Meal Planning Lunch Recipes

Even if you love to cook, packing lunch can be tricky since it requires coming up with meals that will pack, travel, reheat well — and, of course, you’ll look forward to. However, with some consistent practice, nailing that weekly lunch prep can become second nature.

To whip your lunch game into shape — and to hold you accountable — we’ve put together a two-week packed lunch plan that’s flexible enough to fit your tastes, schedule and food preferences, but structured enough that there’s no excuse to quit. Even more, our goal is to help you establish the lunch-packing habit beyond two weeks.

Whether it’s a sandwich or grain bowl, the formula is going to be roughly the same. Choose from a serving of macros then pile on as many veggies as you want. To keep things interesting and to keep you looking forward to your lunch, remember to change the ingredients as much as you can — and try to keep discovering new grains and vegetables, too.

Weekly Meal Plan: 28 Cheap And Healthy Ideas

1 CUP GRAINS + 1 CUP ROASTED VEGGIES + 2 HARD-BOILED EGGS + 1/2 CUP CHOPPED RAW VEGGIES + 1 TABLESPOON HOMEMADE VINAIGRETTE + 1/4 AVOCADO

2 CUPS SALAD GREENS + 1 SERVING PROTEIN + 1/2 CUP RAW VEGGIES + 1/2 CUP ROASTED VEGGIES + 1 OUNCE CHEESE + 2 TABLESPOONS HOMEMADE VINAIGRETTE

1 CUP GRAINS + 1 SERVING CHICKEN + 1 CUP ROASTED VEGGIES + TOMATO + CUCUMBER + 2 OUNCES FETA + KALAMATA OLIVES

Day Meal Prep For Weight Loss • A Sweet Pea Chef

1 CUP GRAINS + 1 SERVING SALMON + 1 CUP ROASTED VEGGIES + 1 CUP RAW VEGGIES + 1/4 AVOCADO + 1 TABLESPOON HOMEMADE VINAIGRETTE

1 CUP GRAINS + 1 SERVING TOFU + 1 CUP ROASTED VEGGIES + 1 CUP RAW VEGGIES + 1/4 AVOCADO + 2 TABLESPOONS HUMMUS

1 CUP GRAINS + 2 CUPS SALAD GREENS + 1 SERVING CHICKEN + HARD-BOILED EGG + 2 OUNCES CHEESE + 1 TABLESPOON HOMEMADE VINAIGRETTE

Week Healthy Meal Plan

2 SLICES 100% WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD + 1 SERVING SEITAN + 1/2 AVOCADO + 1 CUP ROASTED VEGGIES + CUCUMBER + TOMATO + 2 TABLESPOONS HUMMUS

Once you get into the habit of prepping ingredients ahead of time, you’ll realize that there are so many possible lunch combinations. Plus, you can repeat the same basic dishes week after week using different meats, grains, cheeses and veggies. That means your meal prep and packing routine will be on autopilot, but your lunches will stay interesting.

One thing to note: Cooked meat should only be kept in the fridge for 4 days, so opt for a meat-free lunch on Friday.

Favorite Summer Recipes For Your Next Meal Plan

Christine Byrne Christine is a trained chef and recipe developer who recently relocated from New York City to Durham, North Carolina. She started her career as a restaurant line cook, then became a food editor at BuzzFeed, and later the features editor at SELF. Follow her on Twitter @christinejbyrne and on Instagram @xtinebyrne for lots of breakfast photos, outdoorsy things, and really cute videos of her dog, Boss.I’ve got something fun for you and I’m so excited to share it, a 5 day family meal plan & shopping list!  I bet a lot of us are having challenges coming up with creative meals to cook, especially during this time.  So my hope is that this 5 day family meal plan and shopping list is helpful for you!

Sometimes coming up with what to cook day in and day out gets exhausting.  And since many of us are spending much more time at home, instead of making 1-2 meals a day, you are now probably making 3 fulls meals, plus plenty of snacks.  I hope you enjoy this family meal plan and that it will make things a touch easier for you!

I’ve been working on this project for weeks and now seemed like the perfect time to share it.  I’ve put together five days of recipes; breakfast, lunch and dinner.  And I’ve even included a few snack options to enjoy throughout the week.

Easy Chicken And Vegetable Meal Prep

To design this 5- day family meal plan, I thought through each day and what foods might compliment each other, make the best leftovers (if there are any), not make you eat eggs four days in a row etc.  Plus, these are all things we make in our house weekly so I know they are all delicious and many of them are kid-approved!

I loved putting this list together and it was so useful for me and our family, that I decided to put together another week of bonus recipes!  These recipes are ones that I felt like you needed to know and I think you’ll have fun making.  Enjoy 5 extra breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes, along with more snacks for you to choose from!  And the bonus recipes even include dessert options, which we all love, and a shopping list!.

If this sounds great to you, click here to get your full copy of the meal plan, including a grocery list (and click here for the bonus meal plan & shopping list)!  With the meal plan and grocery lists, you can easily place your online grocery order, wait for your delivery (or curbside pickup) and get cooking in no time – no extra thought required!  Cheers to making cooking during quarantine fun and stress free!

High Protein Meals

Did you make this recipe? Hashtag with us! Be sure to follow/tag @blog and hashtag #blog – we love to see what you’re cooking up!”Thai chicken lunch bowls have roasted vegetables and chicken served over rice with a tangy homemade peanut sauce. Easy to prep and keeps well for four days!

If your mornings are anything similar to mine, it is a rush to get out the door most weekdays. And busy days are exactly when you need a quick grab-and-go lunch, like these Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowls or Chicken Fajita Lunch Bowls. Another tasty and satisfying meal prep recipe are these Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls.

Made by hundreds Lunch Prep Challenge participants, this was one of our most popular recipes in the challenge because it was easy to prepare and packed full of flavor.

Easy Teacher Lunch Ideas To Meal Prep

Wondering how this recipe comes together? Watch this 1-minute video to see how easy it is to prep! You can find more recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

These lunch bowls are excellent for making with whatever fresh vegetables are available; I used broccoli and carrots, but think the chicken and peanut sauce would also be great with cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and/or bell peppers.

To change things up a bit from just using plain white rice, for this recipe I used brown basmati rice with some salt and chicken stock to add a touch more flavor to the rice.

Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls (meal Prep)

Serving: 1 bowl , Calories: 495 kcal , Carbohydrates: 49 g , Protein: 36 g , Fat: 19 g , Saturated Fat: 3 g , Cholesterol: 70 mg , Sodium: 596 mg , Fiber: 6 g , Sugar: 10 g

© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.

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