How I do my Meal Prep ( the lazy way :D )
LowCoffinLucifie
Posts: 100 Member
How I do my Meal Prep:
I have just started meal prep, so I am not a pro at it, but I figured i'd share how I am doing it so far. To start I'm not making too many meals, I don't wanna get ahead of myself. Oh course if you do its not that its too hard, you just gotta be prepared for a lot more multi tasking.
What I do is i grab 1-2 proteins for the week. Normally i only prep 4-5 days worth and only lunch meals right now. So knowing I only do 4 oz. of protein per meal then i need 4 oz. protein x 4-5 meals. So if i do one protein that would be 16-20 oz. of that protein to cook (If you do two or more proteins at once then of course divide the total by the amount of proteins you want through the week.) Keep in mind this can be done with more meals and more proteins, the basic break down is all the same for it, but prep time, multi-tasking, and freezing time will all be included then. Golden rule is never make more than 7 days worth of food. I myself wont do too many because I know I'll get bored with what I made and want something else. So if in the middle of the week I can start to make something different.
So with that I then do the same thing for my grains and for my Vegetables. If i know im gonna have 4 meals I measure out that much grain and veggies, and prep it as well. Again just like the protein you can prep more than one grain or veggie. I generally do 1-2 on everything so far.
With that you then cook up all the whole weeks meals generally at the same time, and then divide them in to containers after measuring out the protein on a food scale and the grains and veggies in measuring cups. I would make snacks generally the same way.
So the above Image shows one of my 4 day lunch preps, so I'll walk you through how I did it. Keep in mind you can prep your meals in many many many ways. Some are more healthy than others and some are more time consuming than others. It all is up to you. For the above I was crunched on time and it was one of my first preps so I did it the very very very lazy way. Below I will explain a few more ways to prep just to give you an idea of the lazy-time consuming way. Of course as I said some are a little healthier than others, but in general the idea is to make a meal that you already know the calories and other macros for that you can grab and go with.
For the above lunch prep I purchased the following (this was not all I bought at the store but the ingredients for the above of course):
-A pre-made traditional rotisserie chicken from Wal-Mart
-Mrs. Dash Sweet Teriyaki marinade
-Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
-Bundle of Asparagus
-Box of Minute brown rice
-Pre-cut green onion container
-Some Green Grapes
-Spray coconut oil
First prepped my oven for my veggies by setting it to 425 degrees. Starting of with the chicken I cut it up and section it into 4oz. servings after measuring them on my food scale. After doing so I put 1 Tbsp of Mrs. Dash Sweet Teriyaki marinade in each and stir them up. With that my chicken was done. Again this is one of the laziest yet easiest way of doing it if you are really cramped on time. Still though it tastes great and your still perfectly portioning your protein for 4 days worth of meals.
After the protein, I measured out 4 servings of my Brown Rice and threw it in the rice cooker.
While the rice was cooking I pulled out a cookie sheet, lightly sprayed it with coconut oil and laid out my asparagus spears. {keep in mind to chop/break off the hard ends first} After laying them out i again lightly sprayed the top of the spears with some coconut oil (you can of course use olive oil or canola), and then dashed some original Mrs. Dash seasoning on top. After seasoning my spears I threw them in the already prepped oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. (time varies for personal preference).
After my rice and spears were done, all that was left to do was really make my meals. I cut up my spears in half and put about 5 spears in each bowl, 1/4 cup of brown rice, and a pinch of the green onions.
Lastly, I pick out about 1/2 cup of Green grapes and divided them into 4 small containers.
And done.
. All in all it took me about 20 minutes in total, and only because of the asparagus. You could save even more time with some frozen steamed veggies. So My final Product is above with the lunch containers of the Teriyaki Rotisserie Chicken, Brown Rice, and Asparagus spears. A snack of Green grapes on the side is just one of many easy little snacks you can pre-make as well.
All in all my meals I try to make as simple as possible. If I have time to really prep of course I could marinade fresh chicken breast over night and then cook it up instead of the rotisserie chicken, but I like to give the alternative of the laziest yet still possible prep. Other options instead of using a rotisserie chicken would be buying the cut up frozen grilled chicken packs, or again cooking up fresh chicken, or so so many other options.
I also use the following Marinades, so far, for variety:
-Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb ( keep in mind Walmart Great Value brand is available for I believe all of these flavors, for a cheaper price, but I go for Mrs. Dash for the nutritional reasons.)
