Meal Prep - Clean Eating

ECUPirate07

I am a full-time working mom with a toddler, so the least amount of time I have to spend in the kitchen the better! With that said, I have been trying to convert my diet to only eat clean (or at least 75%-90% of the time) but I need some ideas. I know a lot of people have a meal prep day on the weekend, which I really need to start doing. Please share what/how you prepare on your meal prep day. One of the hardest meals of the day for me is lunch - when I fail to plan, fast food is so much easier (but SO not good for me!) Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

ECUPirate07

Bump...

jayche

I usually just prepare all my food on Sunday morning and again on Wednesday morning (a rest day).

Not really much to say, I buy a bunch of food in bulk, prep it, ration it out and throw it in the freezer.

ECUPirate07

Thanks, jayche. What types of things do you prepare? Maybe my question didn't come across the right way. Looking for ideas for meals and snacks, to prepare on one day and have all week. Thanks!

hdlb

Not sure if this will help, but I"ll tell you what we do. We cut up all our veggies and put them in containers (we have peppers, celery, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, and un-cut mushrooms) as well as grapes that are washed and off the stems. That way we can open the fridge and grab a container and do what we need to do with it. In our cupboard we have rice cakes, and rice crackers (the crackers are again, in a container ready to grab) and we have tons of apples/bananas/etc on the table in the fruit bowl.

You can cook up a bunch of chicken breasts on the weekend to keep in the fridge to use for salads, snacking etc. Leftovers from dinner the night before are a quick and easy lunch. You can make soup/stew and freeze it in individual portions, so that all you need to do is reheat and stick in a thermos to take with you. (of if you have a microwave at work, just take cold) Are you on Pinterest? There are lots of ideas on there. I've seen some where people actually make a few lunches in advance, and make salads in mason jars so they are ready to grab and go.

jayche

Thanks, jayche. What types of things do you prepare? Maybe my question didn't come across the right way. Looking for ideas for meals and snacks, to prepare on one day and have all week. Thanks!

Usually some kind of korean chicken/beef marinade with a mix of vegetables that I would have with rice (cooked from a rice cooker on the days I eat it). As for snacks I've been going for bananas as of late, but I've also snacked on other stuff like sweet potatoes quite regularly in the past. I'd be careful about prepping food for an entire week though, I've had food go bad on me after 4-5 days (which is why I only prep food till Wednesday).

ECUPirate07

Not sure if this will help, but I"ll tell you what we do. We cut up all our veggies and put them in containers (we have peppers, celery, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, and un-cut mushrooms) as well as grapes that are washed and off the stems. That way we can open the fridge and grab a container and do what we need to do with it. In our cupboard we have rice cakes, and rice crackers (the crackers are again, in a container ready to grab) and we have tons of apples/bananas/etc on the table in the fruit bowl.

You can cook up a bunch of chicken breasts on the weekend to keep in the fridge to use for salads, snacking etc. Leftovers from dinner the night before are a quick and easy lunch. You can make soup/stew and freeze it in individual portions, so that all you need to do is reheat and stick in a thermos to take with you. (of if you have a microwave at work, just take cold) Are you on Pinterest? There are lots of ideas on there. I've seen some where people actually make a few lunches in advance, and make salads in mason jars so they are ready to grab and go.

Thanks so much! That is definitely helpful. I have been prepping and cleaning all the fruit I buy at once so that it is easily accessible and ready to eat. I need to start doing that with veggies as well. Due to my husband's work schedule he isn't home every night for supper, so if it's just my daughter and I, I just whip up something fast; therefore, we don't always have leftovers. Freezing soups and stews in individual portions is a great idea, I have never thought of that. I have seen that idea on Pinterest for making salads - I just need to buy some mason jars. Thanks for the ideas!

ECUPirate07

Thanks, jayche. That's helpful! I think most people I have talked to also prep a lot of things on Sunday and then a few more things on Wednesday, so food doesn't go bad.

Gramps251

I don't know about "clean" but I'll cook a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, salmon, oatmeal, soy beans (edamame), sauted zucini w/tomatos and garlic and a couple tablespoons of olive oil on the weekend and freeze them (I don't freeze the veggies) in serving sized containers. Then I grab what I need for meals throughout the week.

Good luck.

bcattoes

I bring leftovers for lunch. There is nothing easier than that.