160 Meal Prep Recipes + Steps to a Successful Meal Prep

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The meal prep craze has been around for a while now. And, with good reason! Preparing meals in advance not only saves time and money but also helps to keep your eating habits on track when it comes to healthy food choices. If you are looking for meal prep ideas or need some pointers on how to meal prep successfully – this blog post is for you! We will walk through 160 meal recipes that are easy and delicious as well as provide some great tips on how to meal prep without wasting food.

Being an adult can feel really difficult because of the constant balancing act. Sometimes there are just so many things going on that making a meal feels like too much and we end up ordering take-out, but as it turns out this is not only expensive (not to mention unhealthy) – what if you have kids or want to lose weight? Today I’ll be sharing some quick ways for busy adults with families in tow who still need nourishment!

Making meals might seem daunting at times when everything seems chaotic, but don’t forget how important they are! They’re essential for good nutrition AND saving time-taking care of your family shouldn’t mean neglecting yourself. That said, these two issues often go hand-in-hand. The meal prep craze is the answer-having meals ready to go in advance ensures that you can do more than just take care of your family.

Whether it’s a meal plan for weight loss, meal plans for college students (or any student), or meal prepping because you’re busy with work and kids: these tips are going to help! I’m also sharing some of my favorite meal prep ideas including chicken fajitas, low carb tuna casserole, lemon garlic salmon with asparagus, frozen pizza pockets and bacon cheese cauliflower macaroni.

Tips for Successful Meal Prep

-Prepare food for the week on Sunday OR meal prep on a day where you have more time.

-Create meal templates for each meal you plan to prep.

-Invest in containers and label them! Make it easy on yourself so that when it’s time to eat, you can just grab the container instead of opening all your cupboards looking for something healthy. You’ll also be less likely to make impulse purchases if everything is organized.

-Invest in meal prep containers with lids – this will help you save time on top of everything!

-Shop at farmers markets for fresh produce and other ingredients. You’ll have a better chance of getting the freshest, most nutritious food AND supporting local businesses while you’re at it.

-Buy produce as needed – this way you won’t find yourself with a bunch of veggies molding away because they’ve been forgotten at the store or left out too long after purchase.

-If meal prepping for weight loss, avoid meal prep items that are high in sugar or fat.

-Invest in a food scale – this will make it much easier to accurately measure your portions and therefore limit calories!

-Plan out the week’s worth of meal templates using Pinterest boards ­or other meal planners online which allow you to categorize recipes by type (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Print them out on paper so they’re easy to reference during meal prep time. If not available online, create one yourself with index cards or Google Docs. You can also use an Excel spreadsheet as well if desired; however, these types of programs often have formulas like that can’t be used in meal plan templates.

-Use a meal prep app! Apps like MealPrepPro, LoseIt!, and MyFitnessPal make meal planning easier – they allow you to create shopping lists automatically as well as calculate the nutritional information for your recipes so that you know how many calories are going into each meal being served (or consumed).

­-Shop on weekends or after work when there won’t be any crowds at grocery stores ­to take advantage of bargains. It’s also less stressful because most people have more time to focus during these times.

tip: always check expiration dates before purchasing items with shorter shelf lives; sometimes we forget about this important tip which is problematic if food isn’t fresh

-Write down what worked well during meal prep sessions (and didn’t!) so next week will go more smoothly than last week!

-Keep your meal preps low in carbs and high in protein to save yourself from cravings or feeling deprived.

-Find recipes that are budget-friendly, easy, AND healthy so that meal prepping doesn’t feel like all work with no reward!

If I’ve learned anything about meal preparation is don’t try cramming too much into one sitting because it will take longer than expected and likely result in wasted meals (or at least some of them).

That said, if you’re looking for ideas of what to make during meal prep – here are 15 delicious suggestions to get you started!

