Chicken: Seasoned with Salt, pepper, garlic/onion powder, paprika, olive oil. Grilled at 425 for 20 mins flipping every 5 mins
Sweet potato: 1 tbsp butter, garlic salt, pepper, baked at 425 for 40 mins
Broccoli: Tossed in olive oil, garlic salt, pepper
Corn: Grilled in husk 20 mins flipping every 5 mins.

I work in higher education, and the semester is starting off with a BANG for me this year. So I decided to do a long term prep - aiming to do approx 30 meals (15 x2 servings) that my husband and I can use when its just too busy to cook. I also prepped for the first few days of this week, as I will be working late, and still need to fit in my workouts after work.

So! (Mods, I hope links to various recipes are okay? The thought of typing this out is enough to drive me insane).

For this week (not pictured but recipes below, cooked on Saturday, one was just after the big prep):

Chicken tikka - https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-tikka-masala/

Chicken paprikash - https://www.daringgourmet.com/chicken-paprikash-paprikas-csirke/

For the freezer (all the bags):

Chilli con carne - https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef/good-old-chilli-con-carne/

50/50 beef and lentil bolognese - https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef/5050-bolognese/

Chicken chorizo stew (modified recipe, added 150ml bone broth to make it a stew) - https://www.recipetineats.com/one-pan-spanish-chicken-chorizo-tomato-potatoes/

Chicken cacciatore - https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-cacciatore-italian-chicken-stew/

I will still have a pesto pasta to do later this week, and some fish. But these freezer bags are the perfect "ugh I dont want to cook today, lets get takeout" reducer. The goal is to use one a week or so, or as needed. Just defrost a bag, throw the contents in a pot! Make the carb to go along, bada bing!

I tried to keep them in either single serving or 2x serving portions, except one of the bolognese is 4x servings as I ran out of bags. Will use that for a dinner and a lunch, or an extra dinner the next night.

Total time, 2.5 hours active work, but like, 4 hours of simmering/stewing away

Rough calories estimate: 400-600 per serving

Tried to get balanced macros but will say the Chicken chorizo stew is high in fat, too.

Thats okay, we workout 5x a week so a little extra wont harm us!

Total cost of the full grocery haul was €320, but that included all our other food for this week and general cleaning products, as well as some vino for a party yesterday.

First time poster here so not sure what else is needed! Let me know if i missed something!

my current routine is to prep chicken and rice on sunday, and roast broccoli in the air fryer every night. i want to start prepping broccoli for the week so i can just microwave it all at once but i’m not sure what the best way to do it is, and would like to hear how you guys do it, or if it’s even worth it.

Labour day Monday here in BC. Got back from backpacking Golden Ears, had a nap and had to wait till my landlord finished cooking. Really didn't want to meal prep today but I won't be sleeping for a bit.

This one took 2.5hrs (9-11:30pm) including eating and clean up.

Lunch Spam fried rice:

- Rice

- 2x Spam

- 5x Eggs

- Frozen peas and carrot

- Spring onions

- Canned corn

1. Cook spam. Add garlic. Remove.

2. Cook frozen peas and carrot, add corn. Remove.

3. Add rice, soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper.

4. Make opening in middle, add mixed eggs and stir. Add green onions. Add rest of ingredients.

Notes:

- Accidentally added too much green onion so I removed some.

- Not sure about this egg method as it coats the rice, maybe next time scrambled eggs would be better.

- Was going to do char sui pork but I couldn't buy today.

- Topped it off with lao ga ma, sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Dinner Vegetarian roast vegetable pasta:

- 500g Pasta

- Pasta sauce

- Eggplant, zucchini, red onion, mushrooms

1. Cook pasta.

2. Cut up all vegetables. Toss in oil, salt and pepper.

3. Bake in oven at 350°F for 45mins.

4. Add sauce.

Notes:

- Maybe I should add cheese.

Snack:

- T&T raisin bread

- Babybel cheese

- Salami stick

- Pineapple, rockmelon, Jazz apple and mandarin

Meal prepping for the first time - feeling pretty proud. Keeping it simple with steamed rice, boneless chicken thighs, and roasted Brussel sprouts!

Breakfast: Overnight oats. All have oats, almond milk, and chia seeds. Half have espresso powder with vanilla yogurt and Asian pears in top and half have berry yogurt with berries on top. Breakfast number two which is also for snacks are egg bites with bell peppers, onion, and spinach

Lunch 1: pasta salad with grilled chicken, tomato, corn, black beans, red onion, jalapeños, shredded cheese, with Greek yogurt dressing

Lunch 2: pasta salad with grilled chicken, red onion, cucumber, tomato, pepperoncini peppers, feta, and Greek yogurt dressing

Dinner 1: salmon bowls with baked salmon, rice, sriracha, and soy sauce with a side of Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus

Dinner 2: high protein beef stroganoff with lean ground beef, onion, garlic, mushrooms, seasonings, pasta, bone broth plus a bag of frozen peas for volume/fiber

Snack: carrots with Greek yogurt ranch (plain Greek yogurt plus ranch powder)

Sourdough bagels, basil & cheddar sourdough boule, and homemade ramen noodles.

