5 Big Benefits of Lunch Meal Prep (and Recipe Ideas!)
If you’re just starting out on your meal prep journey, you might stick to prepping one meal a day. If that meal is lunch, you’re not going to want to miss the rest of this post! Today, we’re going to share the five big benefits of lunch meal prep, as well as some great recipes to try.
The Benefits of Lunch Meal Prep
Let’s start with some good reasons to start meal prepping your lunch.
Convenience
Devoting one day a week to prepping your lunch for the rest of the week pays off in a lot of ways. Just imagine the convenience of knowing your lunch is already made each day and you don’t have to worry about it! This saves you time over your valuable lunch break so you can actually take a break, rather than spending it cooking or in line for your lunch.
Healthier choices
Meal prep is associated with healthy eating for good reason! When you prep your meals ahead of time, you’re more likely to make and choose healthy foods. If you make your lunch at the last minute once you’re already hungry, you’ll be a lot more tempted to reach for less nutritious options.
Less stress
Making three meals a day, seven days a week is a lot of work. When you’ve already got a busy life, all of this work is nothing short of overwhelming. Even if it’s just one meal a day you prep, this can save you a ton of stress.
Minimize food waste
When you plan your meals ahead, it’s easier to use what you have. It also means you’re less likely to waste food!
Another way to minimize food waste with meal prepping is prepping for four days of the week, rather than all five workdays. Four seems to be the magic number for many people, and by day five you might be ready for a different recipe. Unfortunately, that means you might toss that fifth meal. But stick to four meals for lunch meal prep, and boost your chances of going through all the food you prepared.
Saving money
Buying your lunch in the cafeteria, nearby coffee shop, or bistro near your office adds up over time. Planning your lunches ahead of time and preparing them all at once can help you save a lot of money! This also means you might splurge on that $5 latte each morning knowing you’re not spending extra cash on your lunch.
Lunch Meal Prep Ideas
As for lunch meal prep ideas, we’ve got two great recipes to start you off!
Cold Lunch Meal Prep
This recipe for make-ahead Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls from Sweet Peas and Saffron takes just 15 minutes to prep, and 25 minutes to cook! After just 40 minutes, you’ll have lunch meals prepped for the next four days.
Hot Lunch Meal Prep
As for cold lunch ideas, Sweet Peas and Saffron has plenty of those too, including these Turkey Taco Meal Prep Bowls. They’re ready in just over an hour, and no reheating is required at the busy office microwave!
Looking for more nutrition and wellness tips and tricks? Take a look at our blog for all kinds of helpful posts!