How to Meal Prep for the Week | Seven Day Meal Plan (2024)

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How to Meal Prep for the Week – with recipe ideas and tips on how to create a healthy and delicious 7 day meal plan for your family.

Hey everyone! It’s Shelby here back again! It’s a new year and like many others, getting organized is one of my biggest goals. When it comes to making delicious and healthy meals for you and your family, there are many days when time just gets away from you. Instead of eating something nutritious and tasty, you end up in the drive-thru line or throwing something together last minute.

I know how hard it can be to be prepared, that is why I am sharing one of my favorite secrets for aweek of delectable meals that don’t leave you pulling your hair out to make them!

Meal prep has saved my life when it comes to approaching the week feeling organized and keeping us well-fed with healthy and savory meals!

TIPS ON GETTING STARTED ON MEAL PREP:

Plan out your meal plan for the week. The first thing I do for my food prep day is put together a weekly meal plan and grocery list. My meal plan includes all three meals. This way there is no confusion about the food I should be eating throughout the week.
Keep it simple by choosing just 2-3 recipes for each meal and portion them out for the rest of the week – this helps cut down on prepping time so you are not prepping all day long. Don’t go overboard with too many new recipes.
Once mymeal plan is done, I start putting together agrocery list.
And if you can, try to grocery shop the day before your food prep day. Otherwise, shopping and food prep on the same day can make for a very long exhausting day.

Prepare – Depending on the meals, food prep usually takes me about 2-3 hours to complete. The key is planning your day ahead of time. This way you can get right into it without thinking about where to start.
I usually start with cooking chicken or roasts in the slow cooker or oven, that way, I can spend the rest of the time chopping vegetables while the meat is cooking.

Even the littlest bit of food prep makes a difference. Just portioning out ingredients that you might need throughout the week can still save a ton of time. Not all of the food for your meals throughout the week have to be cooked. Start off with just one meal if you feel overwhelmed with meal prep until you get the hang of it.

Pick your day and time that works for you. Whether you prefer to prep on Sunday or Monday is entirely up to you. Choose a time that you’ll be free and swap around as you need.

7 Day Meal Plan

Here is aseven day meal planning outline of recipes that you can meal prep.

It’s not necessary to cook everything from this list. Just choose a few recipes that you think you and your family would like for each meal and portion them out for the week ahead.

Breakfast – If you’re not a morning person, having breakfast ready when you wake up can make a tough morning much easier. There are a few no bake and no cook options that you can prep and store in the fridge or freezer.

Keep it simple by choosing 2 or 3 of your favorites and portion them out for the week.

Monday:No Bake 5 Ingredient Granola Bars

These no bake bars are so simple to make and a great option for lunch boxes or even a pre or post-workout snack.

Tuesday: Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal

This oatmeal will not only keep the kiddos full all day, it is so easy to pop in instant pot and have ready for the morning!

Wednesday: No Bake Energy Bites – 8 Ways

Energy bites make a great breakfast or pre and post workout snack. You can choose your favorite flavor (s) and freeze the rest for an easy grab and go option.

Thursday: No Cook Overnight Oats

If slow cooker or instant pot oatmeal isn’t an option, putting some overnight oats in the fridge before you head to bed is delicious and perfect for an on the run morning!