Easy Meal Prep Ideas
Sometimes, it can feel so overwhelming to choose what to eat and how to prepare it. What we love about these meal prep ideas is that they are super straightforward and can be customized and jazzed up to your liking and planned according to your budget and schedule.
Breakfast Meals:
Oats (cold or warm)
What we love about oats is their ability to transform based on their supporting ingredients. Whether it's hot oats with brown sugar and apples or cold oats with nuts and blueberries, you’ve got a nutritious meal on your hands.
Quick Instructions:
Simply, choose if you want your oats hot or cold.
If hot, cook on the stove or microwave with water or your choice of milk based on the instructions on the box.
If cold, put oats in a container with water or milk (we like oat milk!) - just enough milk to submerge the oats will do!
Let cold oats sit in the fridge overnight / Eat your hot oats as soon as they’re ready.
Add your toppings of choice (we like blueberries, bananas, agave, and pecans!)
Yogurt
Yogurt is similar to oats in that adding different toppings gives you lots of flexibility when preparing your dish, with even less prep than oats!
Quick Instructions:
Add a few dollops of yogurt to a bowl.
Add your toppings of choice (we like raspberries, kiwi, and a few Brazil nuts!)
All done!
Pro tip: Need some extra protein and sustenance for your breakfast? Add a breakfast bar, a couple boiled eggs, or a banana, and you’ll be feeling full and satisfied til lunchtime.
Lunch Meals:
Soup
Three words - soup is underrated. There is nothing like a bowl of soup, especially on a cold day. Not to mention, pre-made soup literally takes less than 5 minutes to heat up.
Quick Instructions:
Pick out some soup from the hundreds of options at the grocery store.
Heat up on the stove or in the microwave based on directions on the container.
Let cool, and enjoy!
Razzle dazzle options: Add some toasted bread or crackers of your choice for extra sustenance or a few slices of avocado (especially in vegetable soups) to give your soup a boost of creaminess and nutrition.
Avocado Toast
The ole faithful avocado toast- Some love it, some make fun of it- but ultimately, it's quick, easy, and filling.
Quick instructions:
Cut a large avocado in half
Mash half of avocado with a fork
Toast your bread of choice
Spread avocado on toast
Sprinkle choice of seasonings (we recommend Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel)
Enjoy!
Razzle dazzle options: Add smoked salmon, sliced red onions, or cherry tomatoes for a little pizzazz.
The Pizza Hack
Running extra low on time and energy? Try the Pizza Hack.
Quick instructions:
Order a pizza or heat up a pre-made one from the grocery store at the start of the week.
Divvy up slices to your liking throughout the week.
Heat up in microwave or oven during lunchtime.
Enjoy!
Razzle dazzle options: Add a simple side salad to your pizza lunches to add some veggies and help the slices last longer.
Dinner Meals:
Did somebody say, Pasta?
Pasta dishes are great, because they’re customizable, usually quick and easy to make, and allow for lots of variety (think alfredo chicken pasta, rigatoni bolognese, and chilled pasta salad) that you can eat these and still feel like you’re not eating the same thing every week.
Quick instructions:
Boil pasta of choice to al-dente or to your liking (check pasta box for specific times).
Heat sauce to simmer (we usually use pre-made bottled sauce to make things extra easy)
Season sauce to taste (we like oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper)
All done!
Razzle dazzle options: Add sauteed veggies like mushrooms, cooked meat like ground beef or chicken, and cheese like parmesan.
The Protein + Carb + Veggie Combo
We love a formula that makes our lives easier! The Protein + Carb + Veggie Combo takes the guesswork out of dinner and makes meal prep much easier. All you need to do is choose a protein, carb, and veggie to make up your planned dinner. Here’s a list of each to help you get started.
Note: Some of the foods listed above fit into multiple categories. For ex. Edamame is rich in protein, carbs, AND it’s technically a veggie. Potatoes are both a carb and a starchy vegetable.
Quick Instructions:
Once you’ve picked out your combo, decide how you want to prepare it (we recommend baked & roasted for most food items in all three categories!)
Season your combo to your liking.
Cook based on requirements for each item.
Enjoy!
Pro-tip: When you’re really short on time, you can buy pre-made items for your combo (ex. rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli). From there, you can add different flavors (BBQ, etc.) to jazz it up.
Use Supercook
Still need help figuring out what to cook? This Supercook Site gives you recipe ideas based on the ingredients you already have or that you know you enjoy. Makes those “what should I eat?” moments a little easier.
That’s all for now! Check out our 'Make Groceries Like a Champ’ post for tips on how to grocery shop!
Happy Eating & Planning!
XOXO,
TULU Team