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Short on time? Hate cooking? Or do you enjoy cooking but want to try something new in the kitchen? I typically meal prep over the course of a weekend by first making a protein and a carb dish and then mixing them together. In this article, I will walk you through this process of making simple, delicious meals that you can grab-and-go throughout the week.
Prepare Your Protein Source (Chicken)
This week I’ve prepped my meals over the course of two days: Saturday and Sunday. Friday night I washed, trimmed, and seasoned two chicken breasts and placed them in a small crock pot to cook on low for 8 hours overnight. Saturday morning, the chicken was perfectly tender and easy to shred with tongs. Next, I divided the shredded chicken into six portions. I put the chicken away in the fridge and paused the rest of my meal prep until Sunday. Check out this article for additional ways to cook perfect chicken.
Add Some Carbs (Potatoes)
Sunday morning, I washed, peeled, and diced up two sweet potatoes and one white potato. I also elected to use up some Alexa Sweet Potato fries from my freezer. I set the oven to 425-deg F and baked the fries for about 25 minutes and the diced potatoes for about 35 minutes or until brown. Once the potatoes were cooked, I took the six portions of shredded chicken out of the fridge and put about 150g of potatoes into each container. Click here for more information about cooking perfect sweet potatoes.
Finalize with Veggies, Seasonings, and Sauces
I’m huge on using frozen veggies because I think the taste and cost per serving is unbeatable compared to fresh veggies. Fresh veggies have a lifespan, and if for whatever reason I don’t eat all the veggies I buy within a few days, I end up wasting food. I typically buy the microwavable frozen veggie bags because they provide about 3-4 servings per bag, which is great for meal prep. This weekend, I cooked a bag of California blend (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), and added it to the shredded chicken and potato meals. Feel free to mix it up and use whatever veggies you like. By incorporating veggies into the pre-made meals, it forces you to eat your vegetables because they’re already cooked and included with the other foods.
You can also add seasonings: salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, etc, as well as sauces: hot sauce, salsa, ketchup, mustard, or salad dressings to make the meals more flavorful. I tend to add these dressings or sauces on just before I’m about to eat the meal so that the food doesn’t get soggy in the refrigerator.
TL;DR: Meal Prep Isn’t Difficult
You don’t have to be a good chef or even spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Between the two days of meal prep, I probably spent about an hour total and was able to make six meals.
The key steps to meal prep are:
- Pick a protein source that you like to eat: chicken, beef, fish, tofu, etc.
- Choose a carb source that you also like to eat: potatoes, rice, pasta
- Add some veggies, seasonings, and sauces. If your meal plan requires added fats such as olive oil or nuts, feel free to add those in too. Be sure to emphasize choosing foods you LIKE; otherwise, it will be much more difficult to eat the meals you’ve prepared.
Additional tips:
- Use shortcuts such as crockpot shredded chicken, minute rice, and frozen microwavable veggies to help save time.
- Portion foods using the typical serving size per bag or with a small food scale. With time and practice your meal prep skills will improve, and you’ll be able to mix and match multiple protein and carb sources to have a diverse selection of meals for the week.
Questions? Feel free to drop a comment below.
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