6 Easy-To-Do Meal Prep Recipes for Beginners
Image by Ella Olsson on Pexels
If you’re holding down multiple jobs or have to juggle between your job and your housework, chances are you barely have enough time to cook. Cooking is a necessary but time-consuming activity. This is where you can benefit from meal preparation.
In this context, meal preparation means preparing meals ahead of time or in a short amount of time. Also called “meal prep”, this strategy not only allows you to think about what to eat ahead of time but also to choose recipes that are properly nutritious for yourself and your family.
If you’re new to meal prepping, here are some easy-to-do starter recipes that you can try out and experiment with when you have the time.
Recipe #1: Chicken Fajitas
Image from the Downshiftology recipe page
- No. of ingredients: 12
- How difficult is it to get the ingredients? Easy
- Serves how many: 6
- Can be kept in the fridge for how many days: 5
Kitchen tools you need:
- A mixing bowl
- A skillet
Ingredients
CHICKEN FAJITAS
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 lime
FAJITA SEASONING
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cooking Instructions & Prep Suggestions
- Place all of the Fajitas seasoning into a mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of the combined seasonings evenly over both sides of your chicken breasts. (Note: Personally, I prefer to cut the chicken breasts into strips first, then coat them with the seasoning to enhance the flavors. Afterwards, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sear the chicken breasts for 7-8 minutes on each side.
- Thinly slice the bell peppers and onions.
- After the chicken has finished cooking, transfer it to a plate and allow it to rest for a couple of minutes.
- In the same skillet, add the bell peppers and onions and sauté them over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Once the bell peppers are done sautéing, cut the chicken breasts into strips.
- Reintroduce the chicken into the skillet and squeeze some fresh lime juice over everything. Combine the ingredients thoroughly.
Preparation Suggestion: You can include plain rice or Mexican rice in your preparation bowl. For instructions on making Mexican rice, check out this guide: Link to Mexican rice recipe.
Recipe #2: Fennel Pork Meatballs
Image from Downshiftology's recipe page
- No. of ingredients: 9
- How difficult is it to get the ingredients? Easy
- Serves how many: 10
- Can be kept in the fridge for how many days: 3 to 4 days
Kitchen tools you need:
- A saucepan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ medium onion, finely chopped
- ½ fennel bulb, finely chopped
- 2 pounds of ground pork
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cooking Instructions & Prep Suggestions:
- Start by heating a tablespoon of oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
- Sauté the onions and fennel for 2 to 3 minutes until they become slightly tender. Remove them from the heat and let them cool.
- Combine the pork, eggs, parsley, fennel seed, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. After the sautéed onions and fennel have cooled, incorporate them into the mixture.
- Thoroughly blend everything together using your hands.
- Form the pork mixture into small meatballs.
- Once you've shaped the meatballs, arrange them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Clean the large sauté pan you used previously and add 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Place the first batch of meatballs in the pan, ensuring they are not overcrowded (approximately 20 meatballs at a time). Cook the meatballs for 2 to 3 minutes on one side, then turn them to brown on all sides. The meatballs should cook for a total of 10 to 12 minutes or until they are no longer pink inside. When the first batch is done, transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels and begin cooking the next batch.
Recipe # 3: Garlic Paprika & Balsamic Soy Salmon
Image from the Goodful YouTube Channel
- No. of ingredients: 14
- How difficult is it to get the ingredients? Easy
- Serves how many: Undetermined
- Can be kept in the fridge for how many days: 3 days
Kitchen tools you need:
- A baking tray
- A baking sheet
- An oven
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Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 4 pcs of salmon (6 oz. each)
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 5 oz of green beans
- 5 oz of asparagus
- 1 yellow squash, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Cooking Instructions & Prep Suggestions:
- Combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and minced garlic in a bowl or container.
- Place two salmon fillets into the mixture, ensuring that every part of the fish is well-coated.
- Let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, blend paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Take the remaining two salmon fillets and cover them with the powdered seasoning mix.
- Arrange the four salmon fillets on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, alongside chopped carrots, beans, asparagus, and squash.
- Drizzle the contents with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 11 minutes.
- Get ready to store or serve. It pairs well with rice.
Source: Goodful YouTube Channel
Recipe #5: Pasta Salad
(It looks a bit like this Macaroni salad from Baker by Nature)
- No. of ingredients: 9
- How difficult is it to get the ingredients? Easy
- Serves how many: 4
- Can be kept in the fridge for how many days: 2 to 3 days
Kitchen tools you need:
- A large mixing bowl
Ingredients:
- a can of corn kernels
- a pack of cooked ham slices, cut into small squares
- one small block of hard cheese cut into small cubes
- a small packet of elbow macaroni (around 250g), cooked (boiled)
- 2 green apples, cut into small cubes
- a small jar of pitted black olives
- one cucumber, also cubed (optional)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- apple cider vinegar (or any other vinegar)
Cooking Instructions & Prep Suggestions:
- Mix all of the ingredients together
- Sprinkle some salt and pepper and mix.
- Add in small amounts of vinegar and olive oil first to sample the taste. Keep mixing.
- Prepare for storing.
Source: Personally-loved recipe
Recipe #6: Berries and Cream Instant Oatmeal
Image from Pick Up Limes recipe page
- No. of ingredients: 7
- How difficult is it to get the ingredients? Easy
- Serves how many: 1
- Can be kept in the fridge for how many days: Up to 3 weeks!
Kitchen tools you need:
- A mason jar (or any other airtight container)
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup (27 g) quick oats†
- ⅓ cup (8 g) freeze-dried raspberries
- 1 Tbsp (7 g) ground flaxseeds
- 1 Tbsp (13 g) vanilla sugar
- 1 cup (240 mL) unsweetened soy milk‡
- ⅓ cup (80 mL) unsweetened coconut yogurt
- ½ cup (75 g) fresh mixed berries
Cooking Instructions & Prep Suggestions:
- Add instant oats, freeze-fried berries, flaxseeds, and vanilla sugar into a mason jar or any other airtight container.
- Mix and store somewhere cool and dry.
- When ready to eat, transfer to a bowl and add the milk. Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring once halfway. You can also heat them on the stove. If you want a thinner consistency, just add more milk. But if you want a thicker oatmeal, microwave for a few seconds longer.
- You can add yogurt, more berries, and any of your favorite toppings.
Final Word
Be sure to use airtight food containers to keep your food as fresh as possible. If this is your first time doing meal prep, don’t be discouraged if things don’t turn out as you expected. Determine where you went wrong and try a different approach the next time around. Meal prep can be fun and incredibly time-freeing once you figure it out.
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