Meal Prep Monday: My Typical Go To Snacks & Meals

Meal prep...most people hear the words and pretend they didn't! They automatically think time consuming, too expensive, not worth it, I'd rather pay someone to do it for me! Well, it doesn't HAVE to be that difficult!  There are ways to make it easier AND you don't have to do it all at once. Do a few days at a time and do one meal and snacks to start with. It's DEFINITELY worth it. And the minute you try it and realize how much easier your life is when you do it, you'll be glad you did. Here's how my meal prep works each week. It's not always perfect, not always the same but I don't deviate much!

SNACKS
For my snacks, I separate them into serving size baggies or containers and put them in the fridge or pantry so they're easy to grab!  These are the snacks I prepare most weeks. I try and switch them up so I don't have the same thing each week and try to have veggies, healthy fats, carbs, fruits and proteins throughout the day and week. I love things like string cheese or a piece of fruit because I can just grab them and go and don't have to worry about peeling, slicing, prepping, etc!

You don't need a ton of the 21 Day Fix Containers. Having 1 or 2 sets is enough! Buy some of these or something similar in any color and use them to take your yogurt, cottage cheese, hummus, etc with you! 

Shakeology
First and foremost, I DO NOT miss a day with this stuff. I have it every morning and it sets the tone for the rest of my day. I fill up my blender the night before with my liquid (water or cold coffee), spinach, some yogurt, Shakeology & anything else I'm adding) and put the blender jar in the fridge. Then in the morning, I just put it on the blender and go. IF I know I won't have much time, I even make it the night before and put it in the fridge. It stays pretty thick and I just shake it and go in the morning. IF you leave early for work and don't want to wake up the family, this is a good idea! I take it with me every day on errands, to mommy n me class, soccer games, day trips etc because I sip it throughout the morning.

Slice & place in single serve containers or baggies
--baby carrots
--grape tomatoes
--sliced bell peppers
--sliced cucumbers

Separate & place in single serve containers or baggies
--cottage cheese
--hummus
--peanut butter
--yogurt

Place in single serve containers or baggies
--berries
--almonds
--crackers
--popcorn (fave is skinny pop from Costco)
--roasted peas
--gluten free crackers

Just grab & go 
--string cheese
--apples
--hard boiled eggs
--baked sweet potato (pop it in the microwave & it's done)
--protein bar (Quest, Detour, Think Thin, Pure Protein)
--protein egg muffins (just throw egg whites, any veggies you like & even some turkey or lean protein you want into a muffin tin, bake, remove and keep in the fridge!) Easy, low carb, low cal & grab & go!

MEALS
I prep most of my dinners the day I eat them because I mostly work from home and I just make extra so I can have some for lunch the next 2 or 3 days. That takes care of my lunch prep.  What I do to make dinner prep easier though is do some prepping in advance on the weekends or at night the night before after everyone has gone to bed.  It's the only quiet time I get.  I marinate my chicken, fish, steak, etc the night before and leave it in the fridge ready to grab.  I slice up my veggies and put them in the fridge in marinade too if necessary so they're all set as well. That makes it much easier to just throw stuff in the oven and make a quick dinner. I NEVER fry anything so most of my meals are either in the oven or on the grill outside.  Here are some of the foods I prep and make for dinner

Mason jar salads
These are some of the easiest things to make and have ready to grab & go. You can add anything you want to them, put them in the fridge and grab them when you're hungry or heading out! If you don't have mason jars, get them or use a larger tupperware.

Marinade in balsamic, lemon juice & no salt seasoning then keep in fridge til you bake or grill it. You can also make it lightly breaded.
--chicken breast
--fish

Ground turkey or chicken I tend to make in advance on the weekends or at night while family sleeps and keep it in the fridge for pasta sauce, to make stuffed peppers, add to salad to make a taco salad, eat it with lettuce as lettuce wraps, etc. 
--ground white meat chicken
--ground extra lean turkey

Side dishes vary for us but not much. These are my go to dishes and how/when I prep them!

Make ahead and leave in the fridge for the week so I can have it at lunch or for dinner & it reheats well.
--quinoa
--rice
--couscous
--spaghetti squash
--pasta

Slice it up the night before or the morning of and have it ready to bake in the oven for dinner.
--zucchini squash
--acorn squash
--bell peppers
--portobello mushrooms
--onions
--sweet potato fries

Open the can, squeeze some lemon in it and eat! You can eat it by itself or in lettuce leaves!
--canned salmon
--canned tuna

These foods are ones I have ready to go in the freezer or fridge and make it easy to eat healthy when meal prep hasn't gone as planned! 
--Romaine lettuce (just slice and make a salad with tomatoes & feta)
--spinach (easy to add to a salad)
--salmon burgers (Costco-just heat them up and eat)
--Normandy Vegetables (Costco-frozen broccoli, carrots, squash & cauliflower. I steam a lot of it and keep it in the fridge to eat for lunch, dinner or a snack)
--Sliced turkey from the deli (Costco has nitrate free low sodium varieties)
--Panko chicken breasts (Costco-easy to bake and eat for lunch or dinner)
--Grilled pre-cooked frozen chicken breasts (Costco-easy to reheat)
--Egg whites and eggs (make a quick omelet with anything you have in the fridge or scrambled eggs)