How to meal prep with restaurant catering menus to save time in the kitchen
Saving time and money in the kitchen by meal-prepping is always a win, especially as food prices continue to rise. Now, there's a simple hack filling feeds on social media that takes the effort out of meal prep, while still attempting to keep it economical.
Since last fall, the food trend tapping into people's "time is money mindset" has become increasingly popular: The trend involves simply ordering catering or to-go meals from a fast casual restaurant and assembling an assortment of "prepped" meals at home.
In September, when the trend first bubbled up, Samantha Mathews told "Good Morning America" all about her experience meal prepping with food from Chipotle where she spent a total of $134.04 and got 14 meals out of it.
Mathews and others have found it's still cheaper than going into the restaurant and ordering a fresh meal each day at lunch.
Catering orders at Chipotle need to be placed online 24 hours in advance, and ABC News' Becky Worley did just that at her nearest location to put the trend to the test.
After bringing home the catering platter of carnitas tacos for 10 people, which cost $119, Worley got to work prepping the meals.
"OK, I'm out of tortillas. I have 10 fully loaded tacos and look at how much food is leftover," she said, showing off the amount of food which she said she can utilize for burrito bowls or taco salad.
"I can freeze the extra tacos and the leftovers and depending on the portions your family eats, this could stretch to make up to 15 total portions, which takes the cost down to about $8 a meal," she said.
If doing this method of "meal prep" is on your radar, it's important to do the math, as various restaurants' pricing and sizing can vary and could ultimately make for a more expensive experience.
After Worley ordered off the catering menu from another restaurant chain, for example, she found that each "prepped" meal was pricier than the same single entree off the normal menu.
"For comparison, I ordered this as a single entree off the menu. It's got double the amount of the same chicken, double the amount of potato and bread. And get this, it cost $4 less," she said. "This is $22 compared to the $26 per plate of the catering meal. You could actually split this in half and it would be $11 a plate."
The concept is more about simplifying meal-planning than overall savings, so for those who don't like to cook or aren't as strictly concerned with cost, the time-saving hack could be worth a taste.
Takeout Meal Prep Recipe Ideas
Chef Anna Gass joined "GMA" on Friday to share what meals she could create with different to-go and catering orders.
First up, the Chili's Party Platter Fajita Trio. The meal comes with two proteins -- steak and chicken -- and all the fixings, like salsa, guacamole, sour cream and tortillas.
Gass suggested transforming the initial ingredients into two more dishes: bean quesadillas and chicken fried rice.
The second order, the Ultimate Family Feast from Red Lobster, included Maine lobster tails, snow crab legs, garlic shrimp scampi and Walt's Favorite Shrimp, served with lemon, melted butter, cocktail sauce, two family-size sides and eight Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
Gass elevated this by utilizing the shells to create seafood stock that can be used to make seafood soup. She also created a leftover lunch transforming the lobster and rolls into a classic, cold lobster salad to create a Maine-style lobster roll.
