Meal Prep Ideas

Raccoonii
Raccoonii Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay! So I bought a food scale and some containers so that I can start meal prepping beforehand so that I don't snack on junkfood (I'm guilty of this when I'm at work and need lunch but need something quick) and I was looking up some recipes and meal plans but so many of them are basically a chipmunk's diet. I can't subsist on 10 peanuts and a cup of hot water with a lemon. Like???? I'm a grown *kitten* woman, also a diabetic who will go into shock if my blood sugar drops, I need to eat food.

What are some suggestions you have? Favorite meals or things I can cook in big batches and reheat throughout the week? When I try to eat healthy but also convenient I end up with fruit and yogurt and a granola bar and it gets old fast.

Thanks!
:blush::blush::blush:

Replies

  • kgregory0612
    kgregory0612 Posts: 4 Member
    What type of meal are you planning for--lunch or breakfast?
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    Breakfast - here's what I usually prep

    egg white scramble with red bell peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms

    Greek yogurt + cheese stick

    Protein pancakes with berries
  • chelsea7162
    chelsea7162 Posts: 97 Member
    My go to planner is a carb, a vegetable or two, and a protein.

    My carb is normally quinoa cooked with spices or sprouted wild rice cooked with some saffron and low sodium vegetable broth. Lentils also work instead of rice or quinoa, as well as a bean salad (mixed cooked beans, a touch of agave nectar, a drizzle of olive or avocado oil, spices to taste, and some rice vinegar). Sweet potatoes, yams, squash, and other starches work well as your carb.

    My vegetables are generally broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower and I'll portion out a lot of broccoli or califlowee with a small amount of carrots and I'll generally steam or roast them with spices and salt and pepper. I've also done grilled asparagus, grilled mushrooms and zucchini, and even baked egg plant.

    For my protein I use mock meats (generally grilled vegan chicken breast), tempeh, tofu (baked with sesame oil), or I'll add more beans. I'm a vegan so what I use as my main protein will likely be different from what you use. I'm assuming you can use regular grilled chicken breast as well. Play with spices, that's how you make it enjoyable.

    I'm a type one diabetic so I understand the struggle of needing extra sugar every so often. Get your blood sugar under control. If you're low try to eat just enough pure sugar so you don't eat too many calories.
  • Raccoonii
    Raccoonii Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm pretty much planning for lunch and stuff to eat while I'm away from home so that I'm not tempted to swing into the subway that's next to where I work. But breakfast and dinner ideas are also welcomed. I'm trying to come up with a decent shopping list and play around with recipes and make some good stuff that'll be easy to grab in the morning before I go to the gym. Keep 'em coming :smile:
  • dahliagrower11
    dahliagrower11 Posts: 39 Member
    I have access to a small kitchen at work ... so I will throw a bunch of salad stuff into my bag each day (lettuce, kale, cucumber, tomato, broccoli, cabbage - whatever is in there) ... with either hard boiled egg(s) - an avocado or some sort of left over protein .... I keep some stuff at work in the fridge - salad dressing - salsa - a container of nuts/seeds - crackers and some hummus ..... I also keep some lean cuisine in the freezer for the emergency days when I don't have time to prep/plan anything else. I find the hummus/crackers work for me in the mid-afternoon as they get me through to dinner.
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
    I do my prep on Sunday (though this week it'll be Monday!). Breakfast and lunch.

    For the week's breakfast, I make a batch of oatmeal flour based muffins/pancakes/crepes/tortillas. In the morning, I do a quick microwave of the portion, add some fruit, and eat at leisure at the office, together with coffee. The whole deal comes in at between 350 and 400 calories, with a nice heap of fiber and potassium.

    For lunch, I've taken to braising 3-or-4-oz portions of beef in a combo of low sodium beef broth, spiced rum, seasonings, a little mustard and a little ketchup (no added salt). In the morning, one portion gets microwaved to room temp and either made into a sandwich or cut up into a salad. Some more fruit (cherries this week!!). This meal also weighs in at not more than 450 calories.

    I'm concentrating on beef in order to build up B12, which was lacking for a while, and I'm not brave enough to open a container of sardines in the office; but I do similar prep with chicken cutlets. Sardines do make a nice addition to a salad, though, and pack a lot of nutritional bang for the caloric buck.

