Meal prep ideas

Fat_girl_getting_slim

Hi has anyone got any meal prep ideas please?! Really struggling at the moment....

missysippy930

Soups or chili
Sheet pan veggies with a protein
Steel cut oats
Eggs baked in muffin tins

Fat_girl_getting_slim

Thank you very much

acpgee

Bolognese sauce, meatballs, meatloaf. Any braised dishes freeze well. Braised chicken with vegetable dishes include dak dori tang, chicken cacciatore, coq au vin, curry chicken. Braised red meat dishes include lamb shanks, Irish stew, beef rendang, curries.

xelsoo

I meal prep a bunch of basics on Sunday and toss them together in different combinations for my packed lunches throughout the week:

-Roast a bunch of veggies in the oven, current faves: pumpkin, parsnip and carrots for sweetness (with maple syrup are sooo good), broccoli/cauliflower for crunch (I recommend cauliflower coated in spices), mushrooms for a chewy bite, fennel and onion baked long enough with oil will slightly caramelize, red peppers..

-Boil bulgur/quinoa/buckwheat noodles/rice/carb of choice. Or canned beans/chickpeas if I have no time.

-Boil eggs (in the same pot to save time), or bake/pan fry season&spiced tofu, chicken breasts, fish (wrapped in aluminium foil) with lemon..

Then mix these elements in different combinations. For sauces depending on what you want you can stir fry them in soy sauce and lemon, or throw a jar of marinara sauce, create a creamy low-fat coconut curry, olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing..

pitponies

it can be very difficult to think of something that is delicious, filling and that fits in with the calories, check out the post on volume eating as there are some great ideas there. I find it easiest to start with whatever protein I am having ( for dinner) then plan vege or salad around it. Spiralized Courgette really helps bulk out what would normally be pasta recipes. I also add 28g finely grated Parmesan, believe me it goes a long way! adds so much flavour to salads and pasta style dishes

kgarczynski

Hey there! I meal prep a lot! I actually prefer freezer stuff so that I can stock the freezer full of healthy options for last minute lunch, and the nights where I just don't feel like cooking. I live with a 16 year old foodie (he is about 6ft tall and a lineman and tuba plater), and a 47 year old Meat and Potatoes- don't ever try to feed me mashed cauliflower kinda guys.

Here are some of our faves. They are all pretty easy, fit into my daily budget, and delish. You will see that I often substitute chicken (ground chicken, chicken sausage) without them knowing. Otherwise, special/separate meals doesn't work for our house. It's taken me many years to get this down to a pretty good science.

Grain Bowls:
https://www.skinnytaste.com/greek-chicken-meal-prep-rice-bowls/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmars/17-delicious-healthy-grain-bowls-that-will-fill-you-up?utm_term=.udnQPv5n4#.hqEdM17O4 (I make the Chicken Burrito Bowls a lot- pretty simple to make)

http://iowagirleats.com/2013/11/18/quinoa-with-caramelized-butternut-squash-and-roasted-brussels-sprouts/

https://www.wellplated.com/stuffed-pepper-casserole/


Soups:
https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/recipe/pulled-chicken-ancho-chili-and-black-bean-soup/5a7e4aa0983984243592cdaa (We ALWAYS have this on stock. Even the guys love it.)

http://paleomg.com/slow-cooker-buffalo-chicken-chili/

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/velveeta-cheesy-broccoli-soup-51453.aspx (I add garlic in the beginning for some extra flavor. Not the healthiest, I know. But it's not horrible in calories- and the 'men' love it)


Lunch Ideas:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/the-quintessential-chicken-salad (This is DELISH- I usually grab some bibb lettuce and make lettuce wraps for lunch. You can also budget in wraps, crackers, etc. I just like to save the calories, and actually enjoy lettuce wraps)

https://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-brown-bag-burritos-day-7/ (I substitute with ground chicken for a healthier option)


Crock Pot:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/buffalo-chicken-dip-recipe-2011763#/ (I make this in the crockpot just so i can throw it in and not worry about it. I eat it with carrots, cucumbers, celery, etc. It's also great to freeze, and always a fun snack, or good lunch)

https://www.sidetrackedsarah.com/2013/01/crockpot-beef-shepherds-pie-recipe/ (I substitute with ground chicken or turkey- shhh)

https://funnyisfamily.com/2015/10/crock-pot-cheesy-spinach-and-tomato-tortellini.html (This has quickly become my sons recipe. We add fresh basil and either an italian sausage - you can sneak in chicken - or shrimp for some added protein. I don't really have a 4 hour span for crockpotting, so we typically just make it on the stove top)

We do a lot of crockpot and Instant Pot. We do ribs- just throw them in there with some bbq sauce, or you could opt for some apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke along with some dry rub, YUM You can also do the same with chicken.

