Any tips on meal prep for a week's lunch?

violetcharms
violetcharms Posts: 158 Member
edited November 4 in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys,

I'm just looking for more ideas on how to prep lunches for the work week. I am trying to ensure I know what I'm actually consuming instead of estimating calories of food bought in the cafeteria.

I usually cook on Sundays and pre-pack all my foods so I need options that can last til Friday too.

Also, I love wraps for lunches, but am concerned if I pre-wrap them that itll be soggy/spoilt by mid-week.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance =)

Replies

  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
    Can you make stews, chilis, soups, casseroles, etc, and place in single portion in Tupperware containers and store in freezer. Make extra when you make dinner, so you got extra to put in freezer. In the morning, pick what you want out of the freezer and microwave at work.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    I have salads for lunch, and pre cook my chicken (baked, covered in spices then portioned out and frozen)

    I make 3 days worth of salad at a time, any more and it goes a bit off...

    Wraps take no time to put together - I would pre cook protein and then just put it together in the morning on the day I was eating it. You could prepare a few days worth of filling at a time and have it in containers ready to go
  • kellyskitties
    kellyskitties Posts: 475 Member
    Make salads upside down - with dressing and sturdy stuff (think carrots, meat, cheese) on bottom and stuff you don't want dressing on early (delicate lettuce) on top. Invert, shake and eat. I generally make a couple at a time when I do this as the lettuce browns too quick - but it would cover Mon/Tues.

    Put the wrap toppings separately - the wraps generally fold into fourths and fit into a baggie easily.

    Cook extra meats (burgers, meatballs, roast, chicken, fish etc) on the weekend and boiled eggs - easy toss ins for salad/wraps.

    I keep a large travel tray with a snap on lid in fridge loaded with cut up veggies - always an easy grab.

    Rabbit bags (made from my tray of precut veggies)

    Allow yourself a few mins each night to "throw" tomorrow's together - that works best for me. I just need handy components ready to "throw in."
  • Pixt
    Pixt Posts: 95 Member
    Can you make stews, chilis, soups, casseroles, etc, and place in single portion in Tupperware containers and store in freezer. Make extra when you make dinner, so you got extra to put in freezer. In the morning, pick what you want out of the freezer and microwave at work.

    I second this. We make stews, chilis and soups all the time and then freeze serving sized portions. Not only is it extremely convenient for lunch, it also makes for a very fast dinner prep when you have one of those "what's for dinner" nights when no one feels like cooking.
  • violetcharms
    violetcharms Posts: 158 Member
    Thasnk for all the great ideas, guys!

    Will be trying out some of the ideas, esp the freezing in individual portions... and to cut up veges in advance.

    Just wondering, how long can cut up veges last in the fridge?
  • kellyskitties
    kellyskitties Posts: 475 Member
    Thasnk for all the great ideas, guys!

    Will be trying out some of the ideas, esp the freezing in individual portions... and to cut up veges in advance.

    Just wondering, how long can cut up veges last in the fridge?

    Hardier veggies - cauliflower, celery, broccoli, carrots - quite a while.- a week's worth would be a good thing - could use the extras (after a couple salad days with the lettuce) as a side or snack to munch

    Softer veggies - lettuce, cucumbers - tend to spoil faster - stick to a day or two worth

    Tomatoes - all week usually
  • JenavaTS
    JenavaTS Posts: 10 Member
    This week I cooked a big pot of brown rice and lentils (I cook them both in the same pot - half and half), and roasted a bunch of salmon. I added spices to the brown rice and lentils and portioned it into ziploc containers, plopped a bit of salmon on top and froze them for my lunches. It can get a little boring eating the same thing all week, but it's much faster to prep on Sunday when it's just one thing for the entire week. If I tried to get too varied I probably wouldn't get all the way through my lunch prepping, and then it would be eating out all week...ugh!
  • deb54
    deb54 Posts: 270 Member
    great suggestions !!! bump to save...
  • StephieWillcox
    StephieWillcox Posts: 627 Member
    Each Sunday I bake 5 large potatoes, mix up 3 cans of tuna & 5 tablespoons of mayo.

    Once the potatoes are cooled I cut them open, spoon on 110g of the tuna/mayo mixture, grate 15g of cheese on top, put them in my little tuppaware containers, and voila - 5 lunches all ready to go.

    The only additional things I need to do are add a side salad (when I can be bothered), but that essentially means chopping some leaves up and putting them on a plate.
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    If you make salads in mason jars the lettuce stays good all week. Dressing on the bottom, then whatever would be ok to marinate in it for a few days (tomatoes, protein), then chopped veggies to keep the lettuce from the wet ingredients. Fill the jar full so there's no wiggle room or air.

