Meal prep isn’t always easy. Having already-made healthy lunches for the
workweek sounds awesome, but it can be hard mapping out each recipe, detailing your grocery list, finding time to cook it all – especially during our precious weekends!
But having made-ahead, whole food meals, pre-chopped veggies and cooked protein are ESSENTIAL to following a healthy lifestyle. I feel SO much cleaner & leaner eating one of my home-cooked meals for lunch rather than driving to Panera or Chipotle for a mediocre salad during the work day. Plus, your family will much more appreciate eating a warm stew Tuesday night that you made Sunday afternoon over a frozen pizza!
This blog post is first in a series of meal prep posts to help you become a weekday lunch & dinner NINJA. Listed below for you are my Top 10 Meal Prepped Meals, organized by Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, and Snacks. Try these out for the week ahead!
BREAKFAST
If you’re trying to get your kids ready & out the door in the morning, in addition to yourself, a sit-down breakfast of over-easy eggs & sliced avocado may not be reasonable for you. Making a smoothie from scratch may not be either. Try these grab & go meals to break the fast. You can even eat them at your desk mess-free!
- Egg Muffins
- There’s no end to the variety of egg muffins! Experiment with all sorts of veggies – olives, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, you name it!
Meal prep like a boss with these Tone It Up, Whole30 approved Mediterranean Egg Muffins!
- There’s no end to the variety of egg muffins! Experiment with all sorts of veggies – olives, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, you name it!
- Overnight Oats
- Grab your mason jars & fill ’em up! Similar to the egg muffins, you can really have fun mixin’ up your ONO ingredients too. Try this pumpkin recipe in the fall, this lemon honey ditty in the spring, and this coconut berry batch in the summer!
- Grab your mason jars & fill ’em up! Similar to the egg muffins, you can really have fun mixin’ up your ONO ingredients too. Try this pumpkin recipe in the fall, this lemon honey ditty in the spring, and this coconut berry batch in the summer!
- Protein Pancakes
- Freezer friendly! Make a few batches of these on a Sunday, freeze ’em up, and toss 2 in the toaster for a quick & easy breakfast Monday through Wednesday! Play with different fruits or even add espresso to your next batch! Some plant based protein powders to try are Tone It Up and Aloha. Each come in a few different yummy flavors – chocolate, vanilla, even coconut!
LUNCH & DINNER
The key to prepping lunch & dinner is making a big batch (sometimes even doubling a recipes) and dividing up into individual portions. That way – you can easily toss in your lunch tote on your way out the door, or pop right into the microwave when you get home.
- Stir Fry
- Stir fry is SUCH an easy meal to prep! Just gitcher self a giant bag of frozen veggies, protein of your choice (chicken, pork, etc.) and play with herbs & spices! Use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce for bonus points.
Meal prep like a boss with this simple, tasty, Whole30 approved stir fry.
- Stir fry is SUCH an easy meal to prep! Just gitcher self a giant bag of frozen veggies, protein of your choice (chicken, pork, etc.) and play with herbs & spices! Use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce for bonus points.
- Mix n’ Match Salad
- If I’m making salads for the week, I use this recipe as my guide and experiment in all sorts of ways. Spinach instead of kale. Walnuts instead of pine nuts. Maybe toss in some diced apples, couscous, or anything you need to use up in the fridge!
- If I’m making salads for the week, I use this recipe as my guide and experiment in all sorts of ways. Spinach instead of kale. Walnuts instead of pine nuts. Maybe toss in some diced apples, couscous, or anything you need to use up in the fridge!
- Tray Dinner
- Talk about simple but significant – this meal takes the crown! Just get a tray, load it up with your fave protein and & veggies, drizzle with oil & herbs, and presto! You’ve got dinner + leftovers for lunch.
- Talk about simple but significant – this meal takes the crown! Just get a tray, load it up with your fave protein and & veggies, drizzle with oil & herbs, and presto! You’ve got dinner + leftovers for lunch.
- Moroccan Chicken Stew
- I love a good stew. And this one is Whole30 approved & packed full of flavor. Mmm mmm mmmmmmm.
SNACKS
Sometimes you feel like a snack, sometimes you don’t. When ya do – it’s CRUCIAL to have healthy options on hand.
- Protein Muffins
- The Tone It Up Nutrition Plan has so many fun, healthy and DELICIOUS recipes for these mini bites! I like the Snickerdoodle Muffins because there are no chickpeas & I try to avoid beans & legumes.
- The Tone It Up Nutrition Plan has so many fun, healthy and DELICIOUS recipes for these mini bites! I like the Snickerdoodle Muffins because there are no chickpeas & I try to avoid beans & legumes.
- Bars
- Find your fave, but try to eat only have half. Bonus points if you find the snack sized versions. Two of my faves are Perfect Bar & Kind Bar. Other popular, healthy choices are Lara Bar & Rx Bar.
- Chia Pudding
- Kinda like yogurt, but dairy free & oh so yummy. And SUPER easy to make to boot!
- Kinda like yogurt, but dairy free & oh so yummy. And SUPER easy to make to boot!
There you have it! 10 easy meal prep meals to get you started. Next up, I’ll give you a few sample days with an easy-peasy-budget-friendly grocery list. Meal preppers unite!
Happy Prepping,
Katie
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