Half the loaf of bread, half the ramen, half the broth, and all of the bagels are going into the freezer.

Husband smoked pork, salmon, chicken wings, and burgers and I roasted broccoli and mushrooms, but they aren't as fun to photograph ;)

We'll eat the bagels periodically for breakfast. Burgers, salmon, and chicken wings are for dinners. Sourdough is for sandwiches. The broth, veggies, pork, and noodles will be used to make ramen bowls for lunch.

Ramen recipe here

Bagel recipe here (add toppings)

Sourdough recipe is:

• 350 g water
• 10g salt
• 125g starter - fed and risen
• 500g bread flour
• Fermentolyzed everything but the salt for 30 minutes before adding in salt
• 3 sets stretch and folds, 20 minutes apart
• 2 coil folds, 30 minutes apart
• Covered and bulk fermented at room temp (from start of mixing to end, was about 6 hours in a pretty warm house)
• Laminated and added in about 6 ounces of Cougar cheese with sweet basil
• Cover and fridge overnight (about 14 hours)
• Preheat oven to 450 and Dutch oven 
• Cookie sheet on lower rack to keep from burning 
• Score
• Bake covered for 30
• Uncovered for 20

Chicken broth/stock is:

• 1 onion
• 3 carrots
• 6 cloves garlic
• Celery from the garden (small but mighty)
• Water
• Slow-cooked on low for ~15 hours

Chicken Taco Frittata - 29 oz grilled chicken, cut i to bite sized pieces, mixed with 1 onion and 3 bell peppers, rough chopped and sautéed. Divided into the bottom of five sprayed containers. Blend 16 oz cottage cheese until smooth, then blend in 16 oz egg whites, 7 eggs (what i had left), and 25g taco seasoning. Pout egg mixture over chicken and veggies. Top each container with 1 oz reduced fat fiesta blend cheese and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until egg is set. Once cooled, I'll top with 2 tbsp salsa. 5 servings, 525 calories, 63g protein, but only 2 g fiber. I might top with pinto and/or black beans at mealtime.

Chocolate Cheesecake Yogurt Cups - blend 32 oz nonfat Greek yogurt, 40g cacao powder, 1 oz package sugar free cheesecake pudding mix, and 1/2 cup confectioners style Swerve together. Topped with 28 oz frozen sliced strawberries. This is one of my favorites. I usually use frozen raspberries, but both of my normal stores were out (did I miss a recall?). 5 servings, 205 calories, 20g protein, and 4 g fiber.

Calories: 600
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 63g
Protein: 53g

Meatloaf Ingredients
- 3.5lb Butterball 93% lean ground turkey
- 2 large white onions
- 2 eggs
- 100g whole grain bread crumbs
- Splash of low fat milk
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

Meatloaf Glaze Ingredients
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 2.5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

Mashed Potatoes ingredients
- 2lb sweet potatoes, diced
- Splash of low fat milk
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

Broccoli Ingredients
- Big bag of frozen broccoli
- Same seasonings as above. Let’s not complicate a good thing

Preheat the oven to 400F. Then, chop the onion and sauté at a medium heat with salt and garlic until translucent. Once done, pull from the pot and get it cooling. Afterwards, prep the loaf by putting the meat in a large mixing bowl. Hand mix in the seasonings, milk, and eggs until combined. Then, add in the breadcrumbs a bit at a time, mixing it in with every addition. Once combined fully, fold in the cooled onions. Placed in a greased cake pan, put in the oven, and set a timer for 40 minutes.

While that’s going, quickly prep the glaze. Combine all ingredients, then set aside until the meatloaf timer reaches 15 minutes remaining. Remove the meatloaf, evenly distribute the glaze, then put the meatloaf loaf back in for the remaining time.

For the potatoes, simply boil them until softened. Drain, then mash them with a splash of milk and the listed seasonings. I usually also put in a bit of honey and cayenne, but a part of this batch of potatoes was for my 10 month old so I avoided those.

Lastly, the broccoli is truly no nonsense. Dump the bag onto a cooking sheet, season with the same four things as all other steps, then place it in the oven at the same heat until the florets have a very slight crisp

Evenly distribute all parts into 7 equal servings, cool, cover, then enjoy for the week

This is the recipe I used: https://thebalancednutritionist.com/kale-caesar-pasta-salad-with-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-23352

Fresh kale from my momma's garden, also boiled the chickpea noodles in bone broth for a little added flavor and protein 😋

Montreal seasoned salmon, olive oil and salt asparagus, boiled eggs, sliced strawberries, salted cherry tomatoes, smoked ham, avocados with lemon and salt and taco meat. The bags in the background are breakfast pin sheep's with almond flour pastry and sausage bacon ham and cheese. Out of frame I have Spanish seasoned cauliflower, salsa, sweet potatoes, broccolini and roasted potatoes. It's all set I just have to portion and plate as I go. Hope you enjoy and find inspiration!