    I also often make a hotdish-type meal on Sunday and just portion it in Tupperware for the week.
  • mamma_nee
    mamma_nee Posts: 809 Member
    If you like wraps , why not just package the shell separate from the filling? It would keep everything fresh.
  • kasafrass
    kasafrass Posts: 50 Member
    These are great ideas!
  • violetcharms
    violetcharms Posts: 158 Member
    Thasnk for all the great ideas, guys!

    Will be trying out some of the ideas, esp the freezing in individual portions... and to cut up veges in advance.

    Just wondering, how long can cut up veges last in the fridge?

    Hardier veggies - cauliflower, celery, broccoli, carrots - quite a while.- a week's worth would be a good thing - could use the extras (after a couple salad days with the lettuce) as a side or snack to munch

    Softer veggies - lettuce, cucumbers - tend to spoil faster - stick to a day or two worth

    Tomatoes - all week usually

    Thanks!!! Trying to get the hang of getting enough groceries while not wasting whenever possible... =)
  • Princ3ssj
    Princ3ssj Posts: 25 Member
    Dont be afraid of using frozen veggies... not quite the same as fresh but better than canned or not at all. I buy frozen broccoli and preportion it into ziplocks so I can grab and go.

    I too, have found that meal prepping is good for my body as well as my wallet(and peace of mind)

    Some of my go-tos are a veggie tofu stir fry((Im vegan so feel free to use a different protein obvi), spicy kimchi rice bowl, fasolia gigantes(HUGE white beans in a greek tomato sauce) with a side of spinach barley, butternut mac and cheese with a side of broccoli.
    I almost never eat salads... I just cant get into it. I prefer to get my veggies in other ways. Dont feel obligated to eat salads because it seems like the healthy choice. ;)

    anything I made I portion it all out into tupperware and put a couple in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Making 3 or so options for the week keeps me from getting bored and since I only cook for me I have it for dinner or lunch...
    Pretty much anything can be frozen and defrosted. Ive found that doing it more has kept me from having to throw out veggies or sauces etc that go bad before I can use them.
  • luvclay10
    luvclay10 Posts: 26 Member
    I am a sales person who runs around the city all day, besides being tempted by all the wrong foods the cost to eat out in NEw York can get out of hand. So i bought containers specially made for eatting on thego. They are potion control and it also makes me think ahead to what i want to eat each day for lunch and to keep within my calorie guidelines. Weight watches also sells a great container for salads (i just walked inot there center and bought it) it has a container within a container to keep the salad dressing separate . Love it!
  • violetcharms
    violetcharms Posts: 158 Member
    luvclay10 wrote: »
    I am a sales person who runs around the city all day, besides being tempted by all the wrong foods the cost to eat out in NEw York can get out of hand. So i bought containers specially made for eatting on thego. They are potion control and it also makes me think ahead to what i want to eat each day for lunch and to keep within my calorie guidelines. Weight watches also sells a great container for salads (i just walked inot there center and bought it) it has a container within a container to keep the salad dressing separate . Love it!

    This seems awesome. Too bad I havent seen any containers purposely made with portion control. I suppose I can research the proper sizes and buy normal tupperware for it.

    @Princ3ssj, i totally get u. I save tonnes when i meal prep, i jsut wish i can do it more efficiently. When i prep the same food all week i get bored, when I don't it takes up too much time looool


  • VagablondViking
    VagablondViking Posts: 22 Member
    I'm a student, so I try to pack healthy snacks for throughout the day so that I don't buy crap out of vending machines (or the cafeteria, which isn't much better). I hardboil eggs, slice up some cheese block, pack raw almonds (I count them so that I have an accurate serving size for calorie logging). Celery and peanut butter is also a great snack and easy to pack. High protein snacks keep me full/satisfied so that I'm not starving when I get home. I graze when I'm hungry and don't really have a big meal in the middle of the day.

    Also, my "go to" breakfast is a protein shake (mixed the night before and left in the fridge overnight so that the protein powder has more time to absorb... and also because I'm lazy in the mornings and it's one less thing to do). I have coffee before I leave the house and then a shake after the gym on my way to school.

    I also pre-log the food I take with me. That way, I know I can eat everything I've got with me and still have enough calories allotted for dinner later. If I have snacks leftover, I just remove them from my food log at the end of the day.

    The "upside-down salad" idea that someone already mentioned is great. Nothing soggy at mealtime and so easy to pack. I also used to make my own burritos (gluten-free) and freeze them. I had an accurate calorie count (I'd just enter all the ingredients as a recipe and each burrito was a serving size). Much easier to control the content and you are much more certain of the calorie count. Microwave them and add a little salsa, you're good to go.
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