EASY Meal Prep Ideas

mariemxx
mariemxx Posts: 56 Member
edited November 21 in Food and Nutrition
Hey Everyone,
I'm new here and if there is already a post out here for this my apologies. However, If anyone has some ideas for easy meal prep ideas that I could bring for lunch that would be fantastic. and if anyone would like to add me I can use all the support I can get.

Thanks !!!! :)

Replies

  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    It all depends on what works for you. Personally, I'm willing to invest an hour on Sunday night to make a giant cucumber salad for the week. 3 cucumbers, 4 roma tomatoes (seeded!), 2 bell peppers, 1 small red onion. Cut cucumber lengthwise into 4 pieces, then crosswise into coins; dice everything else. Mix in a 1 gallon bowl.

    As is, 101 calories/4 servings.

    I add 3 T feta cheese and a tuna packet at work.

    Sliced vegetables,
    deli sandwich meat,
    bay shrimp
    (pico de gallo and bay shrimp make an easy no-prep chilled seafood salad for hot days).

    Leftovers from dinner the night before

  • mariemxx
    mariemxx Posts: 56 Member
    EmmaFitzwilliam wrote: »
    It all depends on what works for you. Personally, I'm willing to invest an hour on Sunday night to make a giant cucumber salad for the week. 3 cucumbers, 4 roma tomatoes (seeded!), 2 bell peppers, 1 small red onion. Cut cucumber lengthwise into 4 pieces, then crosswise into coins; dice everything else. Mix in a 1 gallon bowl.

    As is, 101 calories/4 servings.

    I add 3 T feta cheese and a tuna packet at work.

    Sliced vegetables,
    deli sandwich meat,
    bay shrimp
    (pico de gallo and bay shrimp make an easy no-prep chilled seafood salad for hot days).

    Leftovers from dinner the night before

    Thank you! I will definitely be using your cucumber salad recipe .. the only concern I have is things going bad in the fridge I don't mind meal prepping I just struggle with ideas for foods that can stay fresh in the fridge.
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    I've had a lot of practice learning what works and what doesn't. It's just part of the process. There are charts on how long to keep fresh foods and leftovers, and how to store various ingredients. It's a body of knowledge we don't necessarily develop naturally any more, so it's worth looking them up. Just google "store <food>" or "leftovers shelf life" and you will get lots of tips.

    My cucumber salad was fine for about a week. I make about 4 (large) servings at a time, and it's still generally crisp by the final portion. (I make huge batches and pre-portion everything.

    Single serve containers are a big help. I just portion out a week's worth of salads, and grab a container when I head out in the morning.)
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    pinterest. so many ideas, with pictures.
  • Lazz5k
    Lazz5k Posts: 251 Member
    Jennloella wrote: »
    pinterest. so many ideas, with pictures.

    SOO TRUE!!!

  • gaelowyn_pt_duex
    gaelowyn_pt_duex Posts: 135 Member
    For me, the easiest thing is "re-purposing". I make a big pork roast, turn some into barbacoa pork, some into bbq pork, and some into taco seasoned pork. freeze. Same with a roast beef, and whole chickens. I make up a bunch of lean ground beef(or turkey) and turn it into spaghetti sauce, taco meat, sloppy joe meat, and leave some plain. freeze. I have a vacuum sealer system- helps a ton. I freeze some things in recipe quantities, others in indi servings.
    I also re-purpose left overs. Grilled chicken becomes tacos, salads, stir fries. Same with steak, pork chops, fish/shrimp. I make a batch of rice up each week, then portion it out in recipes or to add to lunches as needed. I pre-wash salad lettuces, and make it up into indi salad bowls for the week. Then I just add cheese, hard boiled egg, sliced/diced meats the morning i want it for lunch that day. I pack a small amount of dressing or salsa.
    Some meals I just leave left overs as is and package up into indi servings and reheat.

    Skinnytaste.com has tons of awesome recipes. I use it weekly.
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    For dinner, I make large batches of baked chicken - Oven 400; coat glass pan with oil, season chicken breasts, cover with oiled parchment paper, bake for 25-40 minutes depending on thickness of breasts (temp at thickest part 165). I portion that into 12-14 oz batches, then dice and stir into diced tomatoes, simmer sauces, etc.
  • mariemxx
    mariemxx Posts: 56 Member
    gaelowyn_pt_duex wrote: »
    For me, the easiest thing is "re-purposing". I make a big pork roast, turn some into barbacoa pork, some into bbq pork, and some into taco seasoned pork. freeze. Same with a roast beef, and whole chickens. I make up a bunch of lean ground beef(or turkey) and turn it into spaghetti sauce, taco meat, sloppy joe meat, and leave some plain. freeze. I have a vacuum sealer system- helps a ton. I freeze some things in recipe quantities, others in indi servings.
    I also re-purpose left overs. Grilled chicken becomes tacos, salads, stir fries. Same with steak, pork chops, fish/shrimp. I make a batch of rice up each week, then portion it out in recipes or to add to lunches as needed. I pre-wash salad lettuces, and make it up into indi salad bowls for the week. Then I just add cheese, hard boiled egg, sliced/diced meats the morning i want it for lunch that day. I pack a small amount of dressing or salsa.
    Some meals I just leave left overs as is and package up into indi servings and reheat.

