
M5 - meat, potatoes, added fat, fruit

TheOtherOne55 · Jan 13, 2026

I'm an early riser so i have no problem cooking either ED or EOD.
I'll get up and cook 2-3lbs of ground meet + all my rice/potatoes for the day and split that up into meal.
The dry meals (powders, COR, oats, almonds, rice cakes) are super easy.

buck · Jan 13, 2026

For decades i prepped all my work food on sunday for the week so it was ready to go. And would cook breakfast(eggs) and diner(what ever i wanted) most every night unless i was having leftovers. Never had any issues with getting sick from raw meat. Go years at a time without getting sick. I tend to think getting some germs in strengthens the immune system, but that is just me.

Sectør · Jan 13, 2026

Reno911 said:
The crock pot is your friend. I like to switch it up with the Sous vide but it's a little bit more work.

X2 on this

The crockpot is meal prep made easy. Throw a bunch of stuff in, come back 4-8 hours later, and you’ll have enough food for atleast a few days.

control · Jan 13, 2026

d4ve said:
Two orders from Walmart grocery per week, each arriving on an off day from training - one large (Sunday), one mid-week small (Wednesday). Trip to HEB (badass TX grocery store) once per week, usually Sunday, for most produce and meat. The Walmart orders include a bit of the produce and most of the "other" stuff - eggs & egg whites, pantry items (oats, rice, cream of rice), etc.

Two cooking sessions on the off days - That covers pretty much all meat, veggies, and rice. First and least meals cooked fresh daily, the others are assembled with the pre-cooked ingredients.

Basically every day has the same structure

M1 - eggs / egg whites, oats, fruit, sourdough, yogurt
M2 - cream of rice, whey, nut butter, rice cakes - swap with yogurt, whey, chia seeds, fruit, granola on off days
M3 - meat, rice, veg, added fat, fruit
M4 - meat, rice, veg, added fat, fruit
M5 - meat, potatoes, added fat, fruit

I'm surprised I haven't ran into you at H-E-B, lol. I actually like some of their pre-cooked meals for when I run out of food. I even eat their sushi sometimes.

d4ve · Jan 13, 2026

control said:
I'm surprised I haven't ran into you at H-E-B, lol. I actually like some of their pre-cooked meals for when I run out of food. I even eat their sushi sometimes.

I live way up north in Anna, so I go to the new one in Melissa, rather than the one near Destination. Otherwise I'd probably be running into people from Destination all the time, lol.

control · Jan 13, 2026

d4ve said:
I live way up north in Anna, so I go to the new one in Melissa, rather than the one near Destination. Otherwise I'd probably be running into people from Destination all the time, lol.

I live right by you, I go there almost every day. Usually on my way home from Destination. They're building that new Kroger and EOS right by my house. Traffic is about to be gnarly....

FrenchBench22 · Jan 13, 2026

I do all my grocery shopping for eggs, meats, veg, fruit on Sunday afternoon. I have my grains delivered once a month (50lb bags of rice, rice flour, oats, potatoes). For sourdough, I go to the local bakery on Monday and Thursday around 7am after cardio and breakfast.

In general, I try to cook my meals just before eating, or cook everything the same day I eat it, to avoid having to reheat it. When that isn't an option, I do all my cooking for the next day, during the night prior. Resistant starches that form after cooking aren't a major concern, but should be considered when addressing long term gut health, digestion, glycemic curve, digestion speed. I salt meals when I eat them.

- If I'm having 500g chicken breast that day, I cook it all at once with vegetables and portion it (250g chicken each in two containers, and 150g veg).
- For rice if I can't eat it immediately after cooking, I'll cook all my rice for the day in the morning. So if I'm having 250g rice (raw weight) for the day, cook it all then portion into the containers that already contain the meat+veg.
- For potatoes, I really don't like to reheat them (resistant starches), so just prepare them just before eating. When that isn't an option, same as before, cook the night before and portion.
- For dry meals like oats or cream of rice, I 'pre-prep' them the night before. So in a bowl for example, 100g oats or rice flour, the fruit, the nut butter, then water. Then when it's almost time to eat, cook it in the microwave. If it has to be cooked in advance, cook it in the morning and just have it later.
- For something that can be stored in the fridge and enjoyed cold like a bowl of Greek yogurt (with added fruits or nut butter), I'll prepare that days in advance and leave it in the fridge until it's time to be eaten. It's usually with a carb like rice cakes, I'll measure them out and put in a plastic bag that I can just grab.
- For breads, I cut and measure them out after buying and put into plastic bags that I can grab. So each individual plastic bag contains a slice that's ~40g.

This way, I can cook and pack my 5-6 meals for the next day in 1 hour. Or when I have a day at home, I can cook each meal fresh.

control · Jan 13, 2026

FrenchBench22 said:
I do all my grocery shopping for eggs, meats, veg, fruit on Sunday afternoon. I have my grains delivered once a month (50lb bags of rice, rice flour, oats, potatoes). For sourdough, I go to the local bakery on Monday and Thursday around 7am after cardio and breakfast.

