Meal prepping isn’t just for bodybuilders; it’s for whoever wants to eat healthier and save time during the week. Meal prepping lowers the chances of you hitting the drive-thru or even worse, not eating at all…

I’m always my leanest and less stressed when I take Sundays to cook all my meals for the week. Cooking is really cathartic and I’d love for people to fall in love with making things with their own hands. Happiness starts in the kitchen.

 

 

Take Saturday to:

  1. Plan your menu. Pick a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and optional snack. (The optional snack is for days you need more fuel. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat it)
  2. From the menu, make your grocery list… and stick to it.
  3. Grocery shop.

 

On Sunday:

  1. Get all of your containers prepped and ready.
  2. Make all your food and put it in storage containers.
  3. Organize your fridge by meal.

 

Unless your training to be Mr. Universe and have specific goals in mind, I believe that your food should be flavorful… and yes, food can be both flavorful AND healthy. Your life shouldn’t revolve around brown rice and boiled chicken. Meal prepping will help you portion food out to more human-sized meals without you really thinking about it. If you think your portions are too big, there are a lot of awesome portion control systems on the market. My favorite is Beachbody’s The Portion Fix.

Here’s my sample Meal Plan Menu and Recipes! (Vegetarian and vegan friendly)

 

 Breakfast

Pomegranate and Coconut
Overnight Oats with Walnuts

Ingredients

  • ½ cup large-flake oats
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate arils
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened large-flake coconut
  • 1 tbsp chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 1 tsp pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup coconut milk

 

Instructions

  1. In an 8oz glass mason jar (with a lid), combine the oats, chia seeds, ground cinnamon, pomegranate arils, large-flake coconut and walnuts (if using). Put the lid on, and shake the jar to combine the ingredients.
  2. Pour in ½ cup of coconut milk, and 1 tsp of maple syrup. Stir the contents to combine completely.
  3. Place the lid onto the jar and keep in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
  4. Enjoy cold or at room temperature.

 

Snack 1

Fruit Salad
(Mango, Pineapple, & Kiwi)
and 2 Hard Boiled Eggs

 

Dice up your fruit. I did a tropical mix, but whatever you like is great too! Each serving of fruit salad should be 1 to 1 ½ cups. (I had extra pomegranate seeds, so I added them!)

Hard-boiling an egg is super easy. I put all my eggs in a pot. Once it starts to boil, I let it go for 10 minutes. Immediately after, I dumped the hot water out and run cold water over them. Then place them in the fridge.

 

Lunch

Southwest Taco Salad
w/ Vegan Honey Chipotle Lime Dressing

Note: Some vegans will not use honey because they believe it’s an animal product… A bee is an insect. To each their own, though. If you’re hardcore vegan, use agave syrup.

 

Salad Ingredients:

½ cup Kale

¼ cup Black Beans

¼ cup tomatoes, diced

¼ cup corn

3 TBSP chopped onion

¼ cup tortilla strips

1 serving of Beyond Meat’s Southwest Chicken (vegan)

EVOO

 

Dressing Ingredients:

1 cup Veganaise

Juice of 1 small lime

1 TSP Chipotle seasoning

1 table spoon honey

Salt and Pepper

 

Preparation:

Combine salad ingredients in a bowl. Sauté the “chicken” in 2 TBSPs of EVOO until warmed thru. Place on top of salad.

 

Dressing:

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the lime, honey, and chipotle into the Veganaise. Salt and pepper to taste. Serving size is 2 TBSPs.

Note: Add the tortilla strips right before eating so they don’t get soggy!

 

Snack 2

(Optional)
Yogurt and Granola

 

This one is simple. ½ cup of your favorite yogurt and ¼ cup of your favorite granola. BOOM!

 

Dinner

Roasted Harvest Veggies with Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 cups butternut squash, diced

4 cups Brussels sprouts, halved

4 cups potatoes, cubed

4 cups beets, cubed

1 cup onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

EVOO

Salt and Pepper

 

Preparation:

Place all vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil; enough to coat them evenly. Add minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently and transfer evenly onto a cookie sheet. Cook in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until all veggies are tender. Serving size is 2 cups.

 

You’ll spend a couple hours in the kitchen, but save yourself so much time and energy during the week! Please tag @nikkinurtures on your own meal prep photos on instagram, pinterest, and twitter!

Happy Prepping!