Favorite healthy meals you can prepare in advance? :)

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balancedbrunette
balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, just looking for some suggestions/ideas from others on here. :D

I'm a college student and on my half-term break at the moment so taking the time to organise myself a bit more regards my healthy eating, just finding there has been days where I'm just on the go a lot (some weeks assignments just pile up, and extra curricular activities)and , i'm finding it harder on days like this to get my veggies in or meat as im snacking (fruits/nuts/homemade sandwiches) rather than sitting down to dinner.

Anyone on here in this situation and find themselves preparing meals they can refrigerate, im considering this and would really welcome so suggestions from others...love getting new ideas. Right now im more a prepare breakfast kind of girl, my usuals are overnight oatmeal and mini oven baked omlettes. Dinner options would be great, sorry for the rant...and thanks in advance. :)

Replies

  • tarabole
    tarabole Posts: 166 Member
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    Sundays I typically prep food for the week because I'm so busy with work and workouts on weekdays. I marinate and cook chicken breast, make a soup from scratch (usually a squash or carrot) and then buy some salad mixed and get them in containers for the week as well as anything else I want to add to the salad (weigh out nuts or dried cranberries etc and out them into small ziplocs).Then in the morning I grab what I need for lunch and snack for the day. Pre-cooking your protein and chopping vetables to be steamed can really help for quick meals as well. Soups and stews and chilli's are good for pre-cooking and refrigerating or freezing as well.
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
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    I like to cook 1.5 cups of rice and mix in about 8 oz of meat. Typically grilled turkey sausage, but could be shrimp, chicken, pork chops, etc. Also like to cook 3 oz (dry weight) of spaghetti, mix in 8 oz 93% lean ground beef and 3/4 cup of preggo chunky mushroom sauce. Make 2-4 helpings of either one at a time, and seperate them out into individual containers. Grap a container in the morngin for my lunch at the office that day.
  • gale1089
    gale1089 Posts: 67
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    I cook my meat on Sunday or Monday (whenever I get a chance). Usually just grill up some chicken breast or turkey burgers and store it in the fridge.

    In the morning I weigh my meat out and ziplock it. I weigh my frozen vegetables out and ziplock them.. And then I portion out some spinach into Tupperware. Come lunch, I steam the veggies for 3 minutes in the micro and heat up my chicken and add them both to the spinach with some dressing. Wah-lah! Chicken and vegetable salad. SO easy, So good!
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
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    thanks guys, some great suggestions on here think above anything i need to pre-cook my protein foods especially meat/chicken on weeks i know are going to be pretty hectic, vegetables are always quite quick to prepare right along with them then. :)
    And then I portion out some spinach into Tupperware. Come lunch, I steam the veggies for 3 minutes in the micro and heat up my chicken and add them both to the spinach with some dressing. Wah-lah! Chicken and vegetable salad. SO easy, So good!

    this sounds so good and so simple, I love chicken and have found during the week i get back so late i want to grab something quick and miss out on cooking my chicken so this is definitely something im going to do! :)
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Boiled chicken.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Giant crock pot soups. soups...nummy.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    I make big pot of soup, when I have time. 2 packages of ground Turkey, browned. A can of tomato, sauce, can of diced tomatoes, 3-4 cans of beans, I add cooked potato as and carrots, celery, spices, onions, pepper, a carton of chicken broth. I get about 10 containers of soup... My my 20 yr son can eat half of them in 2 days.

    Sometimes. I add lightly steam broccoli, too. My son likes corn, but I don't care for it in soups.

    I also make a double batch of chicken pot pies. I make them in a large casserole and put a sheet of puff pastry on top. Makes about 8 serving, again, takes my son 2 days to eat.

    Crockpot chicken with some sauce. Portion, fridge/freeze.. Can add to any veggie/rice/pasta combo. (I cook the rice/pasta in a big batch for the week. If it lasts that long. I often just make 2 big batches so the 6'5" male human will leave my food alone.

