I am a self-proclaimed lover of easy meal prep! The thing is, no matter how busy I am, I meal prep every single week. Having healthy foods prepared makes me so much more likely to stick to eating in a way that feels good for my body. The most important aspect of meal prep that allows me to do this every single week is that I try to make it unbelievably simple.

To start, I plan my meals using the Dashing Dish Meal Plan & Grocery List Builder, which automatically composes my grocery list for me, (and it even sends my list to a grocery delivery/curbside pick up service)! Doesn’t get any easier than that! Once my groceries are delivered I choose a 1-2 hours time block in the beginning of my week to meal prep.

Here’s what I typically have to plan/prep for each meal of the week:

Breakfast: Most of the time I will make one snack per week for my pre-workout snack, which is something like one of my muffins, no bake balls or bars, or any of my Dashing Dish baked goods. Then I make a shake following my workout throughout the week; So which I don’t have to prepare ahead of time. If I want to have something to take with me on the go, I prepare my freezer breakfast sandwiches or a batch of overnight oats for the week.

Lunch: Lunch is typically leftovers from dinner the night before, a 15 minute salad, sandwich, or sheet pan meal, or something I throw quickly in my crockpot in the morning.

Dinner: Dinners are a meal I like to sit down and enjoy with my family, so this is something I like to prep ahead to make it easy to prepare fresh during the work week.

Here’s what I made for dinners this week:

• Low Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
• Complete Caesar Burgers
• Chicken Fajita Bowls
• Baked Caesar Chicken
• One Pan Stuffed Pepper Bake

How I Prep in Three Easy Steps:

1. Cook all protein options. For my chicken caesar burgers I prepared everything for the patties and formed them on a plate. I wrapped with press and seal so they are ready to grill during the week. For the chicken fajita bowls I cut the chicken into strips. For the other three recipes they will be best prepared fresh. If a recipe calls for shredded chicken this is where I typically would cook it in a crockpot in some chicken stock (4 hours on high then shred and discard liquid); Orgrill/ cook the chicken on a sheet pan or grill. If the recipe calls for ground meat I may cook the ground meat ahead of time.
2. Cook carbohydrate options. To go with my protein options, I will prepare whatever carbohydrates such as brown rice, quinoa, etc. that will go in my meals as well as any sides I want to serve. This week I roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, and boiled/drained quinoa and brown rice pasta for sides (for pasta, I like Jovial brand, and I like to rinse and drain in cold water and drizzle olive oil lightly to prevent from sticking). I also steamed frozen cauliflower rice in the bags, which could also be done when preparing the meal since it only takes minutes. The only clean-up I had to do was throw away the foil and clean the pot from the pasta.
3. Prepare produce options. A huge time saver is washing and prepping my produce all at once. This means one colander, one kitchen towel, one prep session and fresh veggies/fruit ready to go all week! I keep paper towel in a Tupperware to prevent excess moisture build up, which keeps produce fresh; Or I store it in a mason jar. This week I washed and sliced my bell peppers, and washed and sliced my lettuce. I will typically wash and cut any produce going in my recipes for the week, as well as any fresh fruit/veggies we want to have on hand to snack on or serve as sides.

In addition to making a batch of no bake balls for the mornings, all of this took total around an hour and a half including clean-up (I like to cook/prepare everything at the same time). As you can see, meal prep doesn’t have to be hard and it should be sustainable. I hope this gives you some ideas for what you can make to keep you well-fed and eating nutritious meals at home throughout the week.

Ready to get started!? Here are the recipes and meal plans you need to replicate this one hour meal prep that will feed you and your family all week! Download below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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