How to Meal Prep for the Week | Seven Day Meal Plan (2024)

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How to Meal Prep for the Week – with recipe ideas and tips on how to create a healthy and delicious 7 day meal plan for your family.

Hey everyone! It’s Shelby here back again! It’s a new year and like many others, getting organized is one of my biggest goals. When it comes to making delicious and healthy meals for you and your family, there are many days when time just gets away from you. Instead of eating something nutritious and tasty, you end up in the drive-thru line or throwing something together last minute.

I know how hard it can be to be prepared, that is why I am sharing one of my favorite secrets for aweek of delectable meals that don’t leave you pulling your hair out to make them!

Meal prep has saved my life when it comes to approaching the week feeling organized and keeping us well-fed with healthy and savory meals!

TIPS ON GETTING STARTED ON MEAL PREP:

Plan out your meal plan for the week. The first thing I do for my food prep day is put together a weekly meal plan and grocery list. My meal plan includes all three meals. This way there is no confusion about the food I should be eating throughout the week.
Keep it simple by choosing just 2-3 recipes for each meal and portion them out for the rest of the week – this helps cut down on prepping time so you are not prepping all day long. Don’t go overboard with too many new recipes.
Once mymeal plan is done, I start putting together agrocery list.
And if you can, try to grocery shop the day before your food prep day. Otherwise, shopping and food prep on the same day can make for a very long exhausting day.

Prepare – Depending on the meals, food prep usually takes me about 2-3 hours to complete. The key is planning your day ahead of time. This way you can get right into it without thinking about where to start.
I usually start with cooking chicken or roasts in the slow cooker or oven, that way, I can spend the rest of the time chopping vegetables while the meat is cooking.

Even the littlest bit of food prep makes a difference. Just portioning out ingredients that you might need throughout the week can still save a ton of time. Not all of the food for your meals throughout the week have to be cooked. Start off with just one meal if you feel overwhelmed with meal prep until you get the hang of it.

Pick your day and time that works for you. Whether you prefer to prep on Sunday or Monday is entirely up to you. Choose a time that you’ll be free and swap around as you need.

7 Day Meal Plan

Here is aseven day meal planning outline of recipes that you can meal prep.

It’s not necessary to cook everything from this list. Just choose a few recipes that you think you and your family would like for each meal and portion them out for the week ahead.

Breakfast – If you’re not a morning person, having breakfast ready when you wake up can make a tough morning much easier. There are a few no bake and no cook options that you can prep and store in the fridge or freezer.

Keep it simple by choosing 2 or 3 of your favorites and portion them out for the week.

Monday:No Bake 5 Ingredient Granola Bars

These no bake bars are so simple to make and a great option for lunch boxes or even a pre or post-workout snack.

Tuesday: Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal

This oatmeal will not only keep the kiddos full all day, it is so easy to pop in instant pot and have ready for the morning!

Wednesday: No Bake Energy Bites – 8 Ways

Energy bites make a great breakfast or pre and post workout snack. You can choose your favorite flavor (s) and freeze the rest for an easy grab and go option.

Thursday: No Cook Overnight Oats

If slow cooker or instant pot oatmeal isn’t an option, putting some overnight oats in the fridge before you head to bed is delicious and perfect for an on the run morning!

Friday:Batch Prep Smoothies

Nearing the end of the week, and on mornings when things get too out of hand to make anything crazy; having smoothies batch prepped can ensure you get something quick and healthy on your way out the door!

Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts

About Me

As an enthusiast and expert in meal prepping, I understand the importance of planning and preparing meals in advance to save time and ensure that nutritious and delicious meals are readily available. I have personally experienced the benefits of meal prepping and have extensive knowledge of various meal prep techniques, recipes, and tips. My expertise in this area is demonstrated through my in-depth understanding of the meal prepping process, including planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation. Additionally, I have researched and studied various meal prep strategies, recipes, and meal plans to provide comprehensive and practical advice on this topic.

Meal Prep Concepts

Meal prepping involves planning and preparing meals in advance to save time and ensure that nutritious and delicious meals are readily available throughout the week. It includes creating a weekly meal plan, organizing a grocery list, and dedicating time for food preparation. The process aims to simplify mealtime decisions, reduce cooking time during the week, and promote healthier eating habits for individuals and families.

Key Concepts:

Meal Planning: Creating a weekly meal plan that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner options to eliminate confusion about food choices throughout the week.
Grocery Shopping: Organizing a grocery list based on the meal plan and preferably shopping the day before the food prep day to streamline the process.
Food Preparation: Dedicating time to cook and portion out meals for the week, including cooking proteins, chopping vegetables, and portioning out ingredients.

Meal Prep Recipes and Ideas

The meal prep article provides a comprehensive seven-day meal planning outline with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even dessert. It emphasizes the importance of keeping meal prep simple by choosing 2-3 recipes for each meal and portioning them out for the week. The article also offers a variety of recipe ideas for different meals, including no bake granola bars, steel-cut oatmeal, energy bites, smoothies, pasta salads, tacos, zucchini noodle salad, soups, and various protein-based dishes.

Key Recipe Ideas:

Breakfast: No bake granola bars, steel-cut oatmeal, energy bites, overnight oats, smoothies, and baked oatmeal.
Lunch: Pasta salads, tacos, zucchini noodle salad, quinoa salad, steak fajita salad, minestrone soup, and watermelon strawberry basil salad.
Dinner: Roasted vegetable Buddha bowls, beef and broccoli, teriyaki chicken zoodles, teriyaki salmon foil packets, lemon herb chicken sheet pan, chicken chow mein, and slow cooker orange chicken.
Dessert: Paleo zucchini oatmeal bars and zucchini breakfast cookies.

Expertise and Learning

Becoming an expert in meal prepping, like any other skill, involves deliberate practice and continuous learning. Deliberate practice focuses on improving existing skills and expanding the range of skills, requiring concentration and dedication. Research on cognition has shown that successful learning involves linking new knowledge to what is already known, emphasizing the importance of building on existing knowledge to enhance expertise.

Key Learning Principles:

Deliberate Practice: Involves improving existing skills and extending the range of skills through concentrated and focused practice.
Linking Knowledge: Successful learning involves linking new knowledge to what is already known, emphasizing the importance of building on existing knowledge to enhance expertise.

By understanding these concepts and principles, individuals can enhance their meal prepping skills and expertise, leading to more efficient and effective meal planning and preparation.

I hope this information provides valuable insights into meal prepping and encourages individuals to explore the benefits of planning and preparing meals in advance. If you have any specific questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!