    Sometimes, I'll make a tortilla espanola (basically a potato and onion omelet), portion that out and have that during the week, too.
  • hollyrayburn
    hollyrayburn Posts: 905 Member
    Buy a crap ton of chicken, like 5 pounds. Saute or bake it for the week. Make lotsa servings of rice, quinoa, potato, something like that. Lots of bags of steamed or fresh veggies. Assemble meals in size Glenn serve containers. Reheat when needed.
  • besee_2000
    besee_2000 Posts: 365 Member
    If I'm on top of things, I bake a few frozen breast at 350*F for 55min or so. I just bought a oven safe thermometer to make sure its cooked through without over-drying it. I make big batches of spices that I just shake over the chicken and throw into the oven. Some weeks I'll cook up some lentils that I season and separate into easy grab-able containers. Separate some spinach and random veggies as a salad into old chinese take-out containers, too. Makes lunch prepping time fast. Again if I'm on top of things.
  • Vegplotter
    Vegplotter Posts: 265 Member
    Soup is the simple solution. It can be cooked in big batches and then transferred to a thermos. Add chopped chives, croutons or parsley for extra bite. Soups really fill you up.
  • hollyrayburn
    hollyrayburn Posts: 905 Member
    Vegplotter wrote: »
    Soup is the simple solution. It can be cooked in big batches and then transferred to a thermos. Add chopped chives, croutons or parsley for extra bite. Soups really fill you up.

    Soup is a lunchtime favorite!
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    Lunch for 150-300 cals. I prep on Sunday and reheat at work.

    Soups - seafood gumbo, chicken noodle, etc.
    Wraps - lunch meat, low carb tortilla, veggies, yogurt dressing
    Salads - lettuce/spinach, veggies, protein, yogurt dressing
    Beef Stroganoff- http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/BeefStroganoffLowFat.htm
    Mediterranean stuffed peppers (I sub quinoa for rice)- http://www.bumblebee.com/recipes/mediterranean-stuffed-peppers/
    Stir fry - chicken/beef/seafood, oriental veggies, teriyaki, rice
    Fish and mushroom casserole with crispy phyllo - http://mobile.eatingwell.com/recipes/fish_mushroom_casserole.html
    Saxon chicken with peppers and onions - https://mobile.fatsecret.com/recipes/sazon-chicken-with-peppers-and-onions/Default.aspx
    Shrimp Mykonos - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/orzo-with-shrimp-feta-cheese-and-white-wine-107904

    Simplest of all - protein + carb + veggie.
  • cdarned
    cdarned Posts: 9 Member
    Coconut crusted tilapia or cod cooked in organic coconut oil. Have a large side portion of sauteed veggies with fresh garlic and olive oil. End with watermelon for dessert. Fresh squeezed lemon on fish and veggies. This is one of my favorites. I cook enough for 2 days and separate into glass containers for microwaving at work.
  • MamaMc3
    MamaMc3 Posts: 213 Member
    Marinate and bake or grill a bunch of chicken on the weekend. Take some with a salad, a single serve frozen veggie, etc. I also have Lean Cuisines on hand for crazy busy times. Soup is good. You can also make a big batch of burritos and freeze them in packs of one or two.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    I follow a low-carb diet, so my meals tend to consist of protein, veggies, and fats.

    I'll batch-cook chicken and roasts, portion them out into trays, then add some frozen veggies and fats (usually olives, avocado, coconut oil, or maybe some gravy if it's for the beef roast). They go back into the freezer for quick microwave meals or to take with me when I travel for work.

    It helps that I find monotony for the majority of my meals to be helpful. The less I focus on food, the better. And it's much easier and less energy-intensive this way!
  • BillMcKay1
    BillMcKay1 Posts: 315 Member
    Sunday I grill up a week's worth of chicken breast for myself and my wife. Cook up 2 cups of brown rice and put it all in the fridge. Daily for lunches we grab 4oz portion of chicken 1/3c of rice and make a salad. Lunch done. Add in a couple protein shakes each for morning and afternoon meals.

