Have you thought about doing meal prep, but it looks complicated and/or time consuming? You certainly aren’t alone! Many people say that, although it looks like a terrific time saver, they can’t imagine spending their entire Sunday chopping, cleaning and cooking!
The truth about meal planning is that it’s none of those things! Almost anyone can plan their first week’s meals, make out a list, go shopping, cook and have everything done in about 2-3 hours. Do your planning and shopping on Saturday (1 hour), then the cleaning and cooking Sunday (1-2 hours) and you’re done!
If you want to know more about meal prep, check out this article here. After that, come back here and we will walk you through your first week of meal planned dinners.
For this example, we are going to plan one full week of chicken lunch/dinners (7 days) for one person. Of course, if this sounds boring, you could freeze 3 or 4 of these for the following week and make another type of meal (let’s say beef) and freeze 3 or four of these so you can alternate chicken one day, beef the next.
The cool thing about this is that you cook for two weeks, rather than one. This might take a bit of extra time, but imagine not having to cook dinner for two weeks! (Or use this as lunch and dinner for one week) The choice is entirely yours.
Now, on with our recipe/plan.
For 7 meals you will need:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Start the rice cooking on the stovetop. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to give it a bit of extra flavor.
Cut each breast into 4 even strips and place in a bowl. Add the lemon juice, garlic, and some salt and pepper to the bowl. Mix well. You can pan fry or bake the chicken, whichever works best for you.
While the rice and chicken are cooking, start a pot of water to boil for the broccoli. You can steam the broccoli if you prefer. Chop up the broccoli into florets and boil for about 10 minutes, then drain.
Put ½ cup of the Greek yogurt in a bowl and add your favorite spices. You can use onion and garlic, rosemary and lemon pepper, or mango and ginger; whatever sounds good to you! Mix it together well.
Get your containers ready! You will need 7 for these meals.
Put about 130-150 grams of chicken in each container (about 3 or 4 pieces)
Now put about 100 grams (about ¾ of a cup) of rice and split the broccoli evenly into each container.
Add a big dollop of your spiced yogurt on top of the meat and you are finished!
Wait until everything cool to room temp, then put your sealed containers in the fridge or freezer.
Depending on the prices in your area, each dinner should cost you about $3.50. What a bargain!
Calories: Approximately 450 (for each container/meal)
Protein: 42 grams
Carbs: 32 grams
Fiber: 4 grams
Sugar: 3 grams
Fat: 18 grams