Need meal prep ideas

Mawnsters

I work in a sitting enviornment (software dev) and need some decently cheap protein packed meals and snacks that i can weekly meal prep. A list of ideas or followers with recipies would help a lot. Its hard to find decent websites and blogs that arent riddled with ads or full of things that arent actually cheap. Thanks and i have been going through all the posts here as well.

Goal is weight loss and muscle gain atm 1600 so nothing wild.

puffbrat

What do you consider cheap? My work day lunch is usually cheese, deli meat, crackers or bread, and some fruit. I have greek yogurt as a morning snack, and fruit as an afternoon snack. These are things that I can easily pack the night before or in the morning in about 10 minutes.

gentlygently

In my house we bulk prep, wrap and then freeze sandwiches (for my daughter’s school lunhbox) - ham, cheese and mashed up tuna/salmon all work. Adding some salad and fruit (and marmite rice cakes!) to the lunch box takes no time at all every morning. The sandwich happily thaws by lunchtimd. I advance prep her some boiled eggs too ..

Good luck

sytchequeen

gentlygently wrote: »

I freeze sandwiches (for my daughter’s school lunhbox) ........ The sandwich happily thaws by lunchtimd.

@gentlygently How does that work out for you? I never thought of freezing ready made sandwiches, I imagined they would be soggy. Have you found some fillings work better than others?

missysippy930

I meal prep on Sunday.
Usually some type of muffin tin eggs with veggies and ham, bacon or sausage and grated cheese. Or steel cut oatmeal. A big pot of soup. Freeze in individual portion containers. Take it out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator the night before so it thaws
Microwave breakfast and lunch.
There are many websites with recipes both economical and low calorie

tinkerbellang83

If you have a microwave at work, these are some of my go to's for meal prep I do the majority of them in the slowcooker ( a great investment IMO) but they could be done in a pan on a low heat instead, they're all good for keeping in fridge/freezer and can be quickly reheated.:

• Chunky Beef Chilli (2 Tins of chopped tomatoes, 2 Tins kidney beans, 1 large pack of diced beef (not the very lean stuff, the fattier cuts are better for slow cooking), 1 chopped onion, 200ml beef stock, whatever veg you like (I will often just throw whatever I have left in the fridge, usually some courgette or aubergine) and a little chilli and garlic. Good served with some tortilla chips or a bag of steam rice.
• Chicken, Chorizo & Chickpea Stew (2 Tins of chopped tomatoes, half a ring of chorizo roughly chopped, 5 diced Chicken Thigh Fillets, 1 onion, 2 tins of chickpeas (or 400g soaked chickpeas), 1 chopped onion, paprika, chilli and salt to taste. Good with some roast potatoes (also easily made ahead).
• Thai Green Curry (Diced Meat of Choice/Shrimp, Thai Green Curry Paste, shredded cabbage, fresh chilli, 2 tins coconut milk, 200ml vegetable stock, other veg to taste). Good served with a bag of steam rice.
• Minted Lamb Meatballs - pack of lamb mince (ground lamb), half an egg, salt, pepper & fresh mint, mush it all together in a mixing bowl until it's the consistency of a raw burger, split into and pop in the oven for 30 mins 180c/350f. Good served with some tzatziki and some Greek salad.
• Crusted Fish - 3-4 fresh fillets of white fish, 100g breadcrumbs, lemon juice, herbs pop the fillets in a roasting dish on some greaseproof paper, mix the breadcrumbs, herbs and lemon juice in the a mixing bowl, top the fish with the breadcrumb mixture and cover with foil, bake in the oven on 150c/300f for 25 mins and then remove the foil and turn the heat up to 200c/390f and put in until the crust starts to brown (around 10-15 mins). Good with some steambag veg or salad.

For no cook meal prep I like overnight oats.

I have a few more recipes for soups and stuff here: https://www.exercisenotextrafries.com/recipes

gentlygently

sytchequeen wrote: »

gentlygently wrote: »

I freeze sandwiches (for my daughter’s school lunhbox) ........ The sandwich happily thaws by lunchtimd.

@gentlygently How does that work out for you? I never thought of freezing ready made sandwiches, I imagined they would be soggy. Have you found some fillings work better than others?