Meal Prep Recipes for Breakfast

1. Whole30 Breakfast Meal Prep from 40 Aprons
2. Meal Prep Breakfast Sandwiches from Pinch of Yum
3. Healthy Breakfast Burritos with Sweet Potato from Ambitious Kitchen
4. Healthy Brownie Batter Overnight Oats from Eating Bird Food
5. Meal Prep Taco Breakfast Scramble from Beauty and the Bench Press
6. Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches from Tastes Better from Scratch
7. Ham, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Quesadilla from Damn Delicious
8. Meal Prep Bacon Egg Cheese Bagel Sandwich from The Gunny Sack
9. Breakfast Taco Scramble from Skinnytaste
10. Sausage and Egg Make Ahead Breakfast Bowls from This Farm Girl Cooks
11. Country Breakfast Bowls from Budget Bytes
12. Freezer-Friendly Muffins with Variations from Happy Money Saver
13. Healthy Make Ahead Breakfast Cookies from She Likes Food
14. Breakfast Meal Prep from Damn Delicious
15. Make Ahead Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich from Damn Delicious
16. reezer Breakfast Quesadilla (4 Ways) from Family Fresh Meals
17. Meal Prep Pancakes from Meal Prep on Fleek Street
18. Easy Microwave Scrambled Egg Cup Recipes from The Creative Bite
19. Make Ahead Sausage, Egg and Cheese Casserole from My Baking Addiction
20. Berry Quinoa Breakfast Meal Prep from Sweet Peas and Saffron
21. Baked Blueberry Oatmeal Cups from Belle of the Kitchen
22. Mini Frittatas from Oh Sweet Day!
23. Homemade Granola Bars from Bless This Mess
24. Make-Ahead Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches from Natasha’s Kitchen
25. Copycat Oven-Baked Starbucks Egg Bites from The Girl on Bloor

Meal Prep Recipes for Lunch

1. Easy Turkey Pinwheels Meal Prep from ProjectMeal Plan
2. Steak Cobb Salad Meal Prep from Damn Delicious
3. Tuna Egg Salad Meal Prep from Project Meal Plan
4. Greek Chicken Meal Prep Bowls from A Savory Feast
5. Turkey Taco Lunch Bowls from Sweet Peas and Saffron
6. Cilantro Lime Chicken with Cauliflower Rice from Fit Foodie Finds
7. Turkey Spinach Pinwheels Meal Prep from Damn Delicious
8. Thai Turkey Meal Prep Lettuce Wraps from Sweet Peas and Saffron
9. Harvest Chicken Salad from Life Love and Good Food
10. Buffalo Chicken Ranch Whole 30 Meal Prep from 40 Aprons
11. Thai Chicken Wrap Bistro Boxes from Gimme Delicious
12. Vegetarian Quinoa Burrito Bowls from Simply Quinoa
13. Greek Chicken Bowls from Eazy Peazy Mealz
14. No Cook Snack Boxes from The Beachbody Blog
15. Greek Chicken Roasted Cauliflower Meal Prep Bowls from Food Faith Fitness
16. Chicken and Hummus Lunch Meal Prep from Project Meal Plan
17. Peanut Lime Chicken Lunch Bowls from Sweet Peas and Saffron
18. Turkey Taco Bowls with Cauliflower Rice from Kirbie’s Cravings
19. Thai Chicken Salad with Skinny Peanut Dressing from Little Spice Jar
20.  Meal Prep Taco Salad Lunch Bowls from Kristine’s Kitchen
21. Deli Snack Box from Damn Delicious
22. Thai Chicken Wraps from Gimme Delicious
23. Chopped Thai Chicken Salad with Skinny Peanut Dressing from Little Spice Jar
24. Thai Peanut Chicken Salad from Fit Foodie Finds
25. Greek Couscous Salad from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

