Meal Prep for Fast and Easy Weight Loss

One of the main problems I have seen when working with clients is the lack of planning. When starting a new healthy way of life, people start with the best intentions. However, when they do not plan their meal prep for the week ahead of time, they tend to get very hungry and then binge at a fast-food restaurant. Although you can still get a healthy meal in a pinch, the burger and fries tend to win the battle over the chicken breast salad. Learning to meal prep will keep you on the right track and reduce temptation.

Meal prepping is one of the most excellent tools for your success in achieving change. I generally do my meal prep for the week on Sunday night and can do it in 1-2 hours.

In this article, I will show you how to meal prep efficiently and still eat amazingly delicious meals all week. You won’t believe you will lose weight eating this way, but you will.

Grocery List for Meal Prep

This grocery list has many great options for healthy weight loss. You will not need everything on the list for the three meals I am recommending for the week, but feel free to add variety using the items on this list.

Protein

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• Eggs
• Carton of Egg Whites
• Lean Beef Roast (Chuck)
• Lean Ground Beef
• Frozen Turkey Burgers
• Natural Lunch Meats (lean meats such as turkey and Canadian bacon)
• Turkey Pepperoni
• Low Fat Cheese
• Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt

Carbohydrates

• Quinoa
• Brown Rice
• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Red Skin Potatoes
• Oatmeal
• Whole Wheat Bread (sliced bread or English muffins)
• Whole Wheat Pita
• Whole Wheat Tortilla
• Beans (black or pinto)

Fruits

• Bananas
• Frozen Strawberries
• Frozen Fruit Tropical Blend
• Frozen Berry Blend

Vegetables

• Frozen Broccoli (Steamer microwave bags)
• Frozen Brussel Sprouts (Steamer microwave bags)
• Frozen Pepper Blend (Steamer microwave bags)
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Frozen Spinach
• Salad Blend

Healthy Fats

• Natural Peanut or Almond Butter (no sugar added)
• Avocado Oil (for cooking)
• Coconut oil cooking spray
• Avocados
• Almond or Coconut Milk

Condiments

• No sugar added Marinara sauce
• Salsa
• Mustard
• Low Fat Mayonnaise
• Low-Fat Ranch dressing
• Olive oil and vinegar salad dressing
• Himalayan sea salt
• Ground black pepper
• Stevia Powder
• Lawry’s Seasoning
• Various spices for cooking

Fresh versus Frozen

While Fresh ingredients are great, I prefer to use frozen groceries when I can. The farmers pick the produce when the fruits and vegetables have the most nutrients and then freeze it.

Fresh ingredients can lose much nutritional value when arriving at the store.

I also love that those frozen ingredients last significantly longer.

Being Efficient in the Kitchen

While all you need to meal prep is a stove, pots, and an oven, I recommend using some inexpensive additional tools to help speed up the meal prepping process:

• Rice cooker / Crockpot Click Here to see the Rice cooker/crockpot we use on Amazon
• Microwave steamer vegetable bags Click Here to see the steamer bags we use on Amazon
• Meal prepping containers Click Here to know the Meal prepping containers we use on Amazon
• 8 oz. glass Mason jars with sealed tops Click Here to see the 8 oz. glass Mason jars we use on Amazon

How to Meal Prep for the week

Feel free to make different meals throughout the week. For example, you will cook three meals for seven days. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner equal 21 meals in total. Adjust the portions if you are cooking for more than one person.

Breakfast– Strawberry Banana Overnight Oats

• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/4 medium banana, sliced
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tbsp of nonfat Greek Yogurt

Lunch – Seasoned Chicken Breast, Rice, and Steamed Broccoli

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs. total)*
• Dry Chicken Seasoning of your choice (I use Lawry’s)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of Brown Rice
• 2 cups of water
• 2 bags of frozen steam-able Brussel Sprouts

Preparation

Chicken:

• Season chicken generously with the chicken seasoning of choice
• wrap chicken in aluminum foil for faster cooking and fast clean up
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Cook in preheated oven for 20-30 min

Rice:

• Season with salt and pepper
• Add 2 cups of water
• Add 1 cup of brown rice
• Cook with Rice cooker brown rice setting(about 30 min)

Broccoli

• Use a steamer bag in the microwave or cook desired method until lightly steamed or boiled.
• The veggies should still have a slight crisp to them.
• Season with a pinch of salt and pepper

Dinner– Salsa meatloaf with Roasted Red Skin Potatoes and Brussels sprouts

Meatloaf

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup salsa (mild, medium, or hot)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2½ tsp salt
• ½ Tablespoon chili powder

Red skin potatoes

• 1 lb. redskin potatoes cubed
• 2tbs Avocado Oil
• 2tsp Seasoning Salt (I use Lawry’s)
• 1/2tsp Black Pepper

Brussel sprouts

• 2 bags of frozen steam-able Brussel Sprouts

Preparation

Meatloaf

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, mix the beef, egg, half of the salsa, and seasonings
• Transfer to a 5×9 inch loaf pan. Line pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up Add the rest of the salsa to the top of the meatloaf
• Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven

Potatoes

• Combine cubed potatoes, oil, and seasonings in a plastic bag
• Seal and shake ingredients to coat the potatoes properly
• Bake 25-30 minutes in preheated oven

Brussel Sprouts

• Use a steamer bag in the microwave or cook desired method until lightly steamed or boiled.
• The veggies should still have a slight crisp to them.
• Season with a pinch of salt and pepper

Meal Prep in the Kitchen

Use an iPhone or timer app to set several timers. By setting timers, you will be able to pay less attention to what is happening. However, keep a watchful eye on your items just in case.

Protein

I start out cooking my proteins in the oven (20-45 minutes)

• Salsa Meatloaf
• Seasoned Chicken Breasts

Carbs

While the proteins are cooking, I begin with the carbohydrates on the stove or and rice cooker (20-30 minutes)

• Brown Rice ( in the rice cooker or on the stove)
• Potatoes (in the oven)

Veggies

I then will cook my frozen vegetables in the microwave using steamer bags (10-20 minutes)

• Brocolli
• Brussel Sprouts

For frozen vegetables, I recommend cooking them a little bit less than the package would suggest.

You will be reheating these meals, so if you cook them too long, reheating will make them mushy and overcooked.(unless, of course, you like them that way)

Overnight Oats

While everything is cooking, you can make overnight oats for breakfast. Place all ingredients in a jar, shake, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Putting it all together

Now you want to set out your Tupperware containers that have 3 sections.

• In section one, add all of the Carbohydrate sources. (Potatoes and Brown Rice)
• In section two, add all of the protein sources (Chicken and Meatloaf)
• In section three, add all of the steamed vegetables (Broccoli and Brussel sprouts)
• Place overnight oat mason jars in the fridge
• Place all Tupperware in the freezer except 1 lunch and 1 dinner meal
• Every night put the lunch and dinner meals for the day in the fridge the night before so it thaws.

Cleaning up

I recommend using aluminum foil for easy clean-up after you’re done. If you did everything correctly, you should be able to get everything cooked, prepped, and cleaned up in less than 2 hours.

It may seem like a lot of work, but remember that you don’t even have to think about cooking for the next seven days.