3 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas for the Week
Healthy Meal Prep Ideas for the Week
Ready for some seriously delicious and EASY healthy meal prep ideas for the week? I’m sharing with you three of my favorite recipes for healthy meal prep for lunch or meal prep dinner sides.
I love these recipes because they are so simple, tasty AND packed with nutrient-rich ingredients. PLUS they go with so many different main dishes. So whether you’re creating a healthy meal plan as a vegetarian or as an omnivore - these will work for you!
So read on to get the recipes or you can also watch the full video here.
How to Healthy Meal Prep
First off, let’s talk about how to healthy meal prep for the week. I am a bit unconventional in my meal prep approach….because I like things fresh and I also can’t imagine spending more than an hour in the kitchen to pack things up and just reheat them during the week.
So meal prep for me needs to be quick, interesting AND FRESH!
Many people think that the only way to do meal prep is to spend 3 to 4 hours working on #mealprepgoals with rows of perfectly packed containers. But in fact there is another way that actually takes LESS time overall plus includes MORE variety than just chicken/tofu and veggies.
This is my system; First, I make time to find interesting recipes every month. We are much more likely to stick to healthy eating and a meal plan if it’s interesting.
Now I know that it can be intimidating or time-consuming to find recipes, but I show clients exactly what to look for based on their goals (strength, weight loss, endurance, etc) and I show them how to find each recipe in 5 minutes or less.
If you also want to know how to do quicker and smarter meal prep recipe research, you can get my How to Create a 30 Day Meal Plan that Isn’t Boring workshop here.
Now, that I’ve got my recipes, I’ll move onto figuring out what to cook in advance and what to cook fresh. (This is also something I teach in that workshop.) Anything that can be cooked in advance, I’ll do in 45 min or LESS on a Sunday. It might seem like that’s not possible but I have refined this system over the years for myself and for many clients and it 100% works.
Anything fresh, I’ll plan to cook throughout the week. This includes veggies as well as proteins such as fish, chicken or tofu. I’ll spend a max of 20 minutes but usually 15 a day preparing the fresh stuff. That’s the power of planning!
This is also something that I do for my clients - I create their full meal plans in a way that some recipes are made in advance but others fresh and ALL in a way that works for their schedule.
No more soggy veggies or luke-warm and flavorless proteins!
So healthy meal prep comes down to three things: smart time management, a flexible but powerful plan and efficient recipe research. If you can do those three things - you can master healthy eating, meal prep and STILL ENJOY IT!
Remember if you want help with this, try that How to Create a 30 Day Meal Plan that isn’t Boring workshop here! 
Healthy Meal Prep for Lunch & Meal Prep Dinners
Ok, so let’s get into the recipes for you! These meal prep ideas can be used for lunch or for dinner as you like! They will each make multiple servings and can pair well with any protein - whether you’re a vegetarian, vegan or omnivore.
Healthy Meal Prep Idea 1: Fattoush Salad
This is a delicious salad with a homemade dressing that you can tweak to your taste. I recommend preparing the dressing in advance along with chopping the veggies. Only put the salad together once you’re ready to serve it. This way everything stays nice and crisp.
2 to 4 servings
Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pack fresh mixed leaf salad
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 handful mint chopped
- 1 handful parsley chopped
- 1 handful radishes sliced thinly
Dressing Ingredients
- Juice ½ lime
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- ½ tbsp sumac
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp allspice
- Salt + pepper to taste
Mix all veggies together in a large bowl. Then mix dressing ingredients together. Finally pour dressing over salad and serve. You can also toast pita and mix it in for extra texture!
Healthy Meal Prep Idea 2: Grilled Veggie Skewers
I love this recipe because there are so many possibilities! Use the ingredients as listed or use your favorite veggies. You can also add protein to the skewers for a complete meal. And Guess what? The best part about this meal prep recipe is that it’s so quick to cook. It takes just 4 to 6 minutes under the grill and very little added oil - making it super healthy for you!
I recommend that you pre-cut the veggies (and marinate any protein before) but do not actually cook until you’re ready to eat these.
2 Servings
Recipe Ingredients
- 1 red pepper cut bite-sized
- 1 yellow pepper cut bite-sized
- 1 onion cut in quarters
- Protein of choice (optional)
Place all ingredients on a metal or bamboo skewer and broil in the oven for 4 to 6 minutes. Be sure to turn them over halfway through the cooking time.
Healthy Meal Prep Idea 3: Mediterranean Quinoa
This is probably my all time favorite healthy recipe ever! Usually I’m not a big quinoa fan but the flavors in this recipe come together for something that tastes so satisfying! This is a meal prep recipe you can make in advance on a Sunday and serve for days without losing any flavor. I also eat this one cold (or room temp) so that means zero reheating needed!
4 to 6 servings
Recipe Ingredients
- 2 cups COOKED quinoa
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 onion chopped finely
- 1 red pepper chopped finely
- 1 handful mint chopped
- 1 handful parsley chopped
- 1 lime
- 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and let sit in the fridge for best taste. You can eat it immediately but the longer the flavors soak into the quinoa, the more pleasing the taste will be for you!
Healthy Meal Prep Grocery List - How to do it
The grocery list is EASILY the most intimidating thing about meal prep for the week. It can seem overwhelming to get all the ingredients together for your meal plan and keep them organized.
This is why I strongly recommend making recipes that have an overlap of fresh ingredients (so you don’t waste money throwing out things that go bad and to keep meal prep easy.)
I also recommend organizing your recipes in such a way that it’s really easy to see what ingredients you need and what you already have. This is something that I teach and give templates for in the How to Create a 30 Day Meal Plan that isn’t boring.
Above all, remember that it will always be more challenging in the beginning (like any skill) but it does get easier!
Healthy Meal Prep for Weight Loss & Fitness Goals
One final note on healthy meal prep is to be aware of your goals when selecting recipes. All of the recipes in this post could work for multiple fitness goals (including weight loss) but the frequency of them will vary.
For example, if your fitness goal is stamina or endurance, you are more likely to eat the Mediterranean Quinoa multiple times a week because you need those complex carbs to perform well. Pay attention to things like oil, sodium, sugar and processed ingredients when selecting your recipes.
Remember that just because something is labelled as healthy doesn’t mean that it’s right for your goals.
If this is something you’d like more help on definitely have a look at the workshop below!
How to Create a 30 Day Meal Plan that Isn’t Boring
In this On-Demand Workshop, I share how you can create a 30 Day Meal Plan that is interesting, healthy and quick! I teach you the exact time management strategies and planning templates that I use for my clients to help them stay on track with healthy eating no matter how busy they get with work or family!
The workshop is divided into easy-to-follow parts and includes templates to help you with recipe research, recipe organization, meal planning, grocery shopping and searching for recipes based on your fitness goals.
Get more details on the workshop here. It includes lessons on how to:
- Reduce meal prep time by half
- Find recipes for your fitness goals
- Organize a 30 Day Meal Plan
- Keep Healthy Meals Interesting
- Add more flavor to healthy foods
Get More Healthy Living Ideas here
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