In general, I try to cook my meals just before eating, or cook everything the same day I eat it, to avoid having to reheat it. When that isn't an option, I do all my cooking for the next day, during the night prior. Resistant starches that form after cooking aren't a major concern, but should be considered when addressing long term gut health, digestion, glycemic curve, digestion speed. I salt meals when I eat them.

- If I'm having 500g chicken breast that day, I cook it all at once with vegetables and portion it (250g chicken each in two containers, and 150g veg).
- For rice if I can't eat it immediately after cooking, I'll cook all my rice for the day in the morning. So if I'm having 250g rice (raw weight) for the day, cook it all then portion into the containers that already contain the meat+veg.
- For potatoes, I really don't like to reheat them (resistant starches), so just prepare them just before eating. When that isn't an option, same as before, cook the night before and portion.
- For dry meals like oats or cream of rice, I 'pre-prep' them the night before. So in a bowl for example, 100g oats or rice flour, the fruit, the nut butter, then water. Then when it's almost time to eat, cook it in the microwave. If it has to be cooked in advance, cook it in the morning and just have it later.
- For something that can be stored in the fridge and enjoyed cold like a bowl of Greek yogurt (with added fruits or nut butter), I'll prepare that days in advance and leave it in the fridge until it's time to be eaten. It's usually with a carb like rice cakes, I'll measure them out and put in a plastic bag that I can just grab.
- For breads, I cut and measure them out after buying and put into plastic bags that I can grab. So each individual plastic bag contains a slice that's ~40g.

This way, I can cook and pack my 5-6 meals for the next day in 1 hour. Or when I have a day at home, I can cook each meal fresh.

How do you cook your chicken breasts? I love my pellet grill, but the temperature seems to fluctuate real bad when it's cold/windy outside.

BBSQ5 · Jan 13, 2026

I find myself going through lazy spurts with meal prep often and end up resorting to Lean Ground Chicken or Beef with some packets of seasoning. That with some plain Greek yogurt (my version of sour cream), rice, and some version of salsa becomes many days of eating.

If I’m not in a rut, Top Sirloin and Chicken Breasts in bulk on the grill for the week.

Both wife and I eat close to same foods for our meal plans, so there’s nothing exciting that we have to do for our actual meals.

cage99 · Jan 13, 2026

d4ve said:
Two orders from Walmart grocery per week, each arriving on an off day from training - one large (Sunday), one mid-week small (Wednesday). Trip to HEB (badass TX grocery store) once per week, usually Sunday, for most produce and meat. The Walmart orders include a bit of the produce and most of the "other" stuff - eggs & egg whites, pantry items (oats, rice, cream of rice), etc.

Two cooking sessions on the off days - That covers pretty much all meat, veggies, and rice. First and least meals cooked fresh daily, the others are assembled with the pre-cooked ingredients.

Basically every day has the same structure

M1 - eggs / egg whites, oats, fruit, sourdough, yogurt
M2 - cream of rice, whey, nut butter, rice cakes - swap with yogurt, whey, chia seeds, fruit, granola on off days
M3 - meat, rice, veg, added fat, fruit
M4 - meat, rice, veg, added fat, fruit
M5 - meat, potatoes, added fat, fruit

I’m jealous of your access to HEB!!! Wish they’d move a a smidge East to my city. Maybe one day…

I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned yet, but a good quality smoker works well for cooking large amount of chicken, turkey, beef. My primary smoker is a 22” WSM. I added abt $400 is modifications to mine to seal it tight. I also utilize the ThermoWorks RFX system.

Wife was supposed to grab 10lbs of chicken thighs on Sunday, but they were out so she showed up with boneless breasts. I was apprehensive at first but said fuck it and tossed em on the smoker at 300°. Used charcoal and hickory. Dammit they came out juicy and taste delicious!!!! Weighed out my daily portion and then bagged the rest w/ a vacuum food sealer. Don’t sleep on a smoker if ya have one!

Cage

d4ve · Jan 13, 2026

control said:
I live right by you, I go there almost every day. Usually on my way home from Destination. They're building that new Kroger and EOS right by my house. Traffic is about to be gnarly....

Oh shit, I forgot lol.

I can't stand going there when it's crowded. I've been going on Sunday mornings at like 7am. I get up that early anyway, so it's no sacrifice, and I can shop calmy before the rush.

FrenchBench22 · Jan 13, 2026

control said:
How do you cook your chicken breasts? I love my pellet grill, but the temperature seems to fluctuate real bad when it's cold/windy outside.

Depends.

Sometimes I'll grind it myself prior to cooking, or sometimes I'll shred it in a food processor after it's cooked; either way I get a ground beef like consistency, incredibly easy for getting large volume in and reducing time spent chewing large pieces.

Sometimes I'll cook them in the air fryer with some seasonings (turmeric, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, fennel). Sometimes I'll cook them on a regular grill or pellet grill. Sometimes I'll cook them with a sous vide. If they're already ground, sometimes I'll put them in the rice cooker with the rice.

In any scenario, I use a thermometer to check the internal temperature and remove from heat when they get up towards 160° F; and never any need for any cooking oil. Because they're never passed 160°F, they're never dry or overcooked.