Little to No Meal-Prep Time
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Crockpots are great for this. Make a full pot of something tasty, portion it out when done, and freeze what you're not going to eat for the week. If you keep doing that, you'll build up a nice variety in your freezer that you can take with you to work. They should keep ok at room temp until lunch, when they'll be thawed enough to microwave.
I still eat out, but I took the time to canvas restaurants in my area and figure out what meals I can eat where that fit within my lunch calorie limit. Took me a while and a lot of measuring and configuring, but it's worth it to be able to just go grab lunch and know I won't be over-eating.0 -
Why do you have no time?
What about the weekend? Before bed? When you first get up?
Be a full-time Project Manager and a full-time Master's student at the same time while trying to plan a wedding and you will see what I mean. My days are jam-packed.
I'm not asking for time to meal-prep, I'm asking for alternatives. Thanks!
Oh Christ. As a former Project Manager with an MBA, who is a newlywed. I feel for you.
The crockpot tip above is my go-to during the winter. During the summer, I just marinate a shitload of chicken breasts at a time, cook them all up at once, and then slice them up to eat on top of salad greens or with a side of veggies.
Things you don't have to cook are your friend: Yogurt, smoothies, fruits and veggies, hard-boiled eggs (well, you have to cook these but you can boil a dozen at a time and you don't have to watch them), string cheese, natural peanut butter, lean cuts of beef.
It's hard, I know it is. But I think if you give it a shot, you'll find that you can easily prep a week's worth of lunches in 30 minutes (I do, every Sunday night before bed).0 -
I cook lots of food on Sunday and portion it in containers for the week, like chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, rice, etc. I also use my Crockpot a lot. Allrecipes.com has some really good recipes that take very few ingredients and are really good!0
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Crockpots are your best friend right now. Make up things like chili, meat sauce, breakfast casserole, pulled pork. I absolutely love a microwaved sweet potato topped with pulled pork and cheddar cheese. Russet potatoes microwaved aka baked topped with chili is another great lunch meal.
I also make up black beans in the crockpot, with your schedule you could soak them while away from home all day, get home at night, rinse and then add fresh water and cook overnight, they'll be all ready to roll in the morning for you to pack into containers.0 -
Crockpots, cooking 2 or 3 dinners on Sunday and portioning them out for the week, and I do a lot of chicken for on top of salads, or in a caesar salad style wrap (I don't like lunch meat either).
I love my crockpot though... and I do a lot of soups and then freeze them so I can thaw them when I need a quick meal0 -
Check out blogs about backpacking foods. Ignore the crazy people who try to be Chef in the Woods. Make your own "trail mix" substituting in your favorites. Dried fruit. Jerky. Energy bars. I have done the working/grad school thing. Its really hard to eat healthy when you are crazy busy. Kudos for trying.0
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I rely on healthy snack food for lunches during the work week -- fresh veggies and hummus, fresh fruit, beef jerky, Kind bars, nuts, cheese and sliced turkey on crackers, greek yogurt, etc.0
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Do you have a slow cooker? There are hundreds of recipes for the slow cooker where you put the ingredients in the cooker in the morning and you have a hot meal that night. There is usually enough for more than one meal. Make a big salad, without the dressing and take that for your lunch. Add some meat and/or cheese and the dressing just before you eat it. Make "sandwiches" without bread, use lettuce leaves or sliced cucumber. Ham, turkey, and chicken make good sandwiches and aren't as processed as lunch meats.0
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I pack food for my very busy dh for lunch most days. He gets leftovers or a sandwich/wrap most of the time with some fruit, granola bar or trail mix, sometimes yogurt. He likes to have some of his food be stuff he can save for later or the next day
Raw vegetables and fruits
Salads
Cheese
Yogurt
Hard boiled eggs, omelet
Nuts, dried fruit, trail mix, granola
Popcorn
Hummus
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slow cooker.
Add meat, some veggies and some sort of sauce for flavouring. This is usually 4 very large meals for me.
If you want to turn it into more meals do that first and then cook a batch of rice to go with it. Double the volume.
Can put in fridge or freeze if you won't get to them in time.0 -
It would take 2 hours max to make enough meat to last for a weeks worth of meals.
Success boil in a bag brown rice takes 10 minutes to cook in the microwave.
Steam fresh veggies take 5 minutes tops.
You have the time, trust me.0 -
I have time for meal prepping, but totally understand that not everyone does. Most grocery stores have pretty decent delis or salad bar areas now, and you can find a lot of healthy options there including not just salads but boiled eggs, chicken breast, etc. Of course you have to choose carefully because of hidden calories and fat in dressings and sauces, but it's better than frozen meals all the time.
I second all the comments about the crockpot. It does all the work while you're away. But a similar trick is sticking things under the broiler. A few pieces of salmon or chicken breast under the broiler right when you get home, and by the time you're done changing your clothes dinner is ready!0 -
I've had phases of life where I didn't have much time at all to cook, and certainly not an hour or two to prep meals. Here are a few things that helped me:
- Fully cooked frozen meats--chicken breasts, diced chicken, meatballs, etc. Can microwave them for super fast prep, or can add to recipes if you have the time. Can do a quick stir-fry type dish, add sauce & rice, etc.
