As much as I love string cheese, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that it’s not a great meal. I’m currently in a slight calorie deficit to help with my gym goals, but that’s no excuse to be missing my protein goals! (I’m probably still going to miss them; it’s the thought that counts, OK?) If you’re in the same boat, I can help. I’ve been testing meal-prep recipes to see what tastes good and will actually last. I expect my meal prep to last the full week, and it’s even better if it can go longer, so any meal prep I make goes through intense testing. These are the recipes that made the final cut:
Chicken Fried Rice
You’re telling me a chicken fried this rice? Sorry, bad joke. What’s not a bad joke is how long fried rice will last when stored properly. The fried rice itself can be stored in the freezer for quite a while – I won’t tell you how long I’ve had mine in there. I usually cook some teriyaki chicken on Sunday and Wednesday so it’s stillfresh by the time I eat it.
This is also great because if I have no other food in my apartment, which happens unfortunately often, it’s easy to grab the fried rice. Even if I don’t have chicken to cook, it’s better than starving!
Chile-Lime Chicken
This one makes my life so easy. Throw a chicken breast into an airtight plastic container with salt, pepper, Trader Joe’s Chile-Lime seasoning, a splash of lime juice and a handful of cilantro. Leave it to marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours then take it out, cook it and enjoy! This works great with copycat recipes of Chipotle’s cilantro lime rice or any side dish that you prefer.
It won’t last as long as the coveted fried rice, but it gets brownie points because I love any recipe that requires as little prep as humanly possible. It’s easy, it’s good and it’s protein. Can you ask for anything more?
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagels
I know a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich hates to see me coming! A BCE croissant from Dunkin’ will always hit different. But Dunkin’ was my first job in high school, and if I think too hard about the conditions those sandwiches are made in, it makes me want to vomit. Part of my gym journey is about prioritizing whole foods, not just a lower-calorie intake, which means the Dunkin’ sandwiches don’t make the cut.
Luckily, making BCE bagels as breakfast prep is super easy. Folded eggs work the best for this, but truth be told, I have no idea how to make folded eggs, so I end up with scrambled. Scrambled eggs are a little more challenging to assemble, but they taste just as good. While the eggs cook, slice your bagels – but don’t toast them! They reheat better if they aren’t. Once the eggs are done cooking, just assemble your bagels, a slice of pre-cooked bacon, the eggs and a piece of cheese. Wrap them up in parchment paper, store them in the freezer and microwave them for one to two minutes when you’re ready to eat.
Garlic-Lemon Chicken
Another marinated chicken! All you need is lemon slices and the juice of a lemon, as much garlic as your heart desires and a few sprigs of rosemary on top of a salted and peppered chicken breast; that goes in the fridge to marinate. Come back in a few hours, cook it and you’re done! If you can’t already tell, I think rice goes with everything, so that’s a great option to serve with this. Or you could do air fryer potatoes, which also go with everything.
As I mentioned before with my chicken, I will often prep it twice a week so it’s extra fresh. That applies to this, too, but potatoes and rice can be premade and stored.
Chicken Mac n’ Cheese
Comfort food. Cheesy. Easy. Need I say more?
Not exactly what I would choose for a calorie deficit, but delicious and easy nonetheless. Baked macaroni and cheese is genuinely so easy to make. Throwing sliced or diced chicken into it will add some more protein (without the cheese-related calories). Honestly, if you’re tired of chicken and rice variations, just make this. I know it might throw your macros off but it’s yummy and it has protein! It would be a better option for a bulk period but hey, it works and it’s easy to make. That’s a win in my book.
Obviously, my standards are low. But when both budget and time are tight, I’m lucky to have edible food in the house at all. I hate planning my meal preps, getting the groceries and cooking them, but I’m always appreciative of it when I get home, starving, after an exhausting day and want to do anything but cook. Give meal preps a try; they’re worth it.