1. WW Teriyaki Chicken Sheet Pan Recipe from The Holy Mess
2. Weight Watchers BBQ Chicken Bowls from Keeping On Point
3. Weight Watchers Crunchy Asian Salad with Chicken from Simple Nourished Living
4. Grated Cauliflower Salad with Ginger Lime Dressing from Cookin Canuck
5. Black-and-White Summer Bean Salad from Weight Watchers
6. Skinny Waldorf Chicken Salad from Skinny Kitchen
7. Weight Watchers Egg Roll In A Bowl from My Crazy Good Life®
8. Weight Watchers Protein Bistro Box from The Holy Mess
9. Chicken and Black Bean Tostada from Weight Watchers
10. Protein Fruit & Veggie Bistro Box from no. 2 pencil
11. Turkey Pinwheels with Cranberry Spread from Eat Yourself Skinny
12. Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables from SkinnyTaste.com
13. Weight Watchers Macaroni and Cheese from Real Advice Gal
14. Spicy Southwest Chicken Wraps from Emily Bites
15. Healthy Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese from Organize Yourself Skinny
16. Weight Watchers Chickpea and Feta Salad from Simple Nourished Living
17. Southwestern Pasta Salad with Yogurt Salsa Dressing from Cookin Canuck
18. Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos from Recipe Diaries
19. Turkey Panini with Apple, Cheddar & Arugula Cookin Canuck
20. Skinny Penne Arrabiatta with Turkey Sausage from Skinny Kitchen
21. Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Taco Soup from Recipe Diaries
22. Turkey, Avocado, and Hummus Roll Ups from Organize Yourself Skinny
23. Skinny Buffalo Ranch Tuna Salad from Skinny Kitchen
24. Skinny Asian Steak and Noodle Bowl from Skinny Kitchen
25. Chicken Salad with Apples and Cranberries from Simple Nourished Living

Meal Prep Recipes for Vegans/Vegetarians

1. Tofu Burrito Bowl from The Fitchen
2. Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl with Orange Sesame Almond Butter Dressing from Ambitious Kitchen
3. Curried Chickpea Bowls from Eating Bird Food
4. Vegan Buddha Bowl from Melanie Cooks
5. Skinny Zucchini Noodle Alfredo from Kirbie’s Cravings
6. Curried Chickpea Bowls with Garlicky Spinach from Eating Bird Food
7. Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad from Ambitious Kitchen
8. Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodles from My Food Story
9. Vegetarian Quinoa Burrito Bowls from Simply Quinoa
10. Roasted Veggie Buddha Bowls from She Likes Food
11. Spicy Chickpea Quinoa Bowl from Eat Yourself Skinny
12. Healthy Meal Prep Bowls from Green Healthy Cooking
13. Chipotle Sweet Potato & Quinoa Lunch Bowls from The Girl on Bloor
14. Lo Mein Meal Prep from Damn Delicious
15. Meal Prep Tofu Burrito Bowl from Kitchenful
16. Easy Vegan Bowls from The almond eater
17. Nourish Vegan Bowl from Nora cooks
18. Sweet Potatoes Fajitas from The fitchen
19. Mediterranean Bowls from Salt & Lavender
20. Vegan BBQ Tempeh Meal Prep Bowls from Fit mitten kitchen

Meal Prep Recipes for 21 Day Fix

1. Spicy Shrimp and Avocado Lettuce Wraps from The Garlic Diaries
2. Deli Sandwich Chicken Wrap from Fits Simple
3. Greek Lettuce Wraps from The Melrose Family
4. Sweet Ranch Chicken and Veggies from Simply Anchored
5. Pasta Pesto Salad from Bewitchin’ Kitchen
6. Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Easy Living Today
7. Chicken Avocado Salad from The Fitness Focus
8. Chicken Parmesan Wrap from Jess Dukes
9. Chicken Tenders Salad from Bewitchin’ Kitchen
10. Clean Turkey Gyro from Fit Fun Tina
11. Easy Chicken Fajitas from Spend with Pennies
12. Ground Beef Taco Skillet from Fit Mom Angela D
13. Paleo Winter Bowl from Bewitchin’ Kitchen
14. Chicken and Broccoli Mac and Cheese from The Colbert Clan
15. Lemon Garlic Chicken Pasta from Simply Anchored
16. Creamy Egg Salad from Pureatz
17. Chicken and Spinach Wrap from Beachbody on Demand
18. Moroccan Carrot Salad from Bewitchin’ Kitchen
19. Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers from Simply Anchored
20. Vegetable Soup from Spend with Pennies

Meal Prep Recipes for Keto