Are you trying to establish a new, healthy meal prep routine? With busy schedules, especially during the fall, having a solid plan can make all the difference. Here's a comprehensive guide filled with meal prep ideas for the week, designed to save you time, money, and help you eat well.
Why Meal Prep?
Meal prepping is a game-changer. It saves you time and money, helps you avoid unhealthy fast food options, and ensures you have nutritious meals ready when you need them. Whether you're a seasoned meal prepper or just starting, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with the same old recipes. The goal here is to provide you with fresh, healthy meal prep ideas for the week, giving you back precious time to spend on the things you love.
Meal Planning: The First Step
Meal planning is the first step to a successful meal prep. Strategize and decide on your meals for the week, then meal prep by cooking and preparing the meals you’ve planned ahead of time for ease and convenience throughout the week.
Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. On a busy morning, there’s nothing better than having a healthy breakfast prepped and ready to go.
Overnight Oats
Don’t have time to make hot oatmeal in the morning? Mix up these overnight oats the night before!
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Left unpeeled, hard-boiled eggs keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Chia Seed Pudding
This easy pudding is packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
Breakfast Cookies
Start your day with one of these soft, nourishing breakfast cookies. Store it at room temperature for up to 4 days. After that, freeze slices to have on hand for busy mornings.
Vegan Breakfast Burritos
These vegan breakfast burritos are filled with tofu scramble instead of scrambled eggs, which makes them super flavorful and freezer-friendly! Freeze a batch for quick, cozy breakfasts.
Egg Bake
This protein-packed egg bake ensures that you get out the door fast and that you’re satisfied for hours. Switch up the veggies and meat to make use of what you have on hand in the fridge and freezer at the time.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
This blueberry baked oatmeal is easy to make and tastes yummy. You can eat this baked oatmeal warm or cold, on the go or before you leave for your day. Customize it to be nut-free and dairy free.
Sheet Pan Pancakes
Make a big batch of 24 pancakes - which only takes a total cook time of 25 minutes - and then either freeze the pancake squares or keep them in the fridge.
Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches
These make-ahead breakfast sandwiches are the best for easy mornings.
Gluten-Free Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
These easy and delicious gluten-free banana oatmeal pancakes are made with simple ingredients.
Lunch Meal Prep Recipes
It can be easy to rely on fast food or pricey sandwiches for lunch, whether because you don’t have the extra time to make a nutritious lunch or a place to heat up leftovers.
Read also: Mobile Dining Revolution
Salad and Bowl Meal Prep Recipes
These healthy meal prep recipes are favorite ones to pack for lunch.
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is a healthy meal prep recipe. Many of the components - the quinoa, tomatoes, dressing, and the chickpeas - can be made in advance.
Recipe
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 recipe Roasted Tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced Persian cucumbers
- ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¾ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 recipe Italian Dressing, plus 2 additional garlic cloves, grated
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 cup roasted chickpeas
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup mixed fresh basil and mint
In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, roasted tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, olives, onion, and pine nuts. Toss to combine, then drizzle with half the dressing and toss again. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and a few pinches of red pepper flakes and toss again.
Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing
Unlike tender lettuces, kale holds up nicely once it’s dressed, making this salad perfect for meal prep. Meal prep all the components on the weekend, and you’ll look forward to lunches all week!
Turmeric-Tahini Veggie Bowl
A sunny turmeric-tahini sauce takes this veggie and brown rice bowl over the top.
Packable Sandwiches, Wraps, and Rolls
Most sandwiches are best on the day they’re made, so prepare just the fillings in advance.
Egg Salad
My bright, briny egg salad keeps well for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Wraps
These zingy wraps are one of go-to meal prep recipes.
Spring Rolls
You can assemble these spring rolls entirely in advance, so they’re great for busy workdays. Served with peanut sauce for dipping, they’re a fresh, yummy lunch.
Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Quinoa and black beans pack a nutritious punch. It holds up well for several days, and you can always up the protein content by adding grilled chicken, beef, or even some homemade guac.
Chicken Salads
Chicken salads are great for meal prep, especially when you use leftover chicken, a rotisserie chicken, or an Instant Pot Whole Chicken recipe.
Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad
Healthy, hearty, and loaded with colorful veggies my Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad is said by my family to be as scrumptious as it looks.
Dinner Meal Prep Recipes
Coming home after work, getting kids to their sports practices, or having to head to a group event doesn’t always leave much time for chopping, cooking, and eating dinner. Meal prep really helps save time at night so you can focus on spending time with family and doing what you love.
Soups and Stews
Soups and stews are some of the best easy meal prep ideas, and they freeze super well.
Chili
This smoky chili is a perfect one-pot meal! Thanks to the beans, it’s packed with protein, and it’s also filled with veggies like corn, onion, and peppers.
Curry
Add this curry to your rotation ASAP. Adapt this recipe to use whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. Squash? Spinach? Bell peppers?
Freezer-Friendly Meal Prep Recipes
Casseroles
What’s better than saucy, cheesy comfort food on a chilly fall night?! To freeze this recipe, assemble the casserole up until the point of baking. Cover and freeze it in the baking dish. To reheat, bake, covered in foil, at 350°F for one hour, or until warmed through.
Falafel
Jam-packed with herbs and spices, these homemade falafel balls are flavorful! Freeze them after baking. Freeze the cooked patties for up to 2 months. Reheat by baking them in a 400°F-oven until heated through, about 10-20 minutes. Then, pile them onto buns with your favorite fixings!
Stuffed Peppers
Each pepper is its own little ready-to-go meal in an edible container. These are versatile recipes for meal prep. You can make them with any ground meat and change up the flavor by using different types of dressing in the meat mixture.
Instant Pot Turkey Mushroom Bolognese
An instant pot turkey mushroom bolognese makes a great Italian dinner for my family. Like most tomato-based meat sauces, this one is even better the next day or two after the flavors have had time to mingle.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Give this familiar dish a health benefits upgrade with the addition of homemade lower-sugar sweet and sour sauce (and by adding some nutritious veggies).
Chicken and Veggie Recipe
This delicious and healthy chicken and veggie recipe is a one-dish wonder. This is a pleasing and perfect weeknight dinner that comes together fast with only a few real-food ingredients.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
This Egg Roll in a Bowl is fast and full of vegetables.
Baked Chicken and Veggies
This healthy and delicious baked chicken and veggies recipe is all cooked on one sheet pan.
Sheet Pan Mini Meatloaf with Vegetables
This Sheet Pan Mini Meatloaf with Vegetables is like a Sunday dinner, only much simpler and with far fewer dishes to wash.
Thai Peanut Chicken
This Thai Peanut Chicken is delicious and simple when made in a slow cooker.
Sloppy Joes
To make classic Sloppy Joes, use natural ingredients and cook them on the stovetop.
One-Skillet Curry
This one-skillet dinner is ready in 30 minutes and full of warm spices and coconut flavor.
Thai-Inspired Skillet
Loaded with veggies and full of flavor, this one-skillet Thai-inspired recipe makes for a healthy, easy, and delicious weeknight meal!
Tex-Mex Inspired Dinners
This is one of family’s favorite Tex-Mex inspired dinners to eat.
Italian Comfort Casserole
This simple Italian comfort casserole is the perfect meal for when you’re in need of something easy, healthy, and homemade that all of you will love.
Sweet Potato Chili
Sweet potatoes stand in for beans in this hearty chili recipe. Serve it with diced avocado, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
Preparing Components for Versatility
One of favorite ways to meal prep is by preparing components - not full recipes - that you can use in a variety of ways throughout the week. A pot of rice, baked tofu, a flavorful sauce…I recommend this method if you don’t want to eat the exact same thing every day of the week.
Grains
Perfect for bulking up grain bowls and salads, serving with curries and stir-fries, or tossing into fried rice.
Roasted Vegetables
Serve them as a side dish, add them to a salad or bowl, fold them into tacos or burritos, stir them into pasta, bake them into frittatas…the options are endless!
Sauces
If you meal prep a flavorful sauce, it will punch up so many of your meals throughout the week.