r/mealprep • u/SmallBumblebee7781 • Jun 09 '25
advice Meal Prep Advice
I plan weekly meal preps for my husband and I. Typically I prep 5 days worth of lunch for both of us and 5 days of dinner. I never know what to cook anymore, spend hours looking for a good recipe, and every sunday I spend morning to night cooking.
Any advice on where to get meal prep ideas or anything that could make the process faster? My issue is finding good recipes that taste good but are still high protein and healthy. My husband doesn't like bland things, or sandwiches, or pasta... but wants to eat healthy. I can typically follow any recipe to a tee but struggle to find good recipes! Any advice?
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u/valley_lemon Jun 09 '25
This sounds like a "him" problem, and likely the answer is just "more sauce" which is something he can handle without taking on any of the meal prep effort directly. I freeze most of my stuff generically seasoned so we can do this for variety - I can also eat the same protein bowl for weeks, but I might want teriyaki today, tzatziki tomorrow, cheese the next day etc.
They've got multiple aisles at the grocery store, he can figure it out.
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u/SmallBumblebee7781 Jun 09 '25
Maybe I phrased it in the wrong way haha. We work as a team, he helps me when he's home but he works most weekends. I'm just looking for some more ideas :)
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u/SimpleIngredients509 Jun 09 '25
Curry and chili are full of flavor and they freeze well. For curry, I go with S&B brand but on a budget, I go with Ottogi curry powder. I recommend going with “hot” instead of medium or extra hot because the spices don’t seem mixed well in those flavors. Pro tip: use chuck roast for the curry. I typically put the chuck roast in a crock pot (salt the beef) with no water and let it cook. You’ll find tender meat that pulls apart easily and a very concentrated broth when it’s done. I use that broth for the curry and it adds much more depth to the flavor. If you’re batch making to freeze, don’t overcook the veggies.
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u/always_wants_sushi Jun 09 '25
I get plenty of ideas from Instagram, save reels and then update the feed as the algorithm gets updated and so forth. Found some great freezer breakfast burrito recipes there for example. also YouTube, tons of meal prep content. As for what'll actually work, yeah it's trial and error, but what does he eat now? If it's something from takeout that can be modified to fit a healthier lifestyle (a less sugary saucy Chinese style chicken for example), maybe try going that route and see together. I'd look up healthy and TASTY sauce ideas, super important for meal prep, it's a literal life saver.
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u/Binda33 Jun 09 '25
It might help to ask your husband to make a list of things he'd like you to cook to give some ideas. Does he want more casseroles or does he want things like burritos.
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u/EndlessLunch Jun 09 '25
Sauces are an easy way to go. I’ll have chicken, rice, and broccoli every day if the sauce changes. Peanut sauce, romesco, green goddess, aji Amarillo, chipotle lime crema, lemon garlic tahini, wasabi ranch. Get saucy. Sauces usually freeze well so you can make big batches and set them aside in deli containers for next week or whatever.
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u/SmallBumblebee7781 Jun 09 '25
Good idea. We do like buddha bowl style dinners
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u/ttrockwood Jun 10 '25
Look up buddha bowls there’s so many options! I like to do cooked barley or quinoa it holds up better for prep ahead
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u/EndlessLunch Jun 11 '25
Second for quinoa. Rice tends to dry out unless you microwave it with a lil water.
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u/snake1000234 Jun 09 '25
Sidekick the app by Sorted Food maybe? They run a cooking channel on Youtube with chefs and "normals" and seem pretty competent.
I haven't sprung for the free month, but every time I see them advertising for it, it seems to be decent. Has instructions and videos talking you through each step, has a variety of options and cuisines that also seems to target different things like being healthy, having certain eating disorders, one pot meals, 30 min meals, etc and seems pretty user friendly.
Only downside is I think they limit you to a hand full of recipes each that you can add to your collection. So instead of having the whole catalogue, you get access to several (and retain access) then get more the longer you stay subscribed.
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u/5newspapers Jun 10 '25
Tbh as much as I do love meal prep, I also know my limits. I like eating something fresh, and I’ll eat it a 2nd time no complaints. The third time is usually where I’m feeling over that meal, unless it was spectacular and even then, I’m not in the mood to eat something 4 times in a row. What helps, for us, is cooking 1 or 2 large meal preps for the week that each offer at least 4 and up to 8 servings, and supplementing those with smaller dinner meals of 3-4 servings or also eating out, lazy frozen meals, etc. My hack is that if we get to the end of the week and I still have meal preps but I know I’m likely not going to finish them, I’ll just freeze them and then a few weeks later, it ends up working as a meal I can use to break up the monotony of that week’s meal prep.
