Healthy Meal Prep Ideas That’ll Make the Rest of Your Week Easy

Between work, kids, and the other responsibilities of life, eating healthy can get pushed to the back. So check out these healthy meal prep ideas below!

Eating right isn’t easy.

If it were, nearly 40% of US adults would not be struggling with obesity.

The truth is, eating healthy is much easier to do if you take some time to plan your meals and surround yourself with good options. And meal planning is a great way to begin setting yourself up for healthy eating success.

Keep reading for a few quick healthy meal prep ideas that will help take the stress out of eating right.

Why Meal Prep?

Let’s get real for a minute … most of us cave under pressure. Especially when it comes to making healthy food choices instead of poor ones.

One of the best ways to set yourself up for success is to simply take some time to plan what you’ll eat for the week. If you have a plan, you’ll be that much less likely to grab some fast food for lunch or just swing by the snack machine.

Having a plan and preparing your meals in advance makes it even more difficult to make an unhealthy eating choice.

Healthy Meal Prep Breakfast Ideas

While it may not be the most important meal of the day anymore, eating a good breakfast has many health benefits and is also the easiest meal to prepare in advance. If you’re only going to prep one meal, breakfast is the simplest one.

Overnight Oats

This simple breakfast is one of the easiest meals to prep. While there are endless variations, a simple starting point is to add one-half cup of old fashioned oats, three-quarters of a cup of milk and one-quarter cup of yogurt to a jar and stir.

Leave it in the fridge overnight and wake up to a healthy, creamy breakfast. Add fruit and nuts for a little added nutrition.

Simple Low Carb Options

If you’re trying to keep the carbs in check, try keeping a few hard-boiled eggs, almonds, and fresh berries handy. Have an egg with a few almonds and about one cup of berries for an easy start to your day.

Lunch: Plan Ahead

Lunch is the most dangerous meal of the day for most workers. If you don’t plan ahead, unhealthy options abound.

Salads, wraps, or easy pre-cooked meals separated into lunch size portions make getting a healthy lunch simple and quick.

Try a Salad in a Jar

For an easy lunch prep, try making a salad in a jar. In a standard quart size mason jar simply layer salad ingredients and bring a healthy dressing along in a separate container.

The trick is to place the heavier ingredients like proteins, tomatoes, or cucumbers at the bottom with the lighter ingredients like lettuce at the top.

Keep Dinner Simple

Dinner doesn’t need to be difficult either.

While most people have a bit more time to prepare dinner than breakfast or lunch, it’s still a good idea to plan and prepare what you can in advance.

One simple way to do this is with sheet pan meals. These recipes involve cooking everything on a single sheet pan in the oven.

Chicken fajitas can be quickly and easily made on a sheet pan. Simply slice up one pound of chicken breast, an onion, and one green bell pepper.

Throw everything on a sheet pan with some packaged fajita season and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 425 degrees.

Your Turn

Eating right and healthy meal prep doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to make a plan and stick with it.

What are you doing to eat right and stay healthy? Let us know in the comments!