breakfast

• oatmeal w/fruit

• chia seeds

• yogurt parfait (granola and fruit)

• eggs and veggies (omelet)

lunch

• rice and meat/tofu/seafood

• light pastas, such as a pasta salad

• salads

• soups

• quinoa/barley with veggies and meat or meat substitutes

dinner

• vegetables and meat or tofu

• pastas or noodles

• large salads

• tacos or veggie wraps

• whole wheat pizzas

substitute

• white pastas, breads, rice --> soba noodles (buckwheat)/brown rice pastas, seeded and whole wheat breads, brown rice

• dark meats (pork, beef) --> lean meats (chicken, shrimp, salmon, tofu, egg)

add

• fiber (flax seeds to yogurt; seeds to rice; beans to salad; lentils, apples, quinoa, chickpeas, nuts)

• diversity! switch everything up every other week or so to incorporate all the vitamins and other nutrients into your diet

• veggies: add leafy greens or a side of vegetables to every meal for additional fiber and to help keep you full longer

exclude

• highly processed foods such as bars, cookies, chips

• high sugar sweets or snacks

one meal at a time

Before overwhelming yourself by trying to assemble five meals at once, each with different ingredients, choose one meal, take out its components, and complete it before moving to the next one. This saves time, makes the task more manageable, and reduces any stress that could come with meal prepping.

one ingredient at a time

For instance, when building a yoga parfait: 

1) put yogurt in each container

2) pour granola in each container

3) pour flax seed in each container

4) add fruit in each container (you can switch each day's fruit, if you want to switch it up)

This will save more time.

clean as you go

This tip might be a little obvious, but cleaning each ingredient or meal after you have completed it will save immense time and energy for after each container is packed -- as opposed to finishing with four piles of ingredients all over your counter.