    Skinnytaste.com has tons of awesome recipes. I use it weekly.

    Those are definitely some great ideas. Thank you! I will definitely be checking out that site today!
  • cat_lady77
    cat_lady77 Posts: 203 Member
    I tried meal prepping for the first time last week & mine was pretty boring but it was tasty!
    -Grilled chicken breast (marinated in a couple different sauces - Asian ginger & chipotle)
    -baked sweet potatoes (baked in microwave) with added black bean southwest veggie mix (can't recall what brand)
    -piece of fruit
    -hard boiled eggs or nuts for snacks
    -Jello sugar free pudding
    I took about 4-6 ounces of chicken with me each day (didn't have a scale til Thurs. lol) It was pretty good! Friday I took the last of the chicken & added buffalo sauce & put it in a lettuce wrap cause I was getting a bit bored.
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  • mariemxx
    mariemxx Posts: 56 Member
    LLNN122 wrote: »
    I am new to meal prepping also. Does the food stay fresh in your fridge for the whole week? Does anyone freeze their food.. how do you defreeze it and does it taste ok after?

    @karla24687 how long do hard boiled eggs last for if cooked on Sunday?

    Does anyone have a trusted comprehensive link with how long food stays fresh in the fridge?
    I always hear people making salads that last for a week but I've tried it before and I can't make greens, tomatoes, or cut up cucumbers last in the fridge for 5 days.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/11/food-storing-shelf-life-freshy-fresh_n_5661732.html

    Check out that link ^ .. I found some pretty useful things on there :#

    I'll be trying meal prepping on sunday .. if anyone wants to join in :-)
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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Super easy lunch prepping is to take leftovers from the night before. I might put the leftovers in a wrap for variety, or pair the meal with different crackers or a salad.

    Vegetables with greater staying power include carrots, roma lettuce, and cabbage. I often base a weekly salad on these sturdier vegetables.

    I use mason jars often to preserve the salads longer, but I find always enjoy eating them fresher so I try not to make more than enough for a few days.

    Another way to stay fresh is to buy vegetables and fruits frequently, on sale and in season.

    Or rely on frozen fruits and vegetables to have on hand in a pinch.
  • nineteentwenty
    nineteentwenty Posts: 469 Member
    Put a ton of broccoli in a gallon ziplock bag, and weigh it. For every 12oz serving, pour in 1tbs of olive oil. Shake the beg until all of the veggies are coated. Pour the broccoli into a brownie pan and shake garlic/spices over the pan (I also add in some grated parm). Bake with a foil cover at 350 for 15 minutes. Eat as a side or an entire meal :) I like serving mine with baked fish.
  • mariemxx
    mariemxx Posts: 56 Member
    Kkallisti wrote: »
    Put a ton of broccoli in a gallon ziplock bag, and weigh it. For every 12oz serving, pour in 1tbs of olive oil. Shake the beg until all of the veggies are coated. Pour the broccoli into a brownie pan and shake garlic/spices over the pan (I also add in some grated parm). Bake with a foil cover at 350 for 15 minutes. Eat as a side or an entire meal :) I like serving mine with baked fish.

    Well I love broccoli so this will DEFINITELY be included in Sunday's meal prep!
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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    My daughter won't touch milk if it has any sort of "off" flavour to it. This is often a day or two before it's expiry. So I have a theory that people have different tolerances on how long they will let their foods sit. I will eat more vegetables if they are as fresh as I can make them! You might get a day or two longer in a mason jar, but why risk it?

    Now, if you really want staying power, make a coleslaw. The vinegar, salt, and oil are death to any enterprising bacteria.
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  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    If you're prepping for meals to take away, I have this perspective.

    The hardest part for me, seriously, was finding a lunch tote I could carry easily and held my "to go" containers. You can prep all you want; if you can't comfortably take it with you, it's going to be much harder to make it work.

    (I commute on transit, and carry my lunch in a shoulder tote, so anything flat and square was going to be on its side. :/ Your mileage may vary.)