Well my daughter eats them happily enough - humous and egg doesn’t work, and of course not salad bits. I’ve never tried them myself but any left over crusts look non-soggy.... It saves a lot of ‘have we got any bread left’ pressure as well as a good fix ahead time-wise.

acpgee

My work lunches are 200g of frozen vegetables warmed up in the microwave and leftover protein from the night before. We cook extra protein at dinner time so there will be something to take to lunch the next day. I keep bottles of red and green sriracha on my desk to liven up the veg. If there are no leftovers boil or scrmble a couple of eggs. We keep surimi crab sticks and thai fish cakes in the freezer in case there is no leftover protein.

McCelmer

I made a batch of this yesterday for the week and plan to serve it over rice for my husband and cauliflower rice for me. Seems like a ton of ingredients but you just dump everything in an Instant Pot or slow cooker and let it get happy for a few hours. Lots of flavor and protein.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Creole
https://www.skinnytaste.com/slow-cooker-chicken-and-sausage-creole/ (so many ads - see below):

New Orleans-inspired slow-cooker dish with chicken and Andouille sausage simmered in a rich tomato broth.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 9 ounces chicken Andouille sausage, sliced into rounds
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3 ounces 1/2 a 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 ¾ teaspoons Creole seasoning
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• 3 scallions, chopped (for garnish)
• 3 cups cooked brown rice, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Place all of ingredients in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Shred the chicken and add it back to the slow cooker. Evenly distribute the creole among 6 bowls and top each with green onions. Serve alone or over brown rice.


Serving: 1cup, Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5.5g, Cholesterol: 120mg, Sodium: 956mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g

maureenkhilde

If you happen to have any type of electronic reader there are tons of cookbooks for this. And often less than $3 with tons of recipes. Slowcookers and or Instant Pots are great as well. Put protein of choice in, some liquid and spices and away you go. My favorite is about 3 lbs of chicken, some minced garlic, chicken broth, on low overnight. Then can use that chicken in all sorts of dishes during the week.

Also a great snack, cheese crisps but make your own. Heat oven to 400. Mix together 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, and any spices you like. I use a standard lipped cookie sheet but use a silicone pad inside, or use parchment paper. Spoon out cheese onto pad/paper like you would a cookie. Remember it will spread some. Bake for 6-8 minutes, when lightly brown is done. Want to check on these and not let go too long as they can burn quick. Let cool a bit so they get a bit firm before removing. I also do with straight parmesan cheese. Harder cheese are best for this.

littlegreenparrot1

Falafel - in a wrap with salad, with crudities and hummous, with a box of quinoa and roast veg salad.

Don't get soggy, travel well, don't need heating.

pammattu

Meal prep done on a Sunday usually:
Roasted bell peppers, mushroom, baby corn, green beans with seasoning
Chicken breast seasonsed with tikka masala or lemon and herb dressing
Stir fry egg noodles or cook plain rice
Steam broccoli

KimberlyCapone

McCelmer wrote: »

I made a batch of this yesterday for the week and plan to serve it over rice for my husband and cauliflower rice for me. Seems like a ton of ingredients but you just dump everything in an Instant Pot or slow cooker and let it get happy for a few hours. Lots of flavor and protein.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Creole
https://www.skinnytaste.com/slow-cooker-chicken-and-sausage-creole/ (so many ads - see below):

New Orleans-inspired slow-cooker dish with chicken and Andouille sausage simmered in a rich tomato broth.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 9 ounces chicken Andouille sausage, sliced into rounds
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3 ounces 1/2 a 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 ¾ teaspoons Creole seasoning
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• 3 scallions, chopped (for garnish)
• 3 cups cooked brown rice, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Place all of ingredients in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Shred the chicken and add it back to the slow cooker. Evenly distribute the creole among 6 bowls and top each with green onions. Serve alone or over brown rice.


Serving: 1cup, Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5.5g, Cholesterol: 120mg, Sodium: 956mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g

MAN, this sounds DELISH!!!!!!

KimberlyCapone

My work food is always the same:

Breakfast: overnight oats with fruit
Lunch: turkey sandwich, light babybel cheese, apple and PB
Snacks: popcorn, almonds, hardboiled eggs or cottage cheese