    Takes maybe 40mins on sunday to get it all ready.
  • mclelis
    mclelis Posts: 26 Member
    hollyrayburn wrote: »
    Buy a crap ton of chicken, like 5 pounds. Saute or bake it for the week. Make lotsa servings of rice, quinoa, potato, something like that. Lots of bags of steamed or fresh veggies. Assemble meals in size Glenn serve containers. Reheat when needed.

    I do this and then I weigh and wrap in 3, 4 and 5 oz servings so they are quick to grab and add to veggies or eat alone if I need a quick protein fix!
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
    Later on today, I'll be prepping my lunches for the week (I'm trapped by needy kitties at the moment). But this morning, it took about 10 minutes to prep an oatmeal and oat flour based loaf which will serve as my breakfast base for the week. Cooking time was about 30 minutes, and the kitchen filled nicely with whiffs of cinnamon and ginger. A 1-inch slice breaks down to 341 calories: 7g of fiber, 11g of protein, a nice heap of 210mg of potassium, a measly 54 mg of sodium (yay!) and, 4g of saturated fat - more than I like per meal, but we can deal with that - that's the egg, whole milk, olive oil; and the dark chocolate chips I threw in for fun.

    The lunches will be centered on my braised top-round steak thins (6 in all, each one weighing in at between 3 and 4 ounces - braising liquid will be based on low sodium beef broth and spiced rum. No added salt). It'll take me about 40 minutes, start to finish.
  • mekikya
    mekikya Posts: 19 Member
    Hard boiled eggs are my go to during the week. I make a dozen and bring two to work. One in the morning and 1 in the afternoon to hold me. I usually bring some veggie, like carrot sticks if I feel the craving to chew on something. Or gum sometimes helps.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    edited May 2016
    I'm also diabetic (who is obsessed with meal planning/prepping). What works for me is prepping all the fruits/vegetables I will be using for the week (peppers are cut, mushrooms washed, berries are washed, etc.) and then pre-packing my lunches and afternoon snacks for the upcoming week. Typically, I like to batch cook a package of chicken (or use up whatever leftovers there are from the weekend, such as smoked sausage, chicken breasts, chilis, or casseroles), combine it with some cauliflower rice/zucchini noodles (regular pasta and rice are the devil for my BG), and add some extra nonstarchy vegetables that will hold up to being nuked in the microwave (green beans, asparagus, broccoli, etc) for my lunch. I throw everything into 2.5-cup Rubbermaid Takealong containers and prelog it as soon as I weigh out everything. I also use the 2.5-cup containers for carrying a ton of chopped raw vegetables as an afternoon snack (I often combine it with some guacamole, cheese, and/or a piece of fruit). The entire process (from the time I first start prepping the fruits/vegetables until the time I am done prelogging - a solid 40 minutes is spent screaming at MFP because it takes so long to load everything to prelog) takes about 1.5-2.5 hours.
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
    Just added another item to play with - for lunch, I'd decided on a salad composed mostly of broccoli slaw and a packaged Asian Salad mix. Planned on a dressing made of Fage 0% Greek yogurt as a kind of mayo substitute (I'm not crazy about mayo). Well, I noticed a package of small sweet peppers in the fridge, and leftover baby rainbow carrots from my big-salad contribution to a barbecue yesterday. And - oh! The small multi-colored tomatoes, too; and, oh, the watercress for a peppery touch ...! Well, by the time I was finished, I had way too much salad to have at one sitting. So I divided it up. Tossed a small can of tuna into my today-helping, and have the rest of the veggies happily marinating in the yogurt, in the fridge, for options during the week.
  • xXKalorieKillerXx
    xXKalorieKillerXx Posts: 4 Member
    I do 4 to 5Oz chicken breast shredded with a 2/3cup mixed frozen veggies and 2/3 rice. Seasoned to my mood of the day. That's my dinner meal option 2 is 4oz beef cubed or shredded seasoned to taste with 2 cups broccoli and 2/3 rice. Tuna salad wraps in lettuce or organic wraps are another meal prep menu for me. My lunches consist of a variety of tree nuts and dried fruit totaling 1 cup with a Greek yogurt cup.

    Simple meals easy to prep can stack a week in a few minutes.

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