Meal Prep

[Dan M]

Hey all,

Just curious who else is doing meal prep to better setup their diet for the coming week? My wife and I started doing meal prep for breakfast and lunch on Sunday, enough to cover the whole week and sometimes two weeks. This has been a great way to ensure proper nutrition during the week without have to have "cheat" meals because of lack of planning. This also saves a ton of time in the morning when I am on my way out the door to train or to work.

What's everybody else doing?

Dan

 

[Cant hit em]

I grill a whole flat 9- 10 chicken breast on Sunday night and use those in different ways through out the week for lunch and dinner , ill mix in fish or steak 1 or 2 nights.Oat meal is my usual breakfast until days off as i go to work at 3 am. I was trying to drop weight but im real close to were i want to be so i will just start to maintain . Pre making meals is the way to go along with a Diary of what you eat daily , makes you more accountable and has helped me a bunch

 

[Take-a-knee]

I cook 2-3 pounds of ground chuck and add taco seasoning. Cool and store in Ball plastic jam jars (screwtop). Holds a six oz serving. Add this to a LARGE salad with lots of olive oil on it. That is one evening meal. Another is turkey chili from the Zone Diet "Mastering the Zone" book, a full crock pot makes six servings. Another is the Zone Diet lasagna (uses squash instead of pasta). Nick Massie (Crossfit HQ) has several Zone dishes up on Youtube. One of his is the breakfast "pizza". Makes six servings. I freeze and vaccum pack each one. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

 

[bourbon]

I do but mostly just for lunch. I cut up around 8 or 9 sweet potatoes into 1 x1 cubes and roast them. I grill 7 - 10 chicken breast and I also cook 4 cups of brown rice (uncooked). Cut the chicken into chunks, and add 2 1/2 cups chicken, 2 cups sweet potato and 3/4 cup rice to individual 1 days lunch worth tupperware. Reheats well in a microwave, plenty of flavor and nutritionally sound.

For breakfast every morning I have a protein shake and egg white and oatmeal "pancake". Quick enough that prepping is not required.

Dinner most night mimics lunch but usually cook game meat and/or fish each night since neither of those really reheat well.

 

[Dan M]

I grill a whole flat 9- 10 chicken breast on Sunday night and use those in different ways through out the week for lunch and dinner , ill mix in fish or steak 1 or 2 nights.Oat meal is my usual breakfast until days off as i go to work at 3 am. I was trying to drop weight but im real close to were i want to be so i will just start to maintain . Pre making meals is the way to go along with a Diary of what you eat daily , makes you more accountable and has helped me a bunch

Cant hit em,

I have also done the grilled chicken in the past, and occasionally still do. I found that I had to mix it up after awhile though as I got burned out on the chicken. I also do oatmeal for breakfast and I try to cook steel cut oats when I have the extra time to make them. I have also done steel cut oats in a small crock pot to make that process go a little faster. I agree, pre-making meals is definitely the way to go. I don't usually do a diary but I think that's also a great idea. Since my wife has recently come on board with pre-making meals I am definitely getting to enjoy the menu more, she is much more creative than I am when it comes to the meal selections (and a much better cook).

 

[Dan M]

I do but mostly just for lunch. I cut up around 8 or 9 sweet potatoes into 1 x1 cubes and roast them. I grill 7 - 10 chicken breast and I also cook 4 cups of brown rice (uncooked). Cut the chicken into chunks, and add 2 1/2 cups chicken, 2 cups sweet potato and 3/4 cup rice to individual 1 days lunch worth tupperware. Reheats well in a microwave, plenty of flavor and nutritionally sound.

For breakfast every morning I have a protein shake and egg white and oatmeal "pancake". Quick enough that prepping is not required.

Dinner most night mimics lunch but usually cook game meat and/or fish each night since neither of those really reheat well.

Bourbon,

Your post is the exact reason I have come to really like the Rokslide forums, idea sharing. I particularly liked your mention of roasting the cubed sweet potatoes in the oven. Thanks for the idea. We do roast quite a few types of vegetables that way and it provides a change of pace when it comes to eating the same 'ole vegetables. I particularly like roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli/cauliflower mixed.

 

[Cant hit em]

Cant hit em,

I have also done the grilled chicken in the past, and occasionally still do. I found that I had to mix it up after awhile though as I got burned out on the chicken. I also do oatmeal for breakfast and I try to cook steel cut oats when I have the extra time to make them. I have also done steel cut oats in a small crock pot to make that process go a little faster. I agree, pre-making meals is definitely the way to go. I don't usually do a diary but I think that's also a great idea. Since my wife has recently come on board with pre-making meals I am definitely getting to enjoy the menu more, she is much more creative than I am when it comes to the meal selections (and a much better cook).

I agree , it does become rather boring just chicken but if you season half different ways and be creative with your sides its not so bad . Ms Dash has good salt free seasonings i have a variety of them. When it does get to me i just think , Im fueling my body , eating to perform , and remind myself of my goal. Cheat days once a week help kill your cravings just don't go buck wild. I use the Ap My Fitness Pal to log what I eat , you can just take a pic of the bar code and it uploads the nutritional value of your food.

 

[Becca]

I do much the same as you all, but I often end up freezing my stuff for later. I use the half and full sized pint jars (wide mouth) and the plastic screw top lids that go on top. It's a great way to have healthy single servings on hand, and you can microwave and eat right out of the glass jars. Pretty much any type of food I happen to make for dinner and have the leftovers for, I freeze. Everything from a slice of game meatloaf with a bit of broccoli/cauliflower, to soups/stews, to leftover spaghetti squash with red sauce, to sliced game steak with sautéed veggies. It's a little like having lean cuisines I guess, except it's all healthy food I made myself, and I have control over everything that's in it. I write the contents and the date on a piece of masking tape and stick it to the lids, so I can easily ID all my choices when I pack my lunch each evening.

One of my favorites is taco bowls. About a quarter jar of brown rice, 1/4 jar of ground moose chorizo sausage, and whatever taco condiments I have leftover from taco night....usually a little salsa, and a dallop of Greek yogurt, with a little cilantro and sometimes a little frozen corn. once defrosted and reheated you can put it over a salad, or just eat as is out of the jar.

 

[bourbon]

Bourbon,

Your post is the exact reason I have come to really like the Rokslide forums, idea sharing. I particularly liked your mention of roasting the cubed sweet potatoes in the oven. Thanks for the idea. We do roast quite a few types of vegetables that way and it provides a change of pace when it comes to eating the same 'ole vegetables. I particularly like roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli/cauliflower mixed.

Glad to hear that it gave you a new idea. I toss the cubes in a large bowl with EVOO, salt, pepper and a bit cayenne powder to give them a little kick. Roast at 375 for 15 min, flip them once (the best i can) and let them go another 15. Some will not be 100% cooked through but since im nuking them later it doesnt matter as the microwave will finish the job.

I agree on brussel sprouts. They are a dinner time staple in our home.