    I have to label my food.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
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    thanks for the suggestions :).
  • Taztucker
    Taztucker Posts: 1
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    On Sunday, I hard boil eggs, make veggie soup and make up snack bags of cut up cauliflower, celery, cherry tomatoes and carrots. I often have a couple table spoons of humus with the veggies. I will also cut up a cantaloupe or two for the week.
  • Kissybiz
    Kissybiz Posts: 361 Member
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    I bring my lunches to work. My favorite easy low fat, high protein, high fiber meal to fix is using a pound of ground turkey breast (leanest), browned in a nonstick skillet (no oil), mixed with a can of black beans (rinsed) and some chopped jalapenos (I'm from Texas it's a staple), seasoned with ground cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. You don't need to add salt because the beans have enough already. I split it into four portions for four meals. You can eat it alone. Put it in a wrap with fresh spinach. Top a salad with it. Or what's really good is topping it on a baked sweet potato with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and salsa. Bon Appetit!!!
  • SashleyA
    SashleyA Posts: 122 Member
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    In college I'd make a week's worth of lentils and rice and save it in tupperwares.

    To cook the lentils, I'd soak them and then throw them in a pan with a bit of tomato and green chile (Rotel cans) and a bunch of vegetables. I usually added curry, chili powder, and whatever spices sounded good and sometimes would caramelize an onion first. Black beans can be cooked pretty much the same way too.

    Any crockpot recipe is great too.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
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    thanks for the further replies guys some great advice on here, got some tupperware today so going to whip up some meals on sunday to prepare for the week, anymore suggestions more than welcome! :)
  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
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    Cook a pot of rice. Cook a pot of beans. Roast a pan of vegetables. Cook a bunch of your preferred protein - eggs, ground meat, chicken breast, etc.
    You've got a bunch of food that can be mixed and matched to create different meals. Stock up on oil, vinegar, spices, onion and garlic, canned tomatoes, eggs, cheese, and a few fresh veggies and you get a lot of options for quick additions to the pre-made base.
  • gamagem
    gamagem Posts: 87 Member
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    Well we do a lot of what others have suggested. I will make 4lbs of beans (usually 2lbs of black and 2 lbs of 15 bean soup) and a giant vat of spaghetti sauce every few months and freeze dinner portions for easy meals. Sundays I will make 2 cups of quinoa and freeze it to heat up for a couple of sides during the week. My husband will smoke enough chicken for a couple of months to put on our spinach salads during the week. I'll also make a double batch of roasted sweet potatoes on the weekend and store in the fridge to reheat. They reheat well. Sunday's my husband will portion out our plain greek yogurt into little tupperware containers (he adds stevia, blue berries and unsweetened dark chocolate powder) to bring to work for snacks. I like to mix a 1/4 of raw, uncooked oatmeal into it and let it sit for a couple of minutes then eat. There are lots of other things we do, but I can't think of them all. We've just tweaked and adjusted to try to keep our life less hectic but maintain a healthy lifestyle.
  • zeltoria
    zeltoria Posts: 31
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    Wow, we all think a lot a like. Quick easy pre portioned. Roasted veggies are so qood. when I get tired of fresh, I make a few pans of these and I am back for fresh. Main thing is to make sure you don't tire of what your eating. mix it up a bit. Always make your food for when your a way from home. Fact is for me that is were I take a big slide.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
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    thanks everyone & gamagen for the quinoa suggestion, bought a packet of this 2 weeks ago and just havent got round to cooking it in college so going to prepare some, great added source of protein to meals!
    Roast a pan of vegetables. Cook a bunch of your preferred protein - eggs, ground meat, chicken breast, etc.
    You've got a bunch of food that can be mixed and matched to create different meals. Stock up on oil, vinegar, spices, onion and garlic, canned tomatoes, eggs, cheese, and a few fresh veggies and you get a lot of options for quick additions to the pre-made base.

