Easy Weekly Meal Prep

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Meal planning is second nature to me, I’ve been doing it for so long I can practically do it with my eyes closed. Meal PREP, however, is something I never really put much time into and knew little about. Last month, my husband and I decided we really wanted to start eating healthier and I realized simple meal prep was going to have to be part of that.

I knew I wanted to pack my husbands lunch and have a hot breakfast ready to-go for him every morning. I also knew I didn’t want to waste a bunch of money on convenience foods. So I got creative and came up with this basic menu.

• Breakfast
• ▪ Egg Casserole with sausage & veggies
• Lunch
• ▪ Grilled Chicken, roasted sweet potatoes & green bean salad
• Snacks
• ▪ Fruit, hard-boiled eggs, peppers and hummus

I’m not prepping food for myself since I’m at home with the kids for breakfast and lunch. I might change that up in the future and if I do I will do a post on what I’m prepping for myself.

Breakfast

My husband eats dairy-free for the most part because he is lactose-intolerant. I was going to make him homemade breakfast sandwiches but they don’t really taste good without some cheese. Instead, I whipped up an egg casserole and it turned out great. All it is is eggs, sauteed peppers and onions, frozen hasbrowns and cooked breakfast sausage. Get the full recipe here. I cut it into 5 portions, one for each weekday, and then reheat it for him in the toaster oven every morning. You can totally microwave it for 90 seconds but he’s prefers it reheated in the toaster oven and since I have the time I don’t mind.

Lunch

For lunch my husband likes something that he doesn’t have to heat up in case he doesn’t have access to a microwave that day. I didn’t want to pack him a sandwich since the simple ones aren’t terribly healthy and you can’t batch make a bunch of sandwiches at the beginning of the week. So instead I came up with this combo of things that can be eaten cold but still taste great.

First thing I do is marinate the chicken. Use your favorite one or just use a bottle of Italian dressing if you don’t have time to make your own. I grill them on an indoor grill pan and let them cool. Then I portion them out in these glass containers like pictured above.

Next, I roast the sweet potatoes. I preheat my oven for 400 degrees and then peel and cube the potatoes and then toss them in a a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper. I place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, tossing them once halfway through. I let them cool and them portion them out in the containers with the chicken. I make about 2 pounds for 5 days worth.

Next I make the green bean salad using this Rachael Ray recipe. It’s super tasty and it holds up well all week long. It’s great cold and this is my husband’s favorite way to eat vegetables. You can also mix all three components together and eat it as a big salad, it’s scrumptious!

Snacks

For snacks, I like to prepare something that protein-packed so my husband isn’t eating empty carbs late at night. (Which is when he tends to snack) Hard-boiled eggs are favorite of his and they are easy to make and super affordable! I put them in cold water and bring to a boil. Then I cover them and turn off the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes. Next I put them in ice water for 15 minutes so they are easy to peel. Store-bought hummus is a convenient way to add additional protein to the mix and it gives you something tasty to dip the veggies in.

Sometimes I make little bistro boxes like shown above in the glass containers and other times I just leave them individual in the fridge. My husband is more likely to reach for them if already put together like that though.