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Why do you meal prep? There are multiple reasons people decide to take a day or two and pre-make meals including convenience for a busy life or dieting for health and weight loss. Below I have listed 20 healthy meal prep recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and guaranteed to make your week easier.
Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas:
Prepping breakfast is the best way to get a jump start on the day! They are great for simplifying things and making you sure you eat something healthy and tasty before you go off to work. These breakfast meal prep recipes are prefect for an after workout meal or snack as well.
1. Mason Jar Breakfast
Place a half cup of oats (old fashioned), 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, cup of almond milk, handful fresh raspberries, overnight in fridge- Prep multiples with no milk, then fill with milk night before consuming.
- ½ cup oats per jar (old fashioned)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 cup almond milk
- handful fresh berries
Mix all ingredients together, cover with mason jar lid and place in refrigerator overnight for a tasty yet healthy breakfast. If you make a few for the week, they will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
2. Egg Muffin
- A handful of diced tomatoes- I use 1 large garden tomatoe
- 1 each red and green bell pepper
- Cup of spinach
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 12 eggs
- 1-2 Tomatoes depending on size
Chop vegetables and set aside. Crack and whip 12 eggs. Add in vegetables. Pour in muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Sprinkle with low fat cheese (optional). Cool and store in refrigerator in batches of 2-4 for breakfast or snack.
3. Meal Prep Smoothies
These delicious smoothies can quickly and easily be prepped ahead of time to make for a dash out the door breakfast alternative.
Greek yogurt, delicious fruit and just the right amount of greens create a healthy way to start the day! Grap the recipe from iHeartNaptime.com.
4. No Bake Energy Bites
This simple 5 ingredient make ahead snack is perfect for a quick bite in the morning, after a workout or as a midnight snack. These delicious little balls of goodness include just oats, flax seed, honey, dark chips, peanut butter. Yum!
- 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter.
- 1/2 cup ground flax seeds.
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/3 agave nectar or organic honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Mix all ingredients in large bowl, then place in refrigerator to cool. Once mixture is slightly firm, you can make it into bite sized balls, package and store for later. Will keep in refrigerator for up to one week.
5. Breakfast Egg Muffins
Grab some whole wheat or sour dough english muffins (6), six eggs, half slice of cheese, 2 pieces of turkey bacon. Cook, wrap, freeze. The perfect breakfast on the go for adults and kids!
Ingredients:
- 1 package english muffins
- 6 eggs (egg whites for healthier alternative)
- 3 slices cheese
- 12 slices of turkey bacon
Cook eggs, can be scrambled or firm fried. Cook turkey bacon. Add one egg, 2 slices of turkey bacon and ½ slice of cheese per muffin. Assemble, cool, wrap and save. Can be frozen or refrigerated.
6. Low Carb Waffles
Who said eating healthy and prepping couldn’t be tasty? Low carb waffles are an easy to prep meal that offers a hint of normal to what can quickly become a litany of strange recipes. Get the recipe from Delish here.
Lunch and Dinner Meal Prep Recipes
Lunch and Dinner are the best meals to prep for the week because they take such a chunk of time. All you have to grab a box, heat, and eat! These are great for kids as well especially if you have a late night and don’t have time to cook. My son tends to eat these after he gets home from school- going through a hungry phase, ack!
7. Salsa Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 cup homemade salsa (My favorite salsa comes from Gimme Some Oven)
Place chicken breast on bottom of crock pot, cover with salsa, salt/pepper seasoning and ½ cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and place in multiple easy to grab containers for a simple lunch or dinner. Add some veggies and a black bean salad or lettuce to make lettuce tacos.
8. Sweet Potato Pot Roast
- Small pot roast
- 1 small onion
- ½ pound carrots
- 3 stalks of celery chopped
- Salt and pepper to preference
- 2 Med Sweet Potatoes
Combine roast, onions, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes and seasoning in crock pot. Cook on low 4-6 hours. Shred meat and place in to-go containers. These healthy meal prep recipes make the most ideal combination of protein and healthy carbs. if you are on a low carb diet, a paleo diet, or just trying to watch your carb in take, this super simple recipe is great. Sometimes I throw in a little horseradish for an extra kick on the side- my grandmothers favorite.
