My Weekly Meal Prep and What I’m Packing in my Lunch Box!
Happy Meal Prep Sunday! I am officially back to work tomorrow after being off for the summer, which means I am back to meal prepping!
I have been meal prepping for YEARS now! For me, it makes things so much easier Monday through Friday if I spend a couple extra hours in the kitchen on Sunday! Today I’m sharing a few staples that I always prep, and what I’m packing in my lunch box this week!
What I Focus On….
Each week I try to focus on 3 main things when I prepare food for the week.
Two/three protein sources
Complex carbs that keep me full and easy carbs to grab when I’m hungry
Fresh fruit and veggies ready to eat
I find that if I have these 3 things in my fridge ready to go, I can pull together some good meals that will keep me feeling full and energized throughout the day. (I hate being hungry! So not having food packed with me is not an option!)
PROTEINS
Egg White Muffins
These are the easiest thing ever to make, and the best part is that you can customize them to what you like best by adding whatever veggies, cheese, meat, etc to them!
Cook whatever veggies you want. I always do spinach and mushrooms, but honestly the sky is the limit!
Spray muffin pan. Add your cheese/meat. I love using Laughing Cow Cheese wedges in mine. I usually add about a third of a wedge to each cup. You could also add bacon, sausage, ham, etc.
Pour liquid egg whites on top of veggies/cheese/meat.
Bake for 350 degrees for 30 minutes!
That’s it! They keep up to a week in the fridge! I just grab 2 or 3 in the morning and heat them up for 1 minute! I always pair them with some sort of carb source (oatmeal, english muffin, toast, fruit, etc).
CrockPot Salsa Chicken
This is literally the easiest thing EVER! You put some chicken breast in the crockpot (I’ve even done frozen chicken breast!), dump a jar of salsa on top, let cook on low for 4-6 hours. That’s it! When it’s done you can take a hand mixer and shred it up! Top on salads, rice, tortillas, chips, etc! The options are endless! I don’t eat a ton of meat anymore, but when I did this was something I prepped for the week.
Other Protein Snacks
I also like to pack a couple of easy protein snacks that are easy to grab and ready to go! Some of those include:
-cheese sticks
-greek yogurts
-turkey roll ups (literally just turkey lunch meat rolled up. Sometimes I will add a slice of cheese with it too!)
-protein bars (my favorites linked here)
CARBS
Pumpkin Zucchini Oatmeal Muffins (makes 18 muffins)
-1 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats
-1 1/2 cups of pure pumpkin
-1 1/4 cup of egg whites
-4 cups of shredded zucchini (I promise you can’t taste it!)
-LOTS of stevia (like I do 3-4 big spoonfuls, but I like it sweet)
-LOTS of cinnamon (I don’t measure. Just dump a lot. -Maybe a third of a cinnamon spice bottle? Normal sized one)
-Dash of baking soda
-Dash of vanilla extract
Bake for 45 mins-1 hour on 350. I recommend topping with peanut butter or frosting 🤪
Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
2 1/2 cups of oats
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup syrup (I use sugar free, but you can use whatever kind you like!)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
a lot of cinnamon (I don’t measure, but probably 4 tablespoons or so)
1/2 cup stevia
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
Bake a 350 degrees for 1 to 1.5 hours. Cut into 6 pieces and keep in fridge! Heat for one minute when you are ready to eat! ( I recommend topping with peanut butter!)
I got this recipe originally from @featherstonenutrition over on Instagram and adapted it a bit.
Other carb sources I pack with me….
rice cakes
oatmeal packets
bananas
100 calorie microwave popcorn
FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIES
I love having fruit and veggies all washed and ready to go! These Bolthouse dressings are my absolute favorite for dipping veggies in! I try to make sure each meal/snack has a fruit or veggie with it!
That’s what I am packing this week in my lunchbox! For the most part it stays very similar each week. I know some people get sick of eating the same foods every week, but I really don’t! Comment down below if you are trying out any of these meal prep ideas or if you have one that you make each week!