I did a little poll on Insta-stories this week that pointed me towards a more in-depth post about meal planning, but for now, I’ve rounded up some easy, healthy recipes that are great for prepping ahead of time.
What is “meal prepping”?
I consider any kind of preparation of food for meals in the future to be “meal prep.” This can be chopping ingredients, marinating, or fully cooking and assembling meals. Extreme meal prepping you see online with the whole kitchen table covered in little containers lined up with every single thing the person is going to consume that week is pretty over the top and intimidating!
I think meal prep on a smaller scale can still be very beneficial with a few intentional decisions while making any meal. This can mean making extra portions of dinner to save as leftovers or cutting up a bunch of vegetables all at once to use throughout the week.
Why should I meal prep?
How often do you wait until late the night before to make your lunch for work? How often do you just end up grabbing lunch out or some junk because you just want to get to bed? Thinking ahead and setting yourself up for easy meals can 1) Make healthy options convenient 2) Help you stick to budget goals by avoiding restaurants and take out 3) Save you time by prepping multiple meals in one cooking or assembling session.
Alright, here are some of my go-tos!
Sheet Pan Meals
These two chicken recipes are so super easy – cut everything up and roast on a single sheet pan! I shared several sheet pan meals in my Weekday Dinner Recipe Roundup, but these are particularly easy to split up among a few containers for lunches.
Italian Chicken Bowls
This recipe from Eazy Peazy Mealz has chicken breast, broccoli, grape tomatoes, zucchini, red onion, and tons of Italian seasoning. The seasoning adds a lot of flavor. The post also has a lot of good tips for meal prep!
Spicy Chicken Sweet Potato Magic Bowls
I make these “magic bowls” from Pinch of Yum pretty much every time I see broccolini in the grocery store. The Cajun seasoning on the chicken is so good!
Other Easy Bowls
Pork Egg Roll in a Bowl
This paleo pork egg roll bowl is just that – it’s an egg roll without the shell! Ground pork, coleslaw mix (making it easy to prep), and flavors like ginger, sesame, and soy sauce. One big skillet and you’re done!
Taco Bowls
Taco bowls are a great meal prep go-to because swapping the protein or the veggies and toppings can mix things up so you don’t get tired week after week! We like Thrive Market‘s taco seasoning because there’s not a lot of additives – it’s just spices. I use that with shredded chicken or ground turkey typically.
I pick from veggies like spinach, tomatoes, red onion, zucchini, and peppers and toppings such as black beans (canned, stewed, or refried), hummus, salsa, guac, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, and cilantro. Sometimes I’ll include cauliflower rice (Boulder Canyon makes a great frozen Cilantro Lime one) as a base, but often stick to greens. Here’s a recipe from Wholesomelicious if you want more concrete directions!
Salads
I’m not going to spell out how to assemble a salad (though I do have some tips in my Simple Ways to Eat More Veggies post), but I do have some advice: It’s just as easy to make 2-3 salads as it is to make one. If you’re going to put in the effort to cut up veggies and assemble ingredients, you might as well make several for the next few days! Small, intentional moves like that can save you lots of time throughout the week.
Simple Greek Salad
I love making the salad part of this Greek Meal Prep Bowls from Beauty and the Bench Press because I don’t need Greek dressing to make it. You toss the cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, and peppers (I skip those) in oil, vinegar, and spices. I add that mixture to greens and feta and don’t have to add anything else to dress the greens! This flavor combo goes with a variety of proteins – I often use packet of Lemon Pepper tuna (no cooking!).
Thai Peanut Chicken Salad
This recipe is SO GOOD you guys! I may have saved the best for last. I seriously have to stop myself from eating all the peanut dressing with a spoon when I make this. I usually skip the mango because they’re hard to find ripe and it’s still amazing. If you like something creamier, this similar recipe from Fit Foodie Finds is equally as flavorful and delicious.
Okay you’re now armed with some recipes to make meals ahead of time! I hope this saves you time and maybe a takeout lunch here and there.
Do YOU meal prep?
I’d love to hear why you do or don’t prep meals ahead of time! Do you go out to lunch? Do you work from home and cook every day? Let me know!
