Two identical plastic tupperware with cucumbers and cottage cheese, almonds and berries, and hard boiled eggs in individual compartments.

Quick and Easy Eats on the Go!

  • by Kayleigh A Rohrbach

Written by Nutrition Peer Counselor Rebecca Johnson

A lot of people find it difficult to have nutritious meals ready to go on their day to day basis, especially busy students or those in the workforce. Hopefully this post will inspire you to try some meal prep ideas that are time efficient! 

Quick Tips: 

  • Stick with purchasing a few different ingredients so you can rotate through them during the week. 
  • Shop by category for each meal time, making sure you buy proteins, carbohydrates and fats! 
  • Set aside an hour or two every week if possible to prepare or partially prepare meals, they don’t have to be complex! 
  • If you don’t have an hour or two every week but just a few minutes every day, read the daily prep ideas! 
  • You can prepare yourself for the next day by taking 10-20 minutes before going to sleep to prepare yourself at least breakfast and lunch! 

Meal Prep Ideas: 

Get Creative! (Some of these have recipes in our other blog posts!) 

  • Overnight oats: prepare oats with milk, top with your favorite fruit, nuts and seeds and leave overnight to eat in the morning or afternoon! (Great for daily preparation at night: ~5-10 min) 
  • Mason jar salads: layer ingredients in a mason jar with the dressing at the bottom and stacking veggies/greens at the top! Shake the mason jar to coat the salad with dressing when ready to eat. (Great for weekly or daily preparation at night ~5-10 min per jar) 
  • Wraps and sandwiches: Wrap up lean protein (chicken, turkey and even hummus) with veggies in tortillas or bread. (Great for daily preparation at night: ~5-10 min) 
  • Snack boxes (I like to call them adult lunchables): Fill a container with nutritious foods like hard-boiled eggs, whole-grain crackers, nuts and seeds, hummus or cottage cheese, chopped up fruit and veggies, and more! (Great for daily preparation at night: ~5-10 min) 
  • Sheet pan meals: Roast veggies, potatoes and your choice of meat such as chicken breast or sausage, fish, and many more all at the same time! (Great for weekly preparation: ~30-45 min depending on ingredients used) 
  • Quick smoothies: Throw some of your favorite ingredients such as frozen fruits, leafy greens, greek yogurt and more into a blender and enjoy! (Great for day of preparation: ~5-10 min) 
  • Grain bowls: Cook grains like different rices, quinoa, couscous in bulk along with your choice of protein and veggies. (Great for weekly preparation: ~20-40 min depending on ingredients used) Examples below: 
    • Mediterranean Grain Bowl: Quinoa or couscous, grilled chicken, chickpeas, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, olives, feta cheese, hummus, drizzle of olive oil, vinaigrette. 
    • Southwest Grain Bowl: brown rice, grilled chicken or turkey, black beans, corn, roasted bell peppers and onion, cilantro, avocado slices, lime juice, chipotle sauce, sour cream or cilantro-lime vinaigrette. 
    • Curry Grain Bowl: brown rice, grilled chicken or tofu, chickpeas, cauliflower, sweet potato, spinach, cilantro, coconut curry sauce (curry powder and coconut milk). 

Overall, you can make meals less stressful by prepping them throughout the week! Making sure you have a nutritious diet is super important so we hope you’ll use some of these ideas! Let us know your thoughts and own meal prep ideas

Primary Category

Healthy Aggies