    thanks will definitely stock up on tasteful things to add to dishes aswell like garlic and herbs - they're always so handy for stews. Really appreciate the suggestions guys, of course there will be weeks i'll be cooking dinners at home but want to keep my healthy lifestyle in check when i'm on the go - especially being a college student it can be easy to just go on campus and grab a meal and this is just not for me anymore! :)
  • EHisCDN
    EHisCDN Posts: 480 Member
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    I live off of leftovers. I typically have time to cook dinner at night so I make extra and eat it for lunch the next day and a few other days of the week (alternating with leftovers from another day so I don't eat the same thing constantly).

    I like to make soups from anything I have in my fridge. It's really easy and a great way to use up leftovers.
    Another healthy and cheap option is curry. I made a really delicious sweet potato chick pea curry (it was based off of Jamie Oliver's Veggie Korma).
    You could try using the same ingredients in different ways. For instance, I accidentally bought too much ground turkey the other day. So while making turkey burgers I decided to form half the mixture into meat balls and bake them in the oven. I had the turkey burgers as usual but used the meatballs in a soup one day and then in sauce with spaghetti squash/pasta the next. They're also great for freezing.

    If I need a meal really quickly I keep pre-portioned packages of meat in the freezer. I'll get it out in the morning to defrost (usually I'll add some sort of marinade to the bag so it's marinating as it thaws) and cook it when I get home with some veggies. I like to do quick stir fries this way - marinate some pork or chicken pieces and then stir fry it with some green beans or whatever veggies I have in the fridge.

    I think the key thing is to make sure that you have a well stocked pantry. If you have herbs and spices, oils and vinegars it makes it a low easier to throw together a meal quickly and cheaply!
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    Options
    I live off of leftovers. I typically have time to cook dinner at night so I make extra and eat it for lunch the next day and a few other days of the week (alternating with leftovers from another day so I don't eat the same thing constantly).

    I like to make soups from anything I have in my fridge. It's really easy and a great way to use up leftovers.
    Another healthy and cheap option is curry. I made a really delicious sweet potato chick pea curry (it was based off of Jamie Oliver's Veggie Korma).
    You could try using the same ingredients in different ways. For instance, I accidentally bought too much ground turkey the other day. So while making turkey burgers I decided to form half the mixture into meat balls and bake them in the oven. I had the turkey burgers as usual but used the meatballs in a soup one day and then in sauce with spaghetti squash/pasta the next. They're also great for freezing.

    If I need a meal really quickly I keep pre-portioned packages of meat in the freezer. I'll get it out in the morning to defrost (usually I'll add some sort of marinade to the bag so it's marinating as it thaws) and cook it when I get home with some veggies. I like to do quick stir fries this way - marinate some pork or chicken pieces and then stir fry it with some green beans or whatever veggies I have in the fridge.

    I think the key thing is to make sure that you have a well stocked pantry. If you have herbs and spices, oils and vinegars it makes it a low easier to throw together a meal quickly and cheaply!

    thanks for the reply, great suggestions there...the turkey burgers and meatballs/soup actually sound so nice!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    On Sunday or Monday I make a big meal of meat, veggies, and starch (steamed yams or wild rice) and pop the leftovers in the microwave during the week.

    For lunch, I love sandwich wraps so I make those each morning before work.

    For breakfast it's latte or mocha (homemade) and oatmeal with fruit and a bit of peanut butter. I make this on the spot since it's best nice and hot.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
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    For breakfast it's oatmeal with fruit and a bit of peanut butter. I make this on the spot since it's best nice and hot.

    Yea sometimes when im in a hurry for breakfast well during the summer i made overnight oatmeal with greek yoghurt but for winter oatmeal made fresh and warm in the morning is the best :).

    So made up some dinners for the week today and have put them in the fridge will see how it goes, feeling better about my eating options already think it will make it easier for me to stick to my macros and keep me focused. :) Thanks for the advice guys.

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