Easy Healthy Meal Prep

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Searching for easy, healthy meal prep ideas? I’ve got tons of meal prep recipes and tips for how to meal prep for the week!

Have you started meal prepping yet? If not, we’re about to show you just how easy it truly can be. 

We absolutely love meal prepping and it has become such a part of our weekly routine that we can’t imagine our lives without it!

Meal prep has helped our family in so many ways and we have pulled together our best tips and tricks to ensure you can easily meal prep!

What are the benefits of Healthy Meal Preps

So many people love meal prepping and it can be especially helpful for busy people. Some of the reasons we love meal prepping are: 

• It Saves Time – Because your meals are either partially or completely cooked ahead of time, there isn’t as much of a rush at lunch or dinner to throw something together. You also saved the decision-making time right before a meal because you’ve already planned it out. 
• It Saves Money – Prepping meals ahead of time helps save money by cutting down on food waste. You also won’t be buying ingredients that you don’t have a plan for that will end up going to waste. Also, you won’t be as tempted to grab take-out if dinner or lunch is already prepped and ready to go. We also have an entire post all about Cheap Healthy Meals!
• It Helps Us To Eat Healthier – Not only are home-cooked meals better for your wallet, but they also are typically much healthier than take-out. It’s so easy to incorporate healthy proteins and fresh fruits and veggies into your meals when you’re cooking for yourself as well as cut down on salt and preservatives.

Clean Eating Meal Prep for the week:

Meal prepping doesn’t have to be overwhelming or complicated. Here are some easy steps you can take when meal prepping: 

1. Take inventory of your fridge/freezer. See what you already have on hand to reduce food waste and save money for the week ahead.
2. Pick out your recipes. There are so many delicious recipes that are perfect for prepping breakfast or dinner ahead of time.
3. Make a schedule. Look at your family’s weekly schedule and then write down what meals you will eat on which day of the week.
4. Make a grocery list. Compare your recipes to your pantry and fridge inventory and make a grocery list for the ingredients you are missing. 
5. Go to the store and prep. Some recipes can be fully made ahead of time (ex: protein muffins or paleo chicken soup) while other recipes may still taste best cooked fresh, but you can wash and chop all the veggies/fruit or marinate the meat.
6. Sit back and enjoy! You now have ALL this free time because you don’t have to run to the grocery store again this week or think about what to make for dinner!

This may seem overwhelming if you aren’t currently in the habit of meal prepping, but I promise it is so simple and absolutely worth it! 

Easy Healthy Meal Prep Essentials

While some meal prep ingredients have to be purchased fresh (ex: fruits and veggies), there are many ingredients that are perfect meal prep staples that you can stock in your pantry or freezer to pull from when picking your recipes for the week. These are some of my top favorites: 

1. Olive Oil – We cook every day with olive oil. It’s the base of most recipes, but can also be used for homemade dressings
2. Condiments – Coconut Aminos, Balsamic Vinegar, Mustard, Healthy Dressings, and Buffalo Sauce are some of our favorites.
3. Rice – Quick to cook, cheap, and a great complex carb that goes with any meal.
4. Spices – Spices can take bland chicken and veggies to a flavorful meal!
5. Canned Tomatoes – They can be used in soups, sauce, chili + more!
6. Frozen Vegetables – Green beans, cauliflower rice & broccoli are great to have on hand to add to quick meals.
7. Frozen Protein – Ground beef, ground turkey, and chicken are all incredibly versatile. We love getting our meat delivered from ButcherBox which is so convenient because we don’t have to go to the store or look out for sales to get the best prices on great quality meat.

I also have a whole blog post that breaks down all of my favorite pantry staples that you may find very helpful if you are just getting into healthy meal prep or if you just want to build your pantry. 

We love Thrive Market Products for many of these meal prep essentials.

Easy Meal Prep Ideas:

Here are some easy full-meal meal prep ideas (you can definitely mix and match depending on your preferences): 

• Baked Boneless Chicken Breast, Roasted Potatoes, and Green Beans Almondine
• Whole30 Stuffed Peppers and Corn Tomato Avocado Salad
• Homemade Meatballs on a salad with some Healthy Roasted Chickpeas as croutons and lots of Thrive Market Greek Dressing

• Pork, Vegetable Kebabs, and Garlic Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Rosemary Chicken Sauce over zoodles or rice
• Healthy Orange Chicken, Roasted Broccoli or Green Beans, and rice

• Spicy Honey Citrus Chicken over Strawberry Avocado Goat Cheese Salad
• Crockpot Pulled Pork, Balsamic Mushrooms, and Crispy Roasted Potatoes
• Baked Chicken Thighs, Mashed Potatoes, and Parmesan Brussel Sprouts
• Chili Lime Chicken, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Pickled Veggies

