With summer just around the corner, the pressure is on to lose those inches you may have picked up around the holidays. And if you are like me, you want to accomplish this with as little cooking as possible. I mean we don’t all love to meal prep all day Sunday, just so we can have a fridge full of Tubberwear for the week. As convenient as that would be, I am simply not that organized, and certainly, lack the chef qualities it takes to put it all together, so I have come up with some of my own meals. These five easy meal prep lunches are as simple as it gets, healthy, and minimize time in the kitchen.
I thought I would hate Chia seed pudding because of the texture, but with the right milk to seed portions, it can be delicious! All you need for this easy meal is chia seeds, milk (I use vanilla almond milk), and a sweetener of your choice. I tend to pick vanilla as a sweetener over honey because it doesn’t settle at the bottom, but you could also use liquid stevia or even add chocolate powder. To achieve this healthy food, simply add 6 tablespoons of chia seeds, 2 cups of milk, and 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract to a mason jar and shake it up. Place the mixture in the fridge until it becomes a thick, jell-like, texture… I usually just put mine in at night and take it out in the morning. The best part of this meal is you can add fresh fruit on top.
I have this easy meal about 5 days a week for breakfast… it’s that easy. I put water onto boil, then take a bowl and add 1/2 cup of oats. While the water boils, I take 1/2 cup of frozen berries and heat them in the microwave for 1 minute. When the water is ready, simply pour it into the bowl with the oats and cover the bowl completely until the oats have soaked up most of the water… I use a large plate, but whatever keeps the heat in. Then, for flavor, I add 2 tablespoons of PB powder, mix it in, and top with heated berries… and there you have it, a delicious breakfast that takes 3 minutes and is under 400 calories.
Wraps are easier to prep than you might think. I simply slice all my vegetables the night before and place them into a Ziploc bag to take with me. I use those individual containers of hummus, which makes it easier to transport, and I fold my wrap to fit into a bag as well. The key is to take the ingredients separately so that you don’t end up with a soggy wrap for lunch. My combo is red bell peppers, cucumbers, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, red onion, avocado, and hummus… simple but filling. These aren’t just easy meal prep lunches, but also delicious!
It’s a classic for a reason… chicken and rice is easy, filling, healthy, and versatile. I have a rice cooker, which is key to making this an easy meal. If you don’t you might want to substitute it for something like roasted potatoes. Put the rice in the rice cooker and forget about it for 30 minutes while it does its thing, then I focus on the chicken. I no longer eat meat, so I use a chicken substitute, but the process is the same; let it thaw, then cook it in a pan in coconut oil until it is finished. I put these meals together plain so that I can choose what flavor sauce I want the day I am eating it… but usually, it is pepper, salt, and hot sauce.
I could have roasted veggies for dinner every night and not get sick of them. And they are so easy to make, just pick your veggies, some of my favorites are brussel sprouts, red peppers, broccoli, and potatoes, cut them up, toss them in an oil, and roast them until they are the amount of cooked you like… for me, that’s almost burnt. You seriously cannot go wrong with this dish, especially because they taste great reheated.
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