Vegetarian Meal Prep

[pinksavage22]

OK, I am hoping someone is vegetarian out there that can help, or someone has some ideas for me. I have decided to try out prepping my lunches for the week with my crazy work and life schedule I find that I am finding more excuses to grab food that I should not. A friend of mine suggested I try out prepping my lunches for the week so I can grab and go, she has been doing it for a while but she eats meat, and she had no clue what to tell me besides pastas and most of the websites I find are all either meat or have a lot of frozen "meat" products which I try to avoid at all cost. Anyone have success in a good nutritious weekly lunch meal prep plan or ideas you can share. I do eat eggs so that is an option to add in. (The last place I asked for advice the only tips I got were people telling me just to eat meat, lol so I will say it now that it will not happen haha) Thanks in advance everyone

[mhogan8]

I don't prep my meals but I make all my meals in about 15 minutes...
I literally cook up a grain (takes about 15 minutes) then while that's cooking, pan fry some tofu or tempeh with some olive oil, add some cut up veggies to the frying pan... Then combine in a bowl and you're done!
Sometimes I'll get fancy and add some salt/peper or some other kind of spice.
I certainly don't go through the process of following recipes the majority of the time anymore.

Note: the grain is typically quinoa or millet but you could probably also do rice, bulgur, or anything else that you like. You can even cook a large batch to last you a couple days and then it's even faster!

[figurejess]

Proteins:

Can't go wrong with having some protein powder on hand - add in some milk of choice, some oats, and you have a decent meal right there.
Tofu and Tempeh - I will usually have some chopped up in the freezer to add to any meal.
Eggs - prep with some hard-boiled eggs.
Meat substitutes - while not the best, they are easy in a pinch.

Fruit & Veggies:

Keep bags of frozen veggies in stock at all times! Super easy to toss into a meal and go.

Bagged salads - a bit more expensive, but worth it in time-savings when you can just open and eat

Fruit - I like the grab and go variety like apples, pears, bananas, and berries if you can get them off-season. Also have a few bags of frozen on hand to use in oatmeal or smoothies. Dried fruit is another option for easy grabbing.

Carbs:

Tons of options - as mentioned above, cook up a few batches of rice, quinoa, millet to last a few days. I'm a big fan of potatoes and sweet potatoes as other easy carbs to prep.

Cereal! Yep, probably have about 5 different kinds in rotation Add in some protein powder, fruit, yogurt, and some almonds and you have a meal.

Oatmeal - again, a personal fav and easy to whip up a batch or three.

Fats:

Mixed nuts - go for the raw or lightly toasted w/o oil or salt/sugar added.
Nut butter to-go packages - love these for traveling.

Other goodies:

I do keep some frozen meals on hand in case of "emergency" - there are decent whole food meals available by a number of brands.

Also helps to invest in some new tupperware or other containers so you can store your meals efficiently. Pick two days out of the week to set aside time to prep. It takes some practice, but once you get in a groove your prep time will get shorter

[pinksavage22]

awesome! thank you so much for your suggestions! I knew brown rice would probably be the best bet for making ahead for carbs but I wasnt sure what to add! I love the idea of the nut butter to go packages! I need to find this would be perfect for apples and to keep in my office! Thank you so much!

[figurejess]

awesome! thank you so much for your suggestions! I knew brown rice would probably be the best bet for making ahead for carbs but I wasnt sure what to add! I love the idea of the nut butter to go packages! I need to find this would be perfect for apples and to keep in my office! Thank you so much!

My pleasure!

Artisana and Justins make very good nut butter packages