Meal Prep For A Week

Meal Prep for the week.

Instead of just talking to you about meal prep and meals throughout the week, I thought I would show you what a typical week looks like for me.

I am prepping salad.

I always start with veggies and then build around them.

I have been making this same salad every Sunday or Monday for about four years. We have yet to get bored with it. I used to prep it and keep it in a sealed bowl, but the veggies would go bad quickly. Then I bought these Rubbermaid Food Savers, which gave me more time.

Putting the hardier veggies on the bottom and the more delicate ones at the top makes a big difference, too. The layers always go – Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, then tomatoes. We get a good six days with this system.

We use this mix as a topping to a spring mix of lettuce. I already prepped and washed, so I don’t have to do that. We eat these salads as a side with our dinner; we make it our dinner by plating more and adding a protein on top, and we also use it as a lunch, again paired with a protein.

Any leftover cucumber or tomatoes will be used as a snack throughout the week.

Veggies for eggs.

I chop bell peppers and onion to eat with my eggs. I also bought a bag of cleaned and ready-to-eat spinach to go in it, too.

I prep an egg pan with a short canola oil spray, add a little water, and then add the amount of veggies I want—onions, peppers, and spinach. Once the spinach is wilted and the water evaporates, I put my scrambled eggs on top and stir until set. This has been my first meal for years. I love it.

Veggies for dinners.

I usually plan out my dinners throughout the week. It is easier when I know what we will be eating to help me stay on track.

Roasted Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

On Mondays, I try to make it as clean and lean as possible because I know at least one point in the weekend it wasn’t. So this week was roasted chicken and Brussels sprouts with my favorite spices. I won’t prep the Brussels sprouts in advance; I will clean and cut them quickly before I toss them in the oven. While those are cooking for 20 minutes, I prep the chicken. Then, toss the chicken on top until it is cooked through.

Make Your Tacos

Taco Taco TUESDAY! Usually, no veggie prep is needed for taco day, but this is my kid’s favorite meal. He eats tacos in a tortilla wrap. And jason and I will cycle through eating taco meat on a salad, in a wrap, on a potato, and this week as a taco bowl. I made cauliflower rice after chopping all the other veggies and saved it in a meal prep container. You can sauté the cauliflower rice on the stovetop or, like I did this week, measure it out into a bowl and pop it into the microwave for a few minutes. Then, topped it with taco meat, black beans, salsa, plain Greek yogurt, and some shredded cheese.

If you prep the taco meat in advance, you can use it for dinner and lunches in any variation you choose. It is easy to cook, save, and reheat.

Cauliflower Rice

Riced cauliflower can take some time to get used to. (Same with substituting Greek Yogurt for mayo or sour cream.) But making that simple swap of the cruciferous veggie for the starchy carb makes a huge difference in calories and volume. If you are the type of person who needs a lot of food (me!), then this swap works wonders. I get to eat so much more when I use cauliflower rice.

It can be used as a base for a dish, like my taco bowl, or seasoned to your liking and used as a side. I add it to my scrambled eggs when I feel hungry or run out of peppers and onions.

It is super convenient to portion up and freeze, too. Buy a bunch of cauliflower, rice it up, portion it into freezer bags, and pull it out when needed. It is quick to heat and eat.

Crockpot Turkey Chili

Wednesday was Crockpot Turkey chili, which calls for red onion and bell peppers, so I prep that after the salad and keep them in these excellent meal prep containers. They fit well in the fridge. It doesn’t matter when I make chili in the week, but it makes the process much smoother when the veggies are ready. The one nice thing about this recipe is that you only cook the ground turkey and season it how you want. Then, throw Everything else into the crock pot for the day. You could also make it easier by making the ground turkey in advance; then, it is toss, set, and forget.

The whole Crockpot Turkey Chili Recipe is below.

To get the right macros for big-batch meals like this chili, I weigh Everything out on a food scale before I put it in the crockpot. I put all of the information into the My FitnessPal app. After the chili, I let it cool and weighed the whole dish. Then, divide that by the number of servings that suit that dish. So, I decided to cook this chili in eight servings. Divide the total weight in grams by eight servings; then that number is what I aim for when serving myself. I use that food scale more than anything else in the kitchen. I have even used it to weigh mail.

Leftovers

We save all the leftovers each night in those meal prep containers in which I put the prepped veggies. And sometimes, we weigh and portion a meal (like chili) out so we can grab a container and put it in the microwave when needed and already know the macros. (This is the >> scale << that I use) Most others, like taco meat or chicken, just all go in one container, then weigh it out when ready to use.

Thursday and Saturday are leftover days. So we eat any of the above again, usually in a different form. The leftover chicken I might turn into a chicken salad. Or put some leftover chili on top of a baked potato or on top of the leftover cauliflower rice.

And I always keep canned tuna on hand for a super quick dinner if I didn’t make dinner, or use it as a lunch, or we run out of leftovers. I mix tuna with Greek yogurt and throw it on top of a salad, wrap, or bread. When I eat tuna in most lunches, it is just tuna and Greek yogurt mixed from a bowl. Even my kid will eat it that way.

Then, start over again on Sunday.

I know you are asking: “What happens on Friday?” Well, we do our grocery shopping on Friday and eat at our favorite grocery store, Wegmans! Their cafe has plenty of options ranging from healthy to not-so-calorie-friendly. It is our family date night. With the bonus of eating before shopping, all the snack temptations stay on the shelves. Going grocery shopping while hungry can be dangerous for your wallet and pant size.

I try to keep meals as simple and basic as possible, but can still be used repeatedly and in different forms.

The salad is a real-life (waistline) saver. Especially those nights when you want pizza, the salad is already there and ready to eat.

My Ideal Eating Schedule Looks Like This:

Remember, not every day will be perfect, but this is what I strive for. Most of the time, it doesn’t happen anymore; I work on it daily.

What I Drink

The BSN Protein is something that I started drinking years ago. I have bounced around from brand to brand to try other versions, and this BSN Protein is by far my favorite. I always come back to it.

I started drinking this protein back in 2015. However, I started using the Amazing Grass Green Superfood three months ago in October. And they sure have been a great addition to the routine. My husband recently lost over 30 pounds and attributed much of his success to using those greens.

My Contigo water bottle is never far away from me. I take it everywhere. The fluid ounces are printed on the side to help me keep track of how much I am drinking. I try to set ounces of water goals for myself. And that also changes with the day.

If I know I will be in the car for a long time, I don’t drink as much beforehand. Then, when I get home, I chug.

The only beverages I drink daily (other than water, greens, and protein) are coffee with unsweetened almond milk in the morning and tea at night.

Occasionally, I will drink sparkling water during the day. And because I am not used to drinking carbonation, it helps to make me feel complete. So, the carbonation is handy when I am starving or have the munchies.

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Summary

• I build my meals around a LOT of veggies and a few easy meats.
• It doesn’t have to be complicated to be healthy.
• Pick meals that you can use over and over in different variations
• Prep any veggies and meats ahead of time to help you stay on track.
• Using the proper containers like the Rubbermaid Food Savers or the meal prep containers makes it easier and keeps your food fresher for longer.
• If you count calories, using a food scale helps you stay more accurate.
• Using veggie-based swaps over starchy products allows you to eat more volume and keep your calories in check.
• Don’t go grocery shopping while hungry.
• What you drink matters, too. Buy a water bottle with the measurements printed and stay hydrated.

Click Here To Watch The Full Video On Meal Prep For The Week