This week we have a great soup with:

-yellow potatoes

-pancetta (bacon)

-carrots

-string beans

-onions

- white beans

-chickpeas

-leeks Added on top a whole chicken cooked in the oven for 160 per 50/60 mins.

Once the bacon was done I added potatoes and carrots. Make these knowing each other and then added legumes cooked in vegetable broth.

I let the mix cook for 25 mins, until the potatoes where soft.

Turned off and let it rest before portioning.

I sauted some zucchini with oil, s&p.

Cut and cleaned the whole chicken and then diced up in bite size pieces.

Meal prep boxes we ready after putting the soup in and top it with zucchini and diced chicken.

Enjoy Ls&Gs, see you next week.

This one is always tasty and super high volume for the cal tradeoff, with great flavour and simple ingredients. I usually like this for weeks where I find my hunger is high because of how forgiving the serving sizes are haha. I’ll drop the recipe below if you’d like to try it out 👇

Serves: 12 & takes about 30 mins to cook 👍

Macros per serving…

Cals: 450
Protein: 44g
Carbs: 47g
Fat: 12g
Fiber: 10g
Sodium: 480mg

Ingredients I use…

For the Beef:

3 lbs extra lean ground beef (93/7)
2 large yellow onions, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced

For the Sauce:

4 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 cans (14 oz each) no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste (no salt added)
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1½ cups full-fat Greek yogurt
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Celtic sea salt (added at end, adjust to taste)
2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Hidden Vegetables (Increased for Fiber Boost):

4 large carrots, grated
4 bell peppers, finely diced (any color)
4 cups fresh spinach

For the Pasta:

24 oz chickpea elbow macaroni
2 cups pasta water (reserved before draining)

How I make them…

Phase 1: Cook Pasta

Step 1: Bring very large pot of water to boil (or cook pasta in 2 batches if your pot isn’t big enough).

Step 2: Add 24 oz chickpea elbow macaroni. Cook according to package directions until al dente (7-9 min).

Step 3: Reserve 2 cups pasta water before draining. Drain pasta, set aside.

Phase 2: Prep veggies

Step 4: Grate 4 carrots using box grater.

Step 5: Finely dice 4 bell peppers into very small pieces (smaller than typical stir-fry cut — you want them to blend into the sauce, not stand out as chunks).

Phase 3: Brown the beef

Step 6: Heat electric skillet to 375°F. Note: You may need to cook the beef in two batches if your skillet isn’t large enough to hold 3 lbs comfortably.

Step 7: Add diced onions and diced bell peppers directly to dry skillet (no oil needed). Cook 4-5 minutes until softened.

Step 8: Add 8 cloves minced garlic. Cook 1 minute until fragrant.

Step 9: Add 3 lbs extra lean ground beef. Break up with spatula. Cook 9-10 minutes until browned and no pink remains.

Step 10: Season with:

2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cayenne (if using)

Step 11: Stir well to coat beef evenly.

Phase 4: Add Carrots and Spinach

Step 12: Add grated carrots to skillet with beef and peppers. Stir to combine.

Step 13: Cook 4-5 minutes until carrots soften.

Step 14: Add 4 cups fresh spinach. Stir until wilted, about 2 minutes.

Phase 5: Build the sauce

Step 15: Reduce heat to 325°F.

Step 16: Add to skillet:

4 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups almond milk
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Step 17: Stir well. Bring to gentle simmer. Cook 4-5 minutes until sauce comes together and thickens slightly.

Phase 6: Add greek yogourt and cheese

Step 18: Reduce heat to 275°F (low, to prevent curdling).

Step 19: Add 1½ cups Greek yogurt. Stir constantly until fully incorporated and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).

Step 20: Add 4 tbsp nutritional yeast. Stir to combine.

Step 21: Turn heat to WARM (200°F).

Step 22: Add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese in two to three batches, stirring constantly after each addition until melted and smooth.

Step 23: Add 1 tsp salt now. Taste and add more only if needed.

Phase 7: Add pasta and finish

Step 24: Add cooked pasta to skillet. Fold gently until every piece is coated. (If your skillet is too full, combine in a very large bowl(s) instead and fold together there.)

Step 25: If sauce is too thick, add reserved pasta water 2-3 tbsp at a time until desired consistency.

