By: Sara
Meal prepping is the best way to prepare complete meals or dishes ahead of schedule. It can save you time, and money. It can also help you reach your nutrition goals! Meal prep can be done on any day of the week but I find it best to prepare on Sunday. Depending on how much you prep ahead of time, It can take anywhere from an hour to several depending on how much food you want to make and for how many people.
A good rule of thumb is to prep foods that have a longer shelf life for the end of the week. You can also make large batches of freezable items to defrost for months to come. I hope that my lists and examples can help, if you have any questions or suggestions let me know in the comments!
Steps to meal prep a checklist:
- Buy or make sure you have meal prep containers
- Plan what meals you want to make for the week (breakfasts, lunches, and dinners)
- Make a shopping list of the things that you will need
- Prep the food
- Start with cooking the foods that take the longest – shortest
- Place the food in containers labeled for the day that they will be eaten
Planning what food to buy:
- Plan two or three proteins for the week
- Plan three or four different vegetables for the week
- Plan two or three carbs for the week
- Plan two or three breakfasts
You can choose to do more or less but this is what I recommend so you have more than one meal but not too many that it will take forever to make.
Example meal prep list:
- Protein – chicken, salmon, eggs
- Vegetables- broccoli, bag salad, zucchini or squash, asparagus
- Carbs- Sweet or regular potato, brown rice, chickpeas
- Breakfasts- overnight oats, frozen protein pancakes, cereal
Make sure to get enough to last the week
Aim for one protein, two vegetables, and one carb per meal
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| Breakfast | Cereal | Overnight oats | Pancakes | Overnight oats | Pancakes |
| Lunch | Chicken,broccoli, asparagus, brown rice | Hard boiled eggs, bag salad, zucchini, chickpeas | Salmon, broccoli, bag salad, sweet potato | Chicken, broccoli, asparagus, brown rice | Salmon, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potato |
| Dinner | Hard boiled eggs, bag salad, zucchini, chickpeas | Chicken, broccoli, asparagus, brown rice | Chicken, broccoli, asparagus, brown rice | Salmon, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potato | Chicken, bag salad, zucchini, chickpeas |
For healthy quick and delicious recipes check out my cookbook coming soon! For great meal ideas check out my Instagram 80.20.cooking
Here are some extra meal ideas! 🙂
More example meal prep list:
- Protein- tofu, tuna, steak, shrimp
- Vegetables- Cauliflower, different bag salad, brussel sprouts, peppers
- Carbs- Sweet or regular potato, quinoa, pasta
- Breakfasts- eggs, yogurt with berries, smoothie, oats
-Meal prep is totally customizable for each person and can be done in many different ways, remember to leave any questions in the comments. Good luck!