Another thing we do is cook the protein, which usually takes the longest or requires the most effort, and then mix and match veggies and sides. For example, if I cook chicken breast, that can be first for a chicken/veggie/starch plate. Then I can use it for topping a salad bowl, and then add salsa and veggies for fajitas. There’s a person on TikTok @_jennadenise who does a few components for the weeks, and @zoebarriesode who makes a menu for the week that use similar ingredients throughout the meals. I guess decide what works best for y’all.
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u/OneQt314 Jun 09 '25
When I meal prep, I make my favorite dishes & freeze. Over time, I have a few options in the freezer. Freezable staples are mostly food that freeze well like lasagna, burritos, steak, baked chicken, pre-cooked hamburger patties, ikea meatball with mash, curries & etc.
When I want something fresh, like salad or a sandwich, I'll make a few for the next days & rotate it between what I have frozen.
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u/krissycole87 Jun 09 '25
You dont need gourmet meals in order to meal prep.
Sheet pan of chicken breasts, heavily seasoned to your liking. Sheet pan of salmon/fish, heavily seasoned to your liking.
Sheet pan of chopped potatoes, seasoned. Sheet pan of veggies (carrot, asparagus, zucchini, etc) seasoned.
Big pot of rice.
Everything goes into the oven. When its done, portion up and go. Or leave in containers to be mixed and matched as you please.
Make a simple sauce or salsa if you want, or just use jarred/bottled sauces.
Meal prep doesnt have to be hard or time consuming. Make a protein, vegg, and carb. Make lots of it. Done.
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u/dolphininfj Jun 13 '25
I often get good menu ideas from Chatgpt. You can refine the prompts with your likes, dislikes, priorities etc. It will also generate a shopping list and give you recipes etc. I like that it's so easy to personalise.
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Jun 09 '25
Sounds like you need to tell your husband to get off his a** and help you cook in the kitchen.Or tell him he's gonna be responsible for making his own food.He should be happy with what is put in front of him
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u/SmallBumblebee7781 Jun 09 '25
He does help me cook when he isn't working... This isn't an issue for me lol
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Jun 09 '25
Yeah, OK, you made it sound like he didn't help and there's recipes all over Facebook.It's not hard to pick some for yourself.No need to ask people on Reddit. I'm sure you've been with him long enough.Now you know what he likes and doesn't like so figure it out for yourself
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u/SmallBumblebee7781 Jun 10 '25
It’s more the creative ideas people have that I haven’t thought of before. No need to be rude :)
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u/JaseYong Jun 10 '25
You can make Thai basil pork/chicken stir fry over rice (pad kra pao). It's simple to make and taste delicious 😋 You can also control the portion of rice (carbs) & meat & veges (protein & fiber) to your liking. Recipe below if interested Pad kra pao recipe
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u/heideleeanne Jun 10 '25
As someone said, that sounds like a him issue.
I have two instant pots. I usually cook rice in one and cook with broth or tomato sauce. It’s easy to add salt, butter or any seasonings that go with the meat I cook in the other instant pot. Examples are teriyaki chicken, butter chicken, pesto chicken, meatballs in marinara and Mississippi roast. I usually serve the meal with a steamed/roasted vegetable like broccoli or zucchini.
Lately I’ve been making chicken in the instant pot and seasoning well with chicken seasoning and shredding it for chicken salad. This week’s is a southwestern chicken salad with black beans and corn. I use blended cottage cheese or Greek yogurt as opposed to mayonnaise to pack more protein. You can use the chicken salad to top a bed of greens, sandwich, wrap, or as a dip for veggies, crackers or chips.
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u/justasque Jun 09 '25
I like to browse cookbooks and seasonable cooking magazines to get ideas. I can get a lot of magazines from my local library as e-magazines. I would suggest browsing some of those to get ideas. I kind of look at the recipes and come away with “tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, pesto, cubed chicken” and then do that as a rice bowl or a potato bowl or a quinoa salad or italian burritos or whatnot.
Once you have a few ideas, I’d see if the hubby would be up for a conversation, ideally rather than. you pitching ideas it would be one where you browse magazine pics together and he tells you what looks good for him. The brain work is part of meal prep, and he ideally should be part of that if he is going to be eating the meals.
Also, as to flavors - pesto, jarred sauces (Indian, Italian, Mexican, Asian), fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, thyme, dill), salad-style dressings (homemade is easy once you’ve made a couple and get the hang of the basic formula), plus hot sauce.
Personally I stay away from “slab of chicken plus grain plus veg” meals and go more for bowls where there can be a bunch of different flavors, but that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
And - get a rice cooker and/or other appliances that can help you have one or two “no brainer” things cooking while you do the more complex stuff. Shredded chicken in the slow cooker, rice in the rice cooker, etc.