Meal Prep Bowls

The idea of meal prepping is making/preparing dishes or whole meals ahead of schedule. By prepping in bulk for a few days at a time, you can save a lot of time, and keep your portion sizes in check. We’re gonna go over some of the basic ideas for prepping bowls – they’re easy to do, super colorful, and a healthy way to plan your week.

You want to build your bowls from three main components: grains, protein and vegetables. Grains can be anything from rice and quinoa to couscous, noodles and pasta. Your protein could be sausages, chicken, fish and shrimp, or something leaner like eggs. Maybe opt for an animal-free protein like tofu or seitan. Legumes like beans, lentils and chickpeas are a great source of plant-based protein. As for the vegetable part, this is your space to get really creative.

Getty Images / Moment / Nazar Abbas Photography

Vegetables are so versatile, you can chop them up and add them raw, or you can roast them on sheet pans with a touch of olive oil and salt. If you have a wok on hand, whipping up a big stir fry can also be a quick time saver for your bowls. And finally, you can add any extras on top to give your bowl that final finish. Why