    I was on the verge of just making one when I found a tote that was tall and square-ish - and then found the rectangular "entrees" food storage containers. They fit *exactly* into the base of my lunch tote, and suddenly portioning foods to fit those containers was no big deal.

    I have a refrigerator and a microwave at my office, so I put foods to be reheated into a glass bowl and cover the bowl with a plastic "microwave dish cover".

    I eat breakfast at the office too; for that I buy the quart tubs of yogurt, and portion out 6 oz into each of 5 (2-cup) containers. I also prep 5 (32g) portions of muesli, and 5 (1 cup) portions of blueberries. The night before, I stir a portion of muesli into a bowl of yogurt. The next morning, I grab the yogurt and muesli bowl, and a pack of blueberries. I stir the blueberries in "on the spot" when I have breakfast.

    If you seed the tomatoes, they don't get soggy and they don't make the rest of the cucumber salad soggy.

    Depending on the weather where you are (here it's actually cold enough for hot soup sometimes!), you might prep a batch of minestrone (I have a recipe for a 2 gallon batch!), and portion that into individual servings. The minestrone makes a great "base" soup; I can add pasta or meat to it to make it a more filling, more complete lunch, or I can have just the vegetables and a side protein.

    If it's just you, I don't recommend huge batches of things. "Moroccan chicken, day 8" gets really old, and it's never the same reheated from frozen. Freezing changes the texture of most foods, and not for the better.
  • hutchin88
    hutchin88 Posts: 83 Member
    Green salad topped with chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Quick, easy and no hassle. Summer is a great time for salads that incorporate protein and healthy carbs.

    Add cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms or whatever you like. I keep condiments such as olives and jalepenos on hand to make it interesting. I also add an apple or orange to the salad. People at work are always saying wow that salad looks great. Yummy!

    A lot of people use the Ball jar method for this kind of salad. Summer is great time for all purpose salads.
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  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    edited July 2015
    I've been freezer cooking for over 7 years and can't imagine my life without it.
    -find one pot recipes (soup, stew, stuffed peppers, chili) and add a ton of vegetables into them, then freeze into individual portions
    -freeze sauces (marinara, bbq, enchilada) into reasonable jar sizes that you can use up before they go bad
    -learn to "flash freeze" (freeze things that may stick together by freezing directly onto a metal
    cookie sheet and transfer to a bag once frozen). This works for meatballs, nuggets, burritos, fruit, casseroles cut into portions, and blanched vegetables.

    Most week days I can pull a meal, microwave and/or broil to give me a 10 minute dinner. For lunches, I pull one and just keep it in the work fridge until I can microwave until hot.
  • kimw91
    kimw91 Posts: 355 Member
    I usually bring salads to work. I tend to do most of the prep work at the start of the week and add some final ingredients later on if need be to stay fresh. Simple options I like include:
    - A variety of tuna salads (chop all the veggies (I use red onion, bell pepper, capers and apple) up front, then dunk in a can of tuna and a tbsp of yoghurt the evening before you are going to bring it to work and bring some lettuce to mix it with.
    - Smoked fish (trout, salmon, mackerel) salads (buy smoked fish, flake over lettuce, add veg of choice (I'm partial to stuff like fennel, beetroot and grilled zucchini) and bring a dressing separately (buttermilk with lemon and dill or lemon mustard)
    - Greek salad (chop tomato, red onion and cucumber, add olives, beans/chicken/prawns and feta and a good amount of oregano)
    - Prawn salad (toss store bought cooked prawns with avocado, cucumber ribbons, cherry tomatoes and whatever veg you'd like)
    - Couscous salads (couscous with artichoke/cucumber/cherry tomato/basil/feta/prawns or chicken/harissa/raisins/almonds/cauliflower)
    - Pasta salad (like the first couscous salad, or add grilled veg and pesto)

    Non salad ideas:
    - Leftover chili with romain lettuce
    - Leftover meatloaf with tzatziki and green salad
    - Boiled eggs, avocado and rice cakes
    - Wrap with hummus and grilled veg
    - Quiche
  • crystalewhite
    crystalewhite Posts: 422 Member
    I like to do a lot of prep on Sundays. I'll go to the store in the morning when it's not busy. Then I will do maybe an hour or so of prep work, including cutting and portioning vegetables and maybe roasting a chicken so I have meat for lunches and dinner.
    It is definitely easier to buy pre-portioned and cut vegetables and trimmed meats, but it can get expensive.
    Thin fish filets cook pretty quickly, and sometimes I will buy some precooked cocktail shrimp and make a meal of that with hummus and vegetables.
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