Italian Chicken - throw in some chicken breasts marinated in italian dressing with a few cans of italian diced tomatoes. If you don't marinate the chicken, just add some additional italian seasoning and a little water. We serve this over egg noodles, rice, or even throw some potatoes in

I usually like to make a batch of hard boiled eggs in the instant pot on Sundays. Super easy, and serves as a healthy snack option during the week.

deannalfisher

i just borrowed (and plan to buy) - cook once, eat all week - its 26 weeks worth of recipes with 3 main ingredients (i.e. chicken, rice, broccoli) and then she gives you 3 recipes you can make with those 3 (and then what she has identified a standard pantry ingredients) - https://amzn.to/2Iiq2eC

Kelly_2013

I have had pretty much the same meal prep for months for my lunch and its easy and not expensive and it's delicious! I get the Turkey smoked sausage (I now use two packages for my 5 lunch meals) I cook that and then I add in 2 bags of frozen onions and peppers (I use the kroger brand) I also add two bags of cauliflower rice and then this week I sauteed some mushrooms to add in as well. I absolutely love this meal and it's not very expensive and my calories with what I just stated is less than 400 calories and it keeps me full!

cwolfman13

My meal prep typically consists of making extra of whatever we're having for dinner so I can have leftover for lunch or maybe two lunches. I kind of have a rule about leftovers over 48-72 hours though, so I pretty much never prep for an entire weeks worth of lunches.

janejellyroll

I do the same thing that @cwolfman13 does. I don't have the patience to spend all Sunday cooking. When I make dinner each night, I'll pack up the leftovers in individual serving containers and grab those for future breakfasts or lunches.

GaryRuns

No dietary restrictions?

Meatballs are so flexible. Right now we're doing the Spicy Thai turkey meatballs, the recipe for which I saw here on MFP

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/thai-turkey-meatballs-with-spicy-cilantro-dip/

The only difference is I bake them instead of sauté them. I think they'd taste better sautéd, as the recipe suggests, but I'm making about 60 meatballs at a time (giant package of ground turkey from Costco). No way am I sautéing that many. Put them on three large baking sheets, throw them in the oven for 20-30 minutes, done!

Throw them in my containers, put them in the deep freeze at about -20F and I'm good for three weeks. Easy to dial in calories or protein by adjusting how many meatballs you have per meal.

acpgee

Batch cooked gratin dauphinois cooling before going into the freezer.

WinoGelato

janejellyroll wrote: »

I do the same thing that @cwolfman13 does. I don't have the patience to spend all Sunday cooking. When I make dinner each night, I'll pack up the leftovers in individual serving containers and grab those for future breakfasts or lunches.

Same here. I make extra of whatever protein and veg we are having for dinners. I try to make extra starches but my kids and husband tend to go back for seconds on those during dinner so a lot of times I don’t have leftovers or those - so I keep a lot of the ready rice packets on hand and can take those to work in a pinch or else just eat a lower carb lunch anyway.

One thing I do try to bulk prep is cooked ground beef and shredded chicken - whenever I am making a recipe that calls for those I tend to cook up about 5 lbs of the meat and then after using what I need for my recipe I divide the others into “recipe sized portions” so if I’m making weeknight tacos for example - I have frozen cooked meat on hand for it to speed up the time to table.

tufntender

acpgee wrote: »

Batch cooked gratin dauphinois cooling before going into the freezer.

Isn't that super dense and high in Calories?

Dorgle690

I like to make overnight oats for my breakfasts. Just use one part old fashioned oats and one part liquid! I usually do 1/2 cup oats and 1/2 cup 2% milk. Then you can add spices and/or sweeteners to your hearts content!
If you make it sweet enough it even doubles as a dessert! YUM!

acpgee

tufntender wrote: »

acpgee wrote: »

Batch cooked gratin dauphinois cooling before going into the freezer.

Isn't that super dense and high in Calories?

Replace the cream with milk in this recipe.

https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/gratin-dauphinois-recipe

acpgee

Meatloaf cooling before going into the freezer plus one to have tonight.

Foodfavor

The SkinnyTaste website has a free 7 day meal plan that I look at for inspiration. I am a pretty lazy cook so I haven't actually followed the meal plans, but I have cooked a lot of her recipes and they have all been great (check out the hamburger salad)