Meal Prep 101: The Menu, Grocery List, and Cooking Instructions to Get You Started

By Dominique Michelle Astorino

Updated on 1/25/2020 at 2:25 PM

POPSUGAR Photography | Dominique Michelle Astorino
POPSUGAR Photography | Dominique Michelle Astorino

So you've made it your resolution or goal to start meal prepping. Whether you want to lose weight, save money, or simply eat a bit healthier, meal prep is an excellent tried-and-true tactic that lots of people rely on to make hectic weeknight dinners a thing of the past and their goals more attainable. That said, it can feel beyond intimidating when you're getting started.

Ahead is a simple, healthful five-day menu with ingredients you can find anywhere (typically at a bargain, too!). This plan is modifiable, customizable, and above all, a great outline you can refer back to again and again. Get excited for delicious soups and salads, hearty protein bowls, and lightning-fast breakfasts.

The Menu

The Menu

I think one of the pitfalls for new meal-preppers is monotony; if you're forced to eat the same food for every single meal, you're bound to divert from your plan. Keep things fresh and interesting with a balanced menu, while still keeping it simple — you don't want to have to make 15 different recipes for a five-day week, right?

Here's what my sample week looks like:

  • Breakfasts: Three smoothies, two overnight oats
  • Lunches: Three salads, two protein bowls
  • Dinners: Three protein bowls, two soups

You can mix these up throughout the week and alternate. (In other words, you could have smoothies for breakfast on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and overnight oats on Tuesday and Thursday. The same is true for salads, bowls, and soups.) The bases will be similar and easy to prepare, but you can dress them up in different ways.

For example, preparing overnight oats comes down to having oats, chia, and plant milk — or regular milk, whatever works — but you can mix in different spices and toppings to incorporate more variety. With salads, you can spice things up with different dressings and toppings, but you'll still portion out the same leafy green base.

What You'll Need

What You'll Need

Think of this grocery list as more of a general outline than an exact science — when you put your recipes together, you can create your own list based on your dietary preferences, the number of people you're prepping for, etc. You may also have some of the ingredients in your pantry or refrigerator already!

For Smoothies

  • Frozen fruit or vegetables (mix of your choice)
  • Protein powder or nut butter (I use collagen because it mixes into anything without the protein powder taste)
  • Plant milk or juice

For Overnight Oats

  • Oats
  • Chia seeds
  • Maple syrup
  • Coconut milk or almond milk
  • Spices, toppings

For Salads

  • Leafy greens (if you go with spinach or baby kale, these can be blended into your smoothies as well, or wilted into protein bowls)
  • Veggie toppings
  • Nuts and seeds (try pine nuts, almonds, macadamia . . . the world is your oyster)
  • Avocado
  • Dressings (either store-bought or homemade; I love the carrot ginger miso at Trader Joe's)

For Protein Bowls

  • Quinoa (I buy this in bulk at Costco)
  • Chicken or another protein of your choice
  • Olive oil or coconut oil (I know coconut oil is a controversial pick, but I like both of these for their flavor profiles)
  • Green vegetables like fresh spinach, broccoli, and brussels sprouts
  • Sauces (I'll be using a homemade honey-lime-sriracha sauce for one)

For Soup

I'm using a modified, Instant Pot version of San Francisco-based Parisian chef Zoe McLaughlin's spiced carrot soup recipe that she so graciously shared with me.

  • Carrots
  • Leeks
  • Yellow onion
  • Olive oil
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Cumin
  • Coriander
  • Veggie stock
Let's Get Started!

Let's Get Started!

The chicken and quinoa — two core ingredients for your protein bowls and possibly your salads — will take about 20 minutes to cook, so let's get them going first so you can work on some other tasks while they're heating up. Make sure you have enough to create six protein bowls: three lunches and three dinners.

Season and Bake Your Chicken

If you're making six protein bowls and three salads, you'll want about eight chicken breasts or thighs — one piece per bowl and a half for salads. If you're skipping on the chicken salad, just make six.

  1. Preheat your oven to 350.
  2. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with a nonstick oil.
  3. Arrange your chicken breasts or thighs on the foil (it's better if they're not touching) and then rub them with a bit of olive oil before seasoning liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. This should be somewhat neutral, however, as you'll be topping your dishes with different sauces and dressings.
  4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, ensuring an internal temperature of 165 F at the end (note: if it's bone-in chicken, you may need more time).

Cook the Quinoa

While your chicken is baking, start your quinoa. There are different methods for cooking quinoa, but this is my default. You'll want 1 1/2 cups of dry quinoa to yield 3 cups of cooked quinoa (it puffs up as it cooks); that makes for six half-cup servings (three lunches and three dinners).

  1. Fill a saucepan with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. For extra flavor, you can toss in a bouillon or veggie stock cube.
  2. Once you're at a rolling boil, pour in 1 1/2 cups of quinoa and reduce the heat to low. Cover your pot. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
  3. In 15 minutes, check on your quinoa; stir and fluff with a fork. Depending on the type of quinoa, it may be done at this point, or may need about five more minutes.
  4. Remove from heat, fluff, and cover while you finish your next tasks.
Next Up, Portion Ingredients For Salads and Smoothies

Next Up, Portion Ingredients For Salads and Smoothies

For your three salads and three smoothies, you'll want to make ready-to-go packs that'll help you save time during the week.

Smoothie Packs

Depending on your goals, your smoothie formula will vary. To keep this general, I've created a smoothie pack designed for general wellness.

  1. Grab three Ziploc baggies and fill each of them with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of frozen fruit of your choice.
  2. In separate containers (such as mason jars), portion out 1 1/2 to 2 cups of almond milk, coconut milk, or juice, and one to two scoops of protein powder or collagen. Whisk or shake to adequately blend without clumps, and set aside in the refrigerator.
  3. When you're ready to make your smoothie, throw a cup of spinach or greens in the base of your blender, then your pack of frozen fruits, and finally the protein-milk mixture.

Salad Packs

Salads can be tricky because you don't want veggies to wilt or wither after they're chopped and exposed to air. The easiest thing you can do is make portioned greens-only packs, and keep your dressings, wet toppings, and dry ingredients separate.

  1. In three separate food storage containers, portion two cups of leafy greens for each of your salad bases.
  2. You can chop or add in some of your vegetables (cherry tomatoes, carrots, etc.), but others dry out or brown (like sliced cucumber and avocado), so you may want to wait on those. Add in any pre-sliced toppings to your base packs. Store these in your refrigerator.
  3. If you have wet toppings such as artichoke hearts or olives, keep them in a wet toppings container or baggy.
  4. In separate baggies or containers, portion your nuts and seeds, dried fruit, and any other dry toppings for your salad. Set aside with your salad packs and topping packs in the refrigerator.
  5. In my opinion, salads are best when they're assembled the day of, so when you're ready to take your salad to work or wherever you're headed, put everything together except your dressing. Dress it when you're ready to eat!
Now Make Your Soup and Overnight Oats

Now Make Your Soup and Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are among the easiest, simplest breakfasts you'll ever make. It's just a matter of pouring things into a mason jar and letting them sit in your fridge (you guessed it) overnight. And this Instant Pot soup will be totally foolproof as well. Eating delicious healthy food isn't so tough after all, is it?

Make Your Overnight Oats Jars

  1. Fill two mason jars with 1/2 cup of oats and 1 teaspoon of chia seeds.
  2. Add 1/2 cup liquid, such as almond or coconut milk, almond nog, chocolate coconut milk, or chai.
  3. Add spices and toppings. Think: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, coconut flakes, almond slivers, chocolate chips.
  4. Refrigerate overnight and prepare to have a delicious instant breakfast in the morning!

Prepare Soup in the Instant Pot

As mentioned, this is a slightly modified version of the (much fancier and more gourmet) recipe from chef Zoe McLaughlin. I tried this vegan soup in early 2018 and despite the fact that I loathe carrots, I was scraping the bowl. It's that delicious.

If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can make this in a slow cooker or on the stovetop. I'm using the Instant Pot to demonstrate how you can streamline meal prep further and save even more time. The ingredients here make two to three servings, enough to feed one person two nights a week.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 leeks, light green and white part only, finely sliced
  • 1 1/2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 1/4 pounds of carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

  1. In the Instant Pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering; add sliced leeks, garlic, and ginger; use the sauté function on the Instant Pot until leeks are softened and translucent (about five to six minutes).
  2. Turn off the sauté function; add ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Add carrots and stir to coat with spice mixture. Then add broth and 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, put the lid on the Instant Pot, and cook on high pressure for five minutes.
  3. Use an immersion blender or transfer to blender and blend until smooth.
  4. Store in mason jars or a food storage container until you're ready to eat!

Mix things up week after week with different healthy Instant Pot soups; they're so simple to put together, and you can easily freeze soup to plan meals further out.

Finally, Assemble Your Protein Bowls

Finally, Assemble Your Protein Bowls

Much like salads, protein bowls get their pizzazz in the final stages of assembly when you're ready to eat them. To make your life easier, though, we'll put them together in advance so you can dress and top them accordingly. Here's the formula:

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 chicken breast (roughly 6 oz.) or other protein of your choice
  • 1 to 2 cups vegetables
  • Sauces and toppings of your choice

My go-to, all-time favorite is a recipe I found on Pinterest years ago: sriracha chicken quinoa bowls. I add avocado to mine and plenty of broccoli to up my green intake. When I'm ready to eat lunch or dinner, I simply add the honey-lime-sriracha sauce and avocado to my prepped quinoa, chicken, and veggies.

You can spice this up in whatever way suits your tastes. Go Tex-Mex and try a chicken fajita quinoa bowl, make your bowl tangy with tahini, or throw some cheese in there to mix it up.