9. One Pan Mexican Quinoa
I absolutely adore this meal! This quinoa dish is super hearty, filling and full of flavor. Its perfect for a satisfying lunch or dinner. Its easy to make and perfect for meal prepping. I will full up a full container of this meal (minus the avocado) and then that day, chop the avocado and add a few fresh veggies or salad. Its perfect!
Head on over the DamnDelicious.net for this amazing recipe.
10. Paleo Mexican Cauliflower Fried Rice
This dish is something between an awesome burrito bowl and a spicy veggie casserole. Store in airtight containers and the night before place a scoop of guacamole or cup up avocado in the lunch box along with a small salad. It all goes great with chipolte ranch dressing. Don’t forget the jalapenos!! I do love my food a bit spicy. Find this delicious recipe from Paleo Running Momma.
11. Smokey Bacon Chili
This meal can be prepped a week or three in advance and frozen until ready to use. In my lunch boxes I toss in about 1 cup of chilli and some cut up fruit along with a mini corn muffin for the week and its all taken care of.
Grab this recipe at Paleomg.com and get started with your chilli meal prepping!
12. Slow Cooked Cabbage Soup
Cabbage and crock pots are almost as American as apple pie and grandma! They are also a fantastic way to create a go to healthy meal for even the busiest of schedules.
Cabbage, green beans, carrots and a variety of other healthy vegetables make this an ideal meal prep dish. I store in single serving to go cups and enjoy my healthy meal at the office for lunch or for dinner during the busy week. This cabbage soup recipe can be found on iheartnaptime.com ‘s blog!
13. Low Carb Lasagna
Who doesn’t love a plate of Italian goodness in the form of lasagna? This healthy alternative replaces high carb noodles with spaghetti squash and is easy to prep. Grab the recipe from SweetpeasandSaffrom.com.
14. Chicken Fajita Lunch Bowls
Baked chicken, peppers, corn and balsamic rice, not to mention some fantastically fragrant spices, come together for an easy to prep yet tasty lunch. Take these amazing chicken fajita lunch bowls to school or lunch and be the envy of all your peers.
15. Pork Carnitas
You will always see a lot of chicken or ground turkey on the healthy meal prep menu, but that is not to say pork is never an option. Take these pork carnitas bowls from Eazy Peazy Mealz into consideration. They combine delicious pork, cilantro, black beans and more into a simple prep meal that will leave you feeling full and satisfied.
16. Vegetable Soup
Veggie soup is an all time favorite and one recipe that is always easy to tweak to your own personal taste preferences. This particular recipe calls for all the basic vegetables plus zucchini, cauliflower, peas and tomatoes. If you are a soup fan, you will love our list of 25 winter soup recipes that also make great healthy meal prep recipes!
17. Spicy Honey Garlic Noodles
Sometimes you want it spicy, sweet and now! This pretty much sums up the spicy honey garlic noodles you can create in your instapot. Garlic, noodles, broccoli florets and colorful peppers create a flavorful and appealing lunch for any day of the week. Recipe from Eating Instantly!
18. Pan Roasted Salmon and Rice
Is there anything more healthy than salmon? It doesn’t fit every taste bud, but for those who love seafood and fish, this is a good healthy meal prep recipe. A Sweet Pea Chef has the down low for you on this meal.
19. Cauliflower Fried Rice and Chicken
When it comes to getting healthy and losing weight a lot of people are moving away from rice dishes and searching for ways to incorporate vegetables. Cauliflower rice is one way to do both! Fresh cauliflower can be grated and then prepared as a substitute for white rice. Check out this tasty dish from FlavCity.com and see if it is not better than a rice infused dish.
20. Chocolate Bark Snack
No list of healthy meal prep recipes would be complete without at least one simple snack, such as these sweet and salty bark bars. Chocolate chips, pretzels and coconut flakes are just a few of the yummy ingredients on the list. Find the recipe from Delish!
The benefits of meal prepping has been pretty much a total game changer for me. Its helped with my weight, my pocketbook, my sanity, its given me back my time during the week, and its allowed me to feed my family healthier meals.
Our Favorite Meal Prep Container are glass so you easily pop them into the microwave and are better/safer for the environment.
These are made from eco-friendly borosilicate glass, the food storage containers are freezable, microwavable and oven safe. They also have nice snap-able lids.
You can find the containers at Amazon. They have lasted me for several years now and I would not be able to have such an easy time prepping without these guys!