6 Tips for Easy Lunch Meal Prep
Save time and money while eating healthier with these tips for preparing lunches in advance.
Meal prepping can be a game-changer, especially when it comes to lunchtime. The most popular meal to prep in advance is lunch because we often eat this meal out of the house, either while we’re at work or at school. Not sure what meal prepping is? Meal prepping involves spending time on one day to prepare meals you can eat later in the week so they’re ready to grab and go when you need them.
Whether you’re juggling work, school, taking care of kids, or just a busy schedule—having lunch prepared ahead of time can:
- Save time
- Reduce stress
- And help you stay on track with your nutritional goals
If you’re not used to meal prepping, it can seem overwhelming at first. But with a few tips, you’ll be a meal prep pro in no time—and once you realize how much time and money it saves, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to get started.
Here are 6 tips to make meal prepping your lunches a breeze:
- Eat the same thing – It’s easy to prepare lunches in advance if you’re willing to eat the same thing for more than one meal. That way, you can prepare food in a large quantity and divvy it up into more than one serving so you have lunch for a few days.
- Use similar ingredients – Even if you don’t want to eat the same thing every day, you can save time and money by using the same ingredients in different ways. For example, grilled chicken can be used in a Thai chicken salad one day, a chicken wrap the next and a chicken rice bowl on a third day.
- Eat leftovers for lunch – One easy way to have a prepped lunch ready to go without much effort is to make extra for dinner and then pack it up to take with you for lunch the next day. It’s a tasty way to enjoy a healthy meal without much extra effort.
- Prep multiple meals to save time – Coordinate the ingredients you’ll need for lunch with other meals you’ll make during the week and do all the prep at once. For example, chop enough veggies for lunch salads and for the stir-fry you plan to have for dinner one night.
- Pack items separately – It may be best to keep some ingredients separated until right before you’re ready to eat them. For example, store salad dressings in a separate container. If you plan to make sandwiches, keep the bread separate from the fillings so it doesn’t get soggy.
- Use quality storage containers – Meal prep containers don’t have to be anything fancy, but if you invest in quality containers that are sized and shaped to fit the kinds of meals you eat, you’ll find it easier to store and serve meals.
Many people find that Sundays are the perfect day to meal prep. But depending on your schedule, find any time that works for you and prepare as many lunches as you want. You don’t have to prep for a whole week for it to be effective—even just preparing your lunch the night before makes your morning less stressful and guarantees you’ll have lunch waiting for you when you’re ready to walk out the door.