Easy Meal Prep Ideas for dinner

Here are some healthy meal prep ideas that have all the components of a healthy meal with all the ingredients being cooked at the same time: 

• Lemon Rosemary Chicken Thigh Dinner is made with only 10 ingredients and is the perfect quick meal
• Healthy Chicken Pad Thai is packed with veggies, chicken, and brown rice noodles, and a healthier version of a classic takeout dish
• Italian Pork Tenderloin is perfect for meal prepping and paleo, whole30, gluten-free, and a must-try
• Healthy Fried Rice is full of flavor + so delicious – just like takeout chicken fried rice at home

• Chicken and Rice Casserole is made with broccoli and no condensed soup – this is the best dinner made in one pan
• Sweet and Sour Chicken is healthy, gluten-free, and without pineapple
• Vegetable Baked Ziti is a simple weeknight meal your whole family will love. Loaded with veggies and cheese, it’s delicious and quick to make!
• Healthy Mediterranean Chicken Orzo is made with simple ingredients, packed with flavor, and done in under 30 minutes

• Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli is a delicious, paleo meal made in your crockpot
• Pesto Chicken Zucchini Noodles are paleo and gluten-free, this easy dinner comes together in under 30 minutes

Need more ideas for dinner? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes.

Easy Meal Prep Ideas for Soup

If you know me, I love a hearty, veggie-filled soup! I also think they can be one of the best ways to meal prep for your week. Here are some of my favorite, filling soup recipes: 

• Paleo Chicken Soup loaded with veggies, paleo, whole30, and keto-friendly
• Chicken Tortilla Soup you can make in your crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove
• Easy Minestrone Soup is vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan – it’s delicious and done in under 30 minutes

• Southwest Chicken Quinoa Soup is an easy, healthy, gluten-free dinner
• Healthy White Chicken Chili is the perfect quick dinner and can be made in your crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove
• Instant Pot Potato Soup that is full of loaded baked potato flavor and easily made dairy-free, vegan, paleo, and Whole30 friendly
• Lemon Chicken Soup is a delicious, healthy Greek dinner that is packed with veggies and keto, paleo & whole30
• Chicken Pot Pie Soup is easy to make and SO cozy – you’ll love how creamy and tasty this chicken pot pie soup is while being completely dairy-free

• 15 Bean Soup is vegan, high protein, tasty & easily made in the slow cooker, instant pot, or on the stove
• Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Chili is paleo, Whole30, and gluten-free

Easy Healthy Meal Prep Breakfast Recipes

While I’m not a huge fan of breakfast, here are some of my favorite meal prep ideas for breakfast: 

• Baked Oatmeal – Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, Chocolate Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal, Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal, Mango Baked Oatmeal
• Muffins – Healthy Protein Muffins, Healthy Lemon Chia Muffins, Healthy Apple Muffins, Healthy Carrot Muffins, Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins or check out these 30+ Healthy Muffins
• Overnight Oats – Berry Overnight Oats, Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats, Almond Joy Overnight Oats, Pumpkin Overnight Oats, Protein Overnight Oats, Mango Overnight Oats, Banana Overnight Oats

• Potato Crust Quiche Recipe or Bacon and Cheese Quiche
• Keto Ham and Cheese Frittata
• Southwest Bacon Breakfast Burrito
• Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (or these pumpkin breakfast cookies) 

• Egg Muffin Cups
• Peanut Butter Protein Bars
• Or my personal favorite breakfast is to eat leftovers from dinner the night before. Trust me! Your stomach won’t know the difference.

Healthy Meal Prep Recipes for Lunch

Any of these meals would be perfect for your lunch meal prep regardless of if you work from home or take lunch to the office: 

• Healthy Crockpot Pulled Pork is a perfectly easy, filling weeknight dinner
• Buffalo Chicken Salad is easy, healthy, and such a delicious lunch!

• Crockpot Shredded Chicken is juicy, perfectly cooked, and only requires 4 ingredients
• Baked Feta Pasta made in under an hour, cheesy, delicious & easy to make
• Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad is made with no mayo, high in protein, low fat, and low carb
• Taco Cauliflower Rice Bowls are a delicious low carb, keto lunch that is naturally gluten-free

• Greek Chicken Cauliflower Rice Bowls are a delicious, easy meal that is naturally gluten-free, keto, dairy-free, Whole30 + paleo-friendly
• Coffee BBQ Pulled Pork is smoked on a Traeger grill or made in your crockpot, it is paleo, whole30 and SO yummy
• For an after-lunch snack, try Homemade Gummy Bears; a delicious treat made with only 3 ingredients & done in 15 minutes. Gluten free, refined sugar free and paleo – you’ll love them!