- Frozen veggies--I used to buy the single-serving microwavable packages, but the steam in-bag types are quick and easy, too.
- Single serving rice cups.
- Fully cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store--pair with veggies or whatever, and I can get a few meals out of one, or can portion out and freeze the extra meat, and use for future meals.
- I'm not opposed to breakfast for dinner. Only takes a few minutes for scrambled eggs and toast. Or cereal.
I have more than one crock pot, and I hardly ever use them. As much as it sounds like a great option, I can't seem to get it together enough to do the prep work to make it happen.
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I hardly ever eat meat at lunch so friend me for some ideas. I weigh and add up calories for large batches of ingredients then dish it all out into glass bowls that I freeze. As long as you weigh all the food to start, you will log all the calories, so don't worry about being completely accurate with each bowl. I was trying to get all the grams even for each ingredient in each bowl at first but it was way too much time wasted and I log all the calories over the course of me eating everything I cooked. An hour or 2 makes about 6-7 lunches. I do the same with smoothies. Each lunch and smoothie has about 6-10 different foods. I eat like this 5 days a week. I throw in whatever I have and what looks good at the time.0
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I don't love frozen food (including stuff I made myself and like), so I do something every few days and 1) have it as a meal or 2) have it as a side.
In 8-12 mins, you can brown onions & lean ground beef, and throw that into whatever for protein (pasta, sandwich, bean dish as below, wrap, sandwich)
Like this amazing 20 min chili dish
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/236609/black-bean-chilli
That one's a bit complicated
- you can get any kind of (canned) beans or lentils done in 10 mins or less - easy, with onions, garlic, maybe red wine
You can combine bean stuff with chicken too (roasted - buy cooked from deli/grocery store). The chicken can also go in whatever. Or have the beans with a bit of cheese and salsa on their own in a wrap
Steak - grill (or sautee in butter like i do, calorie rich but goooood) - 5-8 mins (depending on how you like it)
I prepare rice or potatoes (boiled) and have that in the fridge to throw into things for a few days. Not much - 1/2 cup potatoes, 1/4 cup rice, just to take the edge off the meat and beans.
So, the meat, beans, and rice or potatoes are done and in the fridge; just have a salad or steamed/boiled veg with that.
OR
Find a line of boxed food that fits your cals and eat that. Blue Menu (Canadian brand) has saved my butt in the past. For lunch - Subway, no *kitten*. Ah right, you hate sandwiches - I don't know, you can't have it all.
Another shortcut: half a can of soup (whatever you like) + 1/4-1/2 cup of beans is a pretty filling lunch.0 -
Week nights, I put frozen veggies in pyrex with frozen protein (chicken tenders, "chicken tenders," frozen fish) or a tuna/salmon pouch. I store them in the fridge overnight and pack them up in the morning. I microwave on power level 7. All nice and moist. It's just dumping stuff in a bowl.0
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Fake crab sticks, chopped on salad, with dressing. Microwaveable rice bowls. Frozen salad shrimp, thawed under water, also on lettuce. Frozen vegetarian patties. check the organic aisle for premade soups - tomato, mushroom, borcolli soups are all good. Frozen fish fillets are great with squeezed lemon. Eggs, or egg beaters. Egg beaters + a couple tablespoons of flour + berries or sliced banaas. Cook it like a pancake.
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I guess my question is, what is a good alternative to meal-prep for lunches? I like the Lean Cuisines a lot, but was wondering if any other people have a good option for lunches at the office?
I also like the Lean Cuisines quite a bit (Ginger Garlic Stir Fry with Chicken today) but like you, they don't always fill me up. They are easy to "make" and when I find them on sale ($2 to $2.50 each) they're reasonably priced.
What I've started doing is bringing along good food to supplement. I may have some Greek yogurt for a snack around 10am, then lunch around 1pm, then maybe some baby carrots & a couple ounces of hummus in the afternoon. All that is about 600 calories. Alternately, I'll bring in bananas, oranges, plums, nuts, string cheese, etc.
I'd like to make my own lunches but with three kids and both my wife and I working, i'd rather spend my time on other things.
Congrats on your upcoming wedding, you'll make a beautiful bride!
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I make big pots of food at the weekend, it takes an hour and most of that is just simmering ..
I then keep it in Tupperware or freeze it
Recent big cook jobs which give me lunches across the week and some dinners all around 3-400 calories
Salmon fish cakes (I have about 30 frozen) - eat with a salad or in a sandwich
big veggie stew, precook rice and grate cheese .. 100g rice, 500g stew, 10g cheddar
Squash risotto with bagged salad greens
Chicken cacciatore (again with the rice and salad)
Spinach, squash and feta, potato topped pie and salad
Etc
Squash Risotto sounds amazing... *drool*
Maybe I'll start using my crockpot more frequently... I saw a Pinterest Board with crockpot recipes.
There's also a lot of thread on some great and simple Crockpot Recipes here on the site, you could do a search and see what you find.
That would definitely be helpful and simplify things for you. Also cooking up things while studying might help out. Put some eggs on to boil, have rice cooking or beans, things like that when you're studying near by would help have some quick foods for you to put together during the week.
Good Luck 0
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