Welcome aboard if you’re new! Our meal planning tool is your personalized meal prep assistant – you can tweak your serving sizes or skip some recipe options, it’s all in your hands! Our meal plans are meant to be a guide, so feel free to use all recipes or just a few to get you started! Click on each recipe to learn more prep tips. Enjoy the meals at your pleasure, but here’s an example of how we plan out the meals during the week:
Set Your Pace
- If you’re a beginner at meal prep: Be prepared to set aside 2-3 hours. Once mise en place is complete, all of these recipes can be completed one by one.
- If you’re a meal prep pro, use the sequenced steps below: These steps give you the flexibility to cook items simultaneously in a sequence of events.
- Be sure to set timers and check on food items to avoid overcooking. Sequencing will save you time and meal prep can be done in 1-2 hours.
Meal Prep Run Down
Chopping and Prepping Ingredients:
- Get your oven ready, chop the veggies, measure the spices, and lay out your tools—being organized from the start makes cooking simple and fun!
Cooking Phase 1: Oven Recipes
- Egg Muffins: Preheat the oven to 400°F, dice the chicken sausage, bell peppers, and red onions, chop the cilantro, whisk the eggs with salt, mix in the sausage and veggies, scoop 1/3 cup portions into 6 muffin wells, bake for 10–12 minutes until set, and serve with fresh strawberries.
- Pumpkin Muffins: Preheat the oven to 400°F, mix the egg, brown sugar, and pumpkin purée until smooth, add the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder for a smooth batter, grease muffin pans with olive oil, scoop 1/3 cup batter into each well, top with pumpkin seeds, and bake for 12–15 minutes until cooked through.
- Acorn Squash: Preheat the oven to 400°F, cut the acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds, season with salt and olive oil, place flesh-side up on a sheet pan, and bake for 50–55 minutes until tender.
- Balsamic Chicken: Preheat the oven to 400°F, whisk the marinade in a bowl, coat the chicken breasts and let marinate for at least 10 minutes, then bake on a sheet pan for 25–30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, let rest, and slice into bite-size pieces.
Cooking Phase 2: Stove Top Recipes
- One Pot Mexican Soup: Heat oil in a soup pot to sauté onions, then add chicken, tomato sauce, broth, and seasonings; bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken is tender, shred the chicken with two forks, return it to the pot with corn, pinto beans, and bell peppers, and serve topped with avocado slices and cilantro.
- Sausage Pasta: Cook and drain the pasta, sauté sliced sausage and onions until golden, stir in marinara, pumpkin purée, and seasonings, toss with the pasta until coated, fold in spinach, and finish with parmesan cheese.
- Beef Marinara: Sauté onions in oil, brown the ground beef, stir in marinara and seasonings, then stuff the cooked acorn squash halves with the meat sauce, top with mozzarella, and serve with a side salad
Final Steps:
- Storage: Once all the dishes are fully cooked, plate everything into individual containers. Allow them to cool to room temperature before placing them in the refrigerator for storage. This will keep your meals fresh and ready to enjoy throughout the week.
If you’re sequencing your meal prep, be sure to keep an eye on everything! Make sure food is kept refrigerated under 40F degrees until ready to eat.
Assembly Tips
- Evenly divide meals according to the serving size
- Let all items cool before placing them in the refrigerator
- Keep all items refrigerated under 40°F until ready to eat or reheat
- Breakfast: Both meals can be reheated in the microwave, serve fruit chilled.
- Lunch: The balsamic chicken salad can be served chilled, while the soup can be reheated in the microwave
- Dinner: Both meals can be reheated quickly in the microwave.
Extra Flavors and Substitutions
- Egg Muffins: Use spinach, mushrooms, or zucchini instead of bell peppers/red onion.
- Pumpkin Muffin: Replace pumpkin puree with mashed sweet potato or banana.
- Balsamic Chicken Salad: Change up the marinade flavors (lemon-garlic, teriyaki, or taco spice rub).
- One Pot Mexican Soup: Pair with a side salad, tortilla chips, or a slice of sourdough bread.
- Sausage Pumpkin Pasta: Use butternut squash or sweet potato purée instead of pumpkin.
- Stuffed Acorn Squash with Beef Marinara: Swap acorn squash with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, or delicata squash. Swap beef with ground turkey, chicken, or lentils for a vegetarian version.
Supplement meals with additional snacks such as fresh veggies and fruit for additional daily caloric needs. You can use lime/lemon and olive oil in place of salad dressing
Extra Leftover Ingredients Not Used
- Protein: Freeze any uncooked meats and save for a later recipe, or you can cook the full amount, and freeze the portion that you do not eat, and save for later use.
- Fruit: Use leftover fruit in smoothies, on top of yogurt, or with your cereal
- Veggies: Freeze any leftover veggies for later use. Use leftover herbs in omelets or other dishes for the weekend
Helpful Resources
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