Whether you are trying to eat out less, lose weight, or stick to a new nutrition regimen, meal prepping is key to staying on track. When you can reach in the fridge and get exactly what you need you are less likely to stray from your plan. Once I give clients their macros, the number one question I get, “Okay, I know I need to meal prep, but where do I start? What should I make/eat?” Here is my guide to meal prepping and keeping it simple for lunches and dinner.

Lean Protein (choose 2):

Chicken – Each week I make a crockpot full of shredded chicken. I put about 5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my crockpot with a cup of water, favorite seasoning (Butt Rub) and shut the lid. Cook on high for 3-4 hours and shred with a fork.

Ground Turkey – I buy ground turkey and make 3-4oz turkey burgers. Form the ground turkey into patties. Season with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning. Then spray your pan with an olive oil spray and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink. Or you can cook the ground turkey without forming into burgers and eat it that way.

Vegetables:

Your favorite veggies for roasting – Line a few pans with foil, spray with olive oil spray, and put on your veggies. My favorite right now are things I don’t have to cut up! I usually get a couple bags of the mixed veggies that contain broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (Taylor Farms is a good one). Also our Farmer’s Markets have great vegetables right now. (Those aren’t pre-cut haha, so cut into about 1 inch pieces.) Spray those with some of the olive oil spray, salt & pepper, and roast at 425 degrees until tender and a little browned. (usually like 25 minutes)

Carbs (choose 2):

Sweet Potatoes – Line a pan with foil, poke holes in your sweet potatoes with a fork and roast at 400 degrees for about 40 – 50 minutes depending on the size. They will be fork tender when done.

White or Brown Rice – You can follow the directions on your rice to cook on your stove, or take a short-cut and buy some bags of the 90 second rice you can throw in the microwave : )

Now you have your proteins, vegetables, and carbs you can mix up and do so much with. Here are some other staples I buy for the week to go with the above:

Avocados

Fruit (bananas, apples, berries, etc.)

Mixed Greens/Spinach

Cherry Tomatoes

Almond butter

Black Beans

Sweet Potato Fries

Bolthouse Dressings

BBQ Sauce

Eggs

Red Onion

Salsa

Now what do I do with all of this food? Here is how I use the above for lunches and dinners. You can pre-portion meals out in containers or keep everything separated and measure out what you need when you need it.

• Salad – field greens, cherry tomatoes, Bolthouse dressing, shredded chicken (you can add anything you like to your salad – cheese, slivered almonds, other veggies)
• Loaded Sweet Potato – cut open your sweet potato, top with shredded chicken or ground turkey, salsa, avocado, and a drizzle of Bolthouse Salsa Verde Avocado or Cilantro Avocado dressing.
• Homemade Chipotle Bowl – rice, black beans, chicken and/or ground turkey, avocado, and salsa. (If I have time I like to sauté peppers and a red onion, you can also add corn, cheese, lettuce, cilantro, jalapeños, etc.)
• BBQ Chicken – add in your favorite bbq sauce to your shredded chicken, serve with a sweet potato and roasted veggies.
• Turkey burger – if you have time throw your sweet potato fries in the oven and serve along with your roasted veggies. (pro tip: top turkey burger with an over easy egg)

These are some of my favorite ways to eat the simple foods I have already prepped. They are all versatile too. If you need more protein you can always increase the amount of chicken, or if you need more fat you can choose the ground turkey over the chicken for that meal. Add rice for more carbs, or eat your protein with just the veggies or on top of a salad to keep carbs lower. The options are endless and keeping the ingredients simple makes tracking in My Fitness Pal even easier.

Katelyn’s Kravings:

Seasoning – Bad Byron’s Butt Rub

Favorite Dressing – Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado

Crockpot(currently half off!) – All-Clad Delux Slowcooker 7-QT 

katelynmarando