7 Lunch Meal Prep Recipes

I keep two things in mind when I prepare my lunches on Sunday.  Is it easy and fast to make?  Will it taste as good on day 4 as it did on day 1?  That means that I might take short cuts to save time and use ingredients that will stand the test of time in the fridge.

Today I’m sharing my recent lunches that I’ve made ahead of time on Sundays.  As a heads up, these recipes are not gourmet or exciting and they may even seem boring.  However, they work great for me and I hope that they will for you too.  I’ve shared these lunch ideas on Instagram and Twitter, so if you follow me then they will look familiar to you.

Here are 7 easy and fast lunch meal prep recipes:

1. Mediterranean Orzo Salad.  I love carbs and even a little bit will satisfy my craving.  For this lunch I use half of a serving of orzo.  You don’t have to do that, of course, but it’s a great trick to keep in mind if you’re counting points (or on some other health plan).  I load up on the veggies (red bell peppers, carrots, pepperoncini peppers, Kalamata olives).  I add chick peas for protein.  Then I sprinkle a little feta cheese because cheese is yummy.  I use my favorite salad dressing, Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar Dressing, and mix it all together.

2. Quinoa Salad.  I started with quinoa and then I pick whatever veggies that I have on hand, and this week it’s cherry tomatoes, carrots, and yellow bell peppers.  Don’t cut the cherry tomatoes because they’ll stay more fresh that way and the goo inside won’t end up all soaked into everything that is capable of soaking it up.  I add chick peas for protein (although quinoa has some protein too).  I topped it with green onions and mixed it all together with Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar Dressing.

3.  Roasted Chicken and Mediterranean Salad.  I don’t tend to cook chicken but this recipe is awesome.  I blogged about it so you can find the recipe here.  I love, love, love this Mediterranean Salad, which I also blogged and you can find that recipe here.

4.  Vegetarian Chili with Rice.  There are so many vegetarian chili recipes out there so feel free to use your favorite.  My husband created this vegetarian chili.  I added a little bit of white rice to make it more hearty.

5.  Tuna and Chickpea Salad.  This is one of my favorite salads and I shared the recipe with you here.

6.  Easy Vegetable Stir Fry.  This lunch is a version of one of my favorite recipes of all time, Vegetable Stir Fry.  I used a hard boiled egg instead of a poach fried egg because the hard boiled egg stays better in the fridge and again it keeps things from absorbing moisture and getting weird.  I used soy sauce instead of teriyaki sauce in order to reduce the sugar and calories.  I love, love, love this lunch.

Random side note…  Seriously people, stop overcooking your hard boiled eggs until they have gross green yolks.  Buy an Eggsact Egg Timer and use it and never look back.  We’ve enjoyed over 10 years of perfect hard boiled eggs with ours and they are cheap.  Pretty much the best kitchen gadget ever made.  Get one.  Seriously.  And no, I’m not being paid to say this, they really are just great.

7.  Mexican Lunch.  This lunch is ridiculously easy.  I use black beans, frozen corn (fresh corn would have been awesome, but it’s not in season yet), and white rice.  I top it with salsa, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lime.  So good.

Would you guys like to see more of these kinds of lunch ideas?  I will try to continue to share them on my social media platforms, but I’m wondering if you’d like to see them here with recipes.