Master Your Meal Prep: Stay on Track and Achieve Your Goals!

How many times a week do you skip breakfast and lunch altogether to get to dinner time and binge everything in sight? How about the number of times you cook mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets for lunch and eat off the kids’ plates because you didn’t make anything for yourself? This is an all too common problem, especially for a busy woman. Meal prepping your lunches will not only help you reach those fitness goals you aspire to, but it will also save you so much time throughout the week. Let’s look at a few ways to master meal prep to achieve your goals + lunch combinations to try today!

Meal Plan

What’s cookin’, good lookin’? First, we need to know what will be on the menu for the week! If you are new to meal prep, I suggest making two different lunches for one week. This will slowly help you grow into a meal prep queen! Some women meal prep for a month and freeze meals, but this is often how people get burnt out when first starting. You don’t need meals for a month right now; you need them for the week.

What you need

> Protein
> Veggie
> Carb

When choosing what protein you want to make, identify your goals.

Muscle Building—If you want to build muscle, choose high-protein sources like fish and chicken. High-protein sources will help build and repair those muscle tissues you are breaking down in the gym to build for growth.

Weight Loss—If you want to lose weight, choose a lean protein source that is lower in calories, such as chicken, turkey, or pork loin. Protein can help you feel fuller longer, so eating lean protein will help curb your appetite so you don’t feel hungry throughout the day.

Plant-Based—If you don’t eat meat products, you still have many protein options: beans, tofu, and quinoa, to name a few. We have made beans our source of protein plenty of times due to their inexpensive cost and convenience.
*Be sure to check for dietary restrictions or talk with a nutritionist about the best protein options to meet your health goals.

After you know your goals and choose a protein that supports them, it’s time to decide what vegetables and carbohydrates to use. I will list a few of my favorites below, but choose what suits your diet and taste preferences.

Veggies

> Broccoli
> Green Beans
> Brussel Sprouts
> Spinach
> Bell Peppers
> Cauliflower
> Mixed Vegetable Blend

Carbohydrates

> White Rice
> Sweet Potatoes
> White Potatoes
> Pasta Noodles
> Legumes (chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils)
> Brown Rice

Grocery Shopping

Now that we have our two meal options, we need to make a grocery list and go shopping!!! I like to do this on Saturday so that I can cook on Sunday. Whenever I make meals for the week, I make two types of lunches that I will eat Monday through Friday. Remember, when you go to the store, you need to grab enough items for 4-5 meals.

Example Grocery List

Protein: Costco pack of chicken and lean beef.
Veggie: Costco bag of frozen green beans, fresh broccoli, bell peppers.
Carb: 3-4 Sweet potatoes, white rice, and corn.

My go-to lunch recipes are: Chicken, sweet potato, and green beans or lean beef, white rice, bell peppers, and corn. Again, choose two lunch options that will work with your diet and goals.

Cooking

Choose a day that works best for your schedule. Like I said, Saturday works best for me to go shopping so that I can cook on Sunday. This whole process usually only takes about an hour or so, depending on whether I am prepping other meals, but the lunch part is super quick! If you are a beginner to this meal-prepping thing, then set aside about three hours of time to cook, but don’t worry, as you do this process more and more, it gets faster and easier.

If you make a habit of meal-prepping once a week, you will see the benefits in your overall physique, energy, and time! Remember, start small with meal-prepping lunches for a month. After you get used to it and in a routine, start dinners and other food items over time.

Lunch combination ideas

Grilled Chicken Bowl
> grilled chicken breast
> brown rice
> steamed broccoli

Taco Salad Bowl
> beef
> lettuce
> corn
> black beans
> white rice
> light dressing

Baked Salmon
> baked salmon
> cilantro white rice
> spinach

Savory Pork Loin
> pork loin
> sweet potato or golden potato
> green beans

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
> chickpeas
> diced red onion
> diced tomatoes
> diced cucumber
> diced red peppers
> feta cheese
> salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil dressing
> dill and parsley