Graduate school is intense. At the IAA, the pace is fast and the workload is heavy. Between classes, practicum, homework team projects, and the job search, there are plenty of days when the last thing I want to think about is what I’m going to eat for lunch or dinner.
That’s where meal prepping comes in. Over the past few months, I’ve developed a system that not only keeps me well-fed but also saves me hours of time each week. By investing just a few hours on the weekend, I set myself up with healthy, ready-to-go meals that make the busy days of grad school much smoother.
In this post, I’ll walk through why meal prepping has been such a game-changer for me, and how I go from planning to shopping to cooking to enjoying stress-free meals during the week.
Why Meal Prep?
The demands of the MSA program can make it difficult to consistently make good food choices. It’s easy to fall into the trap of grabbing takeout between classes or skipping meals altogether when deadlines pile up. But those choices catch up quickly, both physically and financially.
Meal prepping solves several problems at once:
● Time savings: Instead of spending 30–60 minutes each day cooking, I batch cook for a few hours once or twice a week and free up time on weekdays.
● Healthier eating: Prepped meals mean I’m less likely to grab fast food. I control the ingredients, portion sizes, and balance of nutrients.
● Money savings: Buying in bulk and cooking at home costs far less than daily takeout or food truck runs.
● Reduced stress: I don’t waste mental energy deciding what to eat; it’s already taken care of.
When you’re juggling analytics coursework, team projects, and job search activities, these benefits add up quickly.
Step 1: Planning
My process starts with planning. I only meal prep lunches and make dinner for myself every night, but you could also prep dinners on the weekends, too. I keep it simple: I pick one recipe per week that I know I enjoy and that reheats well. I usually jot recipes down in a notebook or a notes app after I make them if they turn out well. I like to plan to buy enough ingredients to make around 8 portions. That way, if I eat one per weekday, I have some of that meal leftover in the freezer. As the weeks go on, this results in me having a variety of options to choose from in my freezer at any given time, which helps a lot with avoiding monotony.
A typical recipe for me has a protein source, a carb source, and some veggies. I also put snackable fruits on my shopping list so that I have something to snack on throughout the day and so that I include fruit in my diet.
Step 2: Grocery Shopping
Once I’ve planned my meals, I do one big grocery run. This is another way meal prepping saves me time; I don’t have to make multiple trips throughout the week. I focus on whatever ingredients I need for the meal preps, plus anything I need to make breakfast and dinner throughout the week.
Shopping with a list also helps me avoid impulse purchases. I know exactly what I need, which makes the trip faster and keeps me on budget.
Step 3: Cooking in Batches
The cooking itself usually takes me a couple of hours, but the payoff is huge. I’ll set aside a Sunday afternoon, put on some music or a podcast, and just knock it out.
For efficiency, I often cook multiple things at once; for example, I’ll cook rice in the rice cooker, roast vegetables in the oven, and pan-sear chicken on the stovetop. Once everything is done, I portion meals into containers.
There’s something satisfying about seeing a week’s worth of meals lined up, ready to go.
Step 4: Freezing and Rotating
Most of the meals I prep go straight into the freezer, where they’ll keep for months. Each morning when I pack my lunch, I’ll pull one from the refrigerator and move another from the freezer to the refrigerator. This rotation keeps my meals fresh and gives me flexibility if I don’t want to eat the same thing two days in a row.
Step 5: The Daily Payoff
The best part of this system is how easy it makes daily life. In the morning, I grab a prepped meal from the fridge, toss it in my lunchbox with some fruit and a fork, and I’m out the door in seconds. Lunch is no longer a question mark, and I can focus on whatever the day throws at me.
That mental clarity and time savings really matter. Instead of spending energy on what to eat, I’m fueling myself consistently and freeing up bandwidth to focus on my work.
Final Thoughts
Meal prepping may seem like a small thing, but for me, it’s been one of the most impactful habits I’ve built during my time in the MSA program. It supports my health, saves time, reduces stress, and ultimately makes graduate school life much more manageable.
For incoming and current students at the IAA, I highly recommend giving it a try. Start small: prep just a few meals one week and see how it feels. Chances are, you’ll find that those extra hours saved and healthier meals eaten make a big difference in your energy and focus.
Grad school is challenging enough. Meal prepping is one way I make sure I’m ready to meet that challenge every day.
Columnist: John Tobin