-Mrs. Dash Lime & Garlic
-Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper
-Great Value Caribbean Jerk
Aside from marinades you can always use rubs of herbs, which in these situations again, I generally uses Mrs. Dash seasonings or fresh herbs.
Extra Info: I use Glad Designer Series Medium Rectangle Food Storage bowls, they are only 2.94 at Walmart for a 4 pk. Cheap but does its job.
The meal below in myfitnesspal comes out to the about 324 calories ( Keep in mind the below image is just to show round about figures. It shows a green giant mix instead of the Asparagus which only comes in at about 45 cal. Also please disregard the breakfast and other snacks, unless of course your curious as to what i eat everyday lol.)
Thats about all I can think of now, also I put some other example meals below, if you have any questions please let me know. Hope this helps even someone. Oh and if you have any tips or critiques please let me know.
Example Meals:
I have just started meal prep, so I am not a pro at it, but I figured i'd share how I am doing it so far. To start I'm not making too many meals, I don't wanna get ahead of myself. Oh course if you do its not that its too hard, you just gotta be prepared for a lot more multi tasking.
What I do is i grab 1-2 proteins for the week. Normally i only prep 4-5 days worth and only lunch meals right now. So knowing I only do 4 oz. of protein per meal then i need 4 oz. protein x 4-5 meals. So if i do one protein that would be 16-20 oz. of that protein to cook (If you do two or more proteins at once then of course divide the total by the amount of proteins you want through the week.) Keep in mind this can be done with more meals and more proteins, the basic break down is all the same for it, but prep time, multi-tasking, and freezing time will all be included then. Golden rule is never make more than 7 days worth of food. I myself wont do too many because I know I'll get bored with what I made and want something else. So if in the middle of the week I can start to make something different.
So with that I then do the same thing for my grains and for my Vegetables. If i know im gonna have 4 meals I measure out that much grain and veggies, and prep it as well. Again just like the protein you can prep more than one grain or veggie. I generally do 1-2 on everything so far.
With that you then cook up all the whole weeks meals generally at the same time, and then divide them in to containers after measuring out the protein on a food scale and the grains and veggies in measuring cups. I would make snacks generally the same way.
So the above Image shows one of my 4 day lunch preps, so I'll walk you through how I did it. Keep in mind you can prep your meals in many many many ways. Some are more healthy than others and some are more time consuming than others. It all is up to you. For the above I was crunched on time and it was one of my first preps so I did it the very very very lazy way. Below I will explain a few more ways to prep just to give you an idea of the lazy-time consuming way. Of course as I said some are a little healthier than others, but in general the idea is to make a meal that you already know the calories and other macros for that you can grab and go with.
For the above lunch prep I purchased the following (this was not all I bought at the store but the ingredients for the above of course):
-A pre-made traditional rotisserie chicken from Wal-Mart
-Mrs. Dash Sweet Teriyaki marinade
-Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
-Bundle of Asparagus
-Box of Minute brown rice
-Pre-cut green onion container
-Some Green Grapes
-Spray coconut oil
First prepped my oven for my veggies by setting it to 425 degrees. Starting of with the chicken I cut it up and section it into 4oz. servings after measuring them on my food scale. After doing so I put 1 Tbsp of Mrs. Dash Sweet Teriyaki marinade in each and stir them up. With that my chicken was done. Again this is one of the laziest yet easiest way of doing it if you are really cramped on time. Still though it tastes great and your still perfectly portioning your protein for 4 days worth of meals.
After the protein, I measured out 4 servings of my Brown Rice and threw it in the rice cooker.
While the rice was cooking I pulled out a cookie sheet, lightly sprayed it with coconut oil and laid out my asparagus spears. {keep in mind to chop/break off the hard ends first} After laying them out i again lightly sprayed the top of the spears with some coconut oil (you can of course use olive oil or canola), and then dashed some original Mrs. Dash seasoning on top. After seasoning my spears I threw them in the already prepped oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. (time varies for personal preference).
After my rice and spears were done, all that was left to do was really make my meals. I cut up my spears in half and put about 5 spears in each bowl, 1/4 cup of brown rice, and a pinch of the green onions.
Lastly, I pick out about 1/2 cup of Green grapes and divided them into 4 small containers.
And done.
. All in all it took me about 20 minutes in total, and only because of the asparagus. You could save even more time with some frozen steamed veggies. So My final Product is above with the lunch containers of the Teriyaki Rotisserie Chicken, Brown Rice, and Asparagus spears. A snack of Green grapes on the side is just one of many easy little snacks you can pre-make as well.All in all my meals I try to make as simple as possible. If I have time to really prep of course I could marinade fresh chicken breast over night and then cook it up instead of the rotisserie chicken, but I like to give the alternative of the laziest yet still possible prep. Other options instead of using a rotisserie chicken would be buying the cut up frozen grilled chicken packs, or again cooking up fresh chicken, or so so many other options.
I also use the following Marinades, so far, for variety:
-Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb ( keep in mind Walmart Great Value brand is available for I believe all of these flavors, for a cheaper price, but I go for Mrs. Dash for the nutritional reasons.)
-Mrs. Dash Lime & Garlic
-Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper
-Great Value Caribbean Jerk
Aside from marinades you can always use rubs of herbs, which in these situations again, I generally uses Mrs. Dash seasonings or fresh herbs.
Extra Info: I use Glad Designer Series Medium Rectangle Food Storage bowls, they are only 2.94 at Walmart for a 4 pk. Cheap but does its job.
The meal below in myfitnesspal comes out to the about 324 calories ( Keep in mind the below image is just to show round about figures. It shows a green giant mix instead of the Asparagus which only comes in at about 45 cal. Also please disregard the breakfast and other snacks, unless of course your curious as to what i eat everyday lol.)
Thats about all I can think of now, also I put some other example meals below, if you have any questions please let me know
. Hope this helps even someone. Oh and if you have any tips or critiques please let me know.Example Meals:
- 4 oz. Chicken
- 1/4 cup Brown rice
- 1/2 cup Broccoli
- 4 oz. Turkey meat balls
- 1/4 cup Quinoa
- 1/2 cup Brussels Sprouts
- 4 oz. Salmon
- 5-6 Sweet potato fries
- 1/2 cup Green beans
- 4 oz. Tilapia
- 1/4 cup Wheat berries
- 1/2 cup corn
- 4 oz. Turkey Sausage
- 1/4 cup Farro
- 1/2 cup Spinach
- 4 oz. Shrimp
- 1/4 cup Zucchini noodles/ tofu noodles w/ 1 Tbsp sauce
- 1/2 cup Asparagus
1
Replies
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That is amazing and beautiful. 0
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Very cool of you to share, thank you! I wouldn't call this lazy... I'd call it brilliant!
@MistressNom 0 -
Hearts_2015 wrote: »Very cool of you to share, thank you! I wouldn't call this lazy... I'd call it brilliant!@MistressNom
Well thank you , I'm happy to share. I had to watch so many videos and read so many other posts just to get started, so I just wanted to do my part to get it out there for others. 0 -
Simple but tasty. Great job!0
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I've been food prepping for about a decade and I absolutely LOVE the planning stage, which is generally Saturday while the prepping is Sunday. I can make TONS of stuff in a short amount of time.....just like you. I have found that my crockpot has been a time saver as well. Pinterest has a BUNCH of good ideas to help so things don't get too boring.0
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That is amazing and beautiful.
Agreed!
I do meal prep for dinner stuff since I mainly do sandwiches for lunch. Might be time to switch to warmer things, though, since winter seems to have finally shown up.
I really should get some asparagus again...Keep forgetting how much I really do like the stuff.
Well done!
~Lyssa0 -
kpeterson539 wrote: »I've been food prepping for about a decade and I absolutely LOVE the planning stage, which is generally Saturday while the prepping is Sunday. I can make TONS of stuff in a short amount of time.....just like you. I have found that my crockpot has been a time saver as well. Pinterest has a BUNCH of good ideas to help so things don't get too boring.
Oh, I didn't even think of looking at pinterest. Thanks. I don't have a crock pot yet, but I've seen so many awesome recipes. 0 -
macgurlnet wrote: »That is amazing and beautiful.
Agreed!
I do meal prep for dinner stuff since I mainly do sandwiches for lunch. Might be time to switch to warmer things, though, since winter seems to have finally shown up.
I really should get some asparagus again...Keep forgetting how much I really do like the stuff.
Well done!
~Lyssa
Its funny cuz I'm the opposite, my partner cooks dinner at night so I generally don't have to cook that. So much is what I always have to worry about.
I also found out that asparagus is the opposite for me I prefer broccoli or brussel sprouts more.
Lol but to each their own. 0 -
So lunch^0
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You're like my meal prep doppelgänger! This is pretty much what I do when it comes to making my weekly breakfast and lunches. You gotta get a crock-pot, now that it's winter I've made all kinds of great soups, stews and salsa chicken. I get most of my crock pot recipes from skinnytaste.com0
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Definately marking crockpot on my shopping list next check0
This discussion has been closed.
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