Meal Prep Made Simple: Tips to Save Time and Crush Your Goals

Meal prepping doesn’t have to be overwhelming! With a few simple meal prep tips, you can save time, stay consistent, and hit your nutrition goals every week. Knowing how much protein you should eat can help you create balanced meals—check out our guide to how much protein you need.

3 Meal Prep Tips to Save Time

1. Cook in Batches: Prepare two simple, one-pot meals for lunch/dinner and two breakfast options to divide into portions for the week.
2. Prep Grab-and-Go Proteins: Have pre-measured protein sources ready to mix into meals or eat on their own.
3. Spread Out the Work: Divide planning, shopping, and cooking over a few days to avoid overwhelm.

How to Save Time with One-Pot Meals

One-pot meals are one of the best meal prep tips for busy weeks. Here’s how to make them work:

• Cook everything in one pot or pan to simplify cleanup.
• Measure the total calories & macros in your recipe and divide evenly into containers.
• Label each container with the protein calorie & macro content per container.

Example Recipe: Lentils & Rice with Spinach

Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked lentils
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Combine lentils, rice, vegetable broth, onion, and garlic in a large pot.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until lentils and rice are tender.
4. Stir in chopped spinach and season with salt and pepper.

Protein Content: ~44g total (22g per serving, assuming 2 servings). Multiply ingredients for larger batches!
    

Grab-and-Go Protein Tips

Having grab-and-go protein options ready makes meal assembly quick and ensures you’re meeting your protein needs. Here’s a cheat sheet to make it easier:

Food Item	Serving Size	Protein Content
Chicken Breast	3 oz (cooked)	26g
Greek Yogurt	3/4 cup	17g
Lentils	1 cup (cooked)	18g

Pre-portion these into containers or keep measuring tools like scoops or scales handy for quick meal assembly!

Add Variety and Stay Consistent

While prepped meals are efficient, it’s important to keep your meals exciting. Include recipes you love, and cook them fresh when you have more time, like in the evenings or on weekends, to add variety and avoid boredom.

Find your favorite recipes, repeat them, and adjust portions over time. You’ll get faster at prepping and know your protein content by heart!