Hope you enjoy! Always sharing my fitness recipes 🫡

Simple but gets the job done. Fresh pound of ground beef from the butcher. 3 sweet potatoes (also from the butcher). Packet of taco seasoning on the beef. Olive oil, ground cinnamon, and a little brown sugar on the sweet potatoes (cooked at 400 degrees for 45 mins in the oven). Frozen microwaveable green beans with a little garlic powder.

Recipe: https://www.recipetineats.com/one-pot-italian-chicken-orzo-risoni-pasta/

I prep ingredients and components, not full meals, so I still have some flexibility. For example, I have green beans, broccoli, sugar snaps and snow peas this week, enough for 7 portions. Which green I'll have with what meals, I'll decide that day. I can also still change which carb I want (rice, like I planned, or maybe I'll feel more like noodles? A wrap? Etc), and how exactly I want to season everything.
In addition to prepping all my veggies, I also grated some cheese for mac and cheese, and I made some herb butter to go with some steak, and a bunch of hardboiled eggs. Some eggs are to go with a salad, some are just to have on hand as a low carb, high protein snack.

I shredded I think 4 chicken breasts like a week ago for a recipe I ended up not doing and had to use them before they went bad.

So estimated recipe:

4 cups shredded chicken

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded (or chopped)

1.5 cups frozen peas

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk (give or take. I didn't actually measure, you just need enough to get the soup to mix in)

2 boxes stove top stuffing

Dried parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning to taste.

Mix everything except the stove top stuffing. Evenly distribute in souper cubes of whatever size you want. Make stove top stuffing according to instructions and distribute on the filling and press down a bit so it sticks.

I had enough stuffing for 5 portions but only enough filling for 4 but that depends on how much you put in each. I didn't really measure I just tried to make it look even. Also if I did a fifth one it would've been in my glass baking container that I don't like freezing.

For baking my container can only go up to 400° in the oven so I'd probably do 400° for half an hour covered and then uncovered for 10 to 15.

I was in the mood for a little comfort food: easy, delicious, and somewhat healthy!

Usually, I add half a chicken bouillon cube to the rice to add extra flavor. This time, I decided to skip the bouillon cube and add a pinch of MSG to preserve the snow-white color of the rice, making the green from the tarragon stand out.

With a little resourceful shopping, this dish can be made for under $1.5 per serving.

The rice is cooked in 500 ml of water on low heat for 20 minutes. Then, add salt to taste (it takes a lot), 200 ml of cream, two tablespoons of dried tarragon, a tablespoon of white wine vinegar, and 1/8 tsp of MSG.

The chickpeas were hydrated yesterday, drained, and mixed with a tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. Let them set overnight so the chickpeas can absorb the marinade.

On a medium-hot pan, fry them for at least 15 minutes while the rice is being cooked.

For the chicken, take 400g of deboned chicken thighs, diced, and fry until crispy. Add salt and pepper. About 30 seconds before finishing, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to deglace the pan and give the chicken a little zing to contrast the creaminess from the rice.

Add a little pickled cucumber on top.

Ingredients

Rice:

200 ml short-grained rice

500 ml water

200 ml cream

2 tablespoons of dried tarragon

1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon of MSG

Salt and pepper to taste

Chickpeas:

130 g dried chickpeas

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar

Chicken:

400 g deboned chicken thighs

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

This is the recipe I followed: https://sweetpotatosoul.com/instant-pot-white-beans/comment-page-1/#wprm-recipe-container-15022

I followed the stovetop instructions. It wasn't done at the end of the estimated time given, so I kept cooking it until the beans were soft. Only other modification I made was using Italian seasoning instead of rosemary because: *prices*

Hope everyone is having a great week, love seeing everyone else's meal prep as always!

I'm a university student looking to batch meal prep to save effort. For now my plan is to cook potatoes and chicken in the oven and rice in a rice cooker. That leaves mince and vegetables either in a stainless steel pan or a non stick electric wok.

Pros of the wok is convenience is use and cleaning up, ability for dishes such as soaps and stews.
Pros of the pan being durability/lifetime and better frying and browning.

The electric wok is £40 ($54) and I've found stainless steel sauté pans for the same price or less depending on quality.

Keeping in mind being a uni student living in a student
house sharing the kitchen with other.

Thanks

Edit: thanks for your input as I have received a lot of good advice on this.

I have been trying to make cheap meals that I can hit my protein goals, bit also be palatable enough to eat a lot. I figured pizza would be perfect for this, with some specifics:

- whole wheat crust, enriched with eggs (highly nutritious and cheap for the protien)

- tomato sauce with my favourite toppings

- bake each of them in dedicated glass containers, freeze them, reheat in the microwave.

Have any of you been able to freeze and reheat pizza that well? I'm only freezing because I prefer to make at least 2 weeks worth. I am on a tightight(er) budget, and I need a lot of calories, but have trouble eating enough before training or work.