You want to eat healthier. You know it’s going to help you stay on track with your weight loss goals. But cooking every day?
In today’s busy world, setting time aside each day to prepare healthy lunches and dinners just isn’t realistic for everyone. That’s where meal planning and prepping come in.
When you meal prep for the week, you know there will always be something healthy and delicious waiting for you in the fridge when you’re hungry.
Having healthy meals and snacks on hand can reduce the stress of cooking each day and help set you up for success when sticking to a healthy eating plan.
If you’re new to the world of meal planning, here are some meal prep ideas for weight loss that are as easy as they are healthy and satisfying.
Is Meal Prepping Good for Weight Loss?
By prepping meals ahead of time, you have fewer decisions to make later.
When your stomach starts growling, you’ll have options other than the first thing you see in the fridge or pantry — which might not be the healthiest option.
Instead, spending some time earlier in the week preparing healthy food recipes for losing weight solves the problem of eating well when you’re short on time to cook.
Having more time to enjoy your meal, rather than cooking it, means you can eat more mindfully. Meal prepping allows you to portion out your food ahead of time, which is a great start.
Eating mindfully and being present can help you stay in tune with your body’s hunger and fullness cues. This clues you in on whether you’re satisfied instead of just eating really quickly because you’re short on time, which sometimes leads to eating past fullness.
And eating healthy doesn’t mean eating chicken and broccoli every day if you don’t want to. There are tons of healthy weight loss meal ideas on the internet and in cookbooks, so now’s the time for you to explore what you really enjoy eating.
Choosing foods and ingredients you love can help you hit your macro goals, too, which you can easily track using the MyFitnessPal app.
Top 6 Easy Meal Prep Ideas for Losing Weight
Food-prepping ideas for weight loss don’t have to be complicated.
We’ve rounded up six staples that you can use to create hearty meals that are full of flavor and easy to prepare with just a few tools.
Once you get the hang of prepping, you can expand your repertoire of weight-loss recipes and nutritious meals. Here are some favorite meal prep ideas for the busy weeks ahead.
1. Slow cooker shredded chicken
Throwing chicken in a slow cooker or crockpot is super easy and a mostly hands-off process.
All you have to do is place the chicken breasts in the cooker and add in your favorite seasonings for amazing flavor. Once the chicken is done, shred it with a pair of forks or a hand blender.
Chicken breast is great for low-calorie meal prep. One serving has just 133 calories, 2.8 grams of fat, and 27 grams of protein. It’s a versatile ingredient for putting on a salad, in a wrap, or even in a stuffed baked sweet potato. It’s also cheaper than a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
2. Brown rice or quinoa
Brown rice and quinoa are great to keep in your pantry for meal prep.
Brown rice is a complex carb that is full of fiber and nutrients. Depending on your cooking method, a pot of rice is done in 30 to 45 minutes.
You can use it as a base for a stir fry or bowl, or as a side to your favorite protein.
You can use quinoa in the same ways for a quick and healthy meal. As an added bonus, it has 8 grams of protein per serving.
3. Overnight oats
Overnight oats are the perfect recipe for busy mornings. You can customize them to your liking by mixing the oats with your favorite milk, yogurt, or protein powder the night before.
The next morning, add toppings like fruit, nuts, or cinnamon to create healthy and delicious breakfast bowls. People usually eat overnight oats cold, but you can heat them up if you prefer.
4. Drained black beans
Legumes, like black beans, are low in fat and packed with plant-based protein.
After popping open a can of beans, rinse and drain them. From there, you can create a variety of tasty dishes, such as:
- Black bean tacos or quesadillas
- Black bean burgers
- Breakfast burritos
Black beans are versatile, so you can add them to a salad or stir fry as a good source of lean protein.
5. Slightly undercooked veggies
Veggies have so many delicious flavors and are full of health benefits.
When you prep your veggies, like roasting, for example, don’t cook them all the way. They might get a bit soggy in your fridge after sitting for a few days.
Instead, undercook them slightly so that when you heat them up again, they’ll have the perfect texture.
Just like everything else on this list, cooked veggies are easy to use in many ways. When looking through lose weight meal prep recipes, you’ll find that veggies are always a staple.
Having some prepped and ready to go makes it easy to throw together something delicious in no time.
6. Sauces and dressings
Sauces and dressings can jazz up many of your favorite recipes. The trick is to choose the right ones since many can be full of extra sugars or fat.
For salads, try vinaigrettes or dressings made with heart-healthy olive oil. Making your own dressings with vinegar, oil, and herbs is simple and makes it easy to customize.
Having some basic sauces on hand, like tomato sauce, also helps make things simple when assembling a healthy meal.
Look for brands that have no added sugars and are low in fat.
Discover More Simple and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Meal planning is a simple step you can take to help you along your weight loss journey. Once you find your favorite recipes, it will make prepping for your busy schedule so much easier.
When it comes to weight loss, MyFitnessPal wants to help make things easy for you, too. Our easy-to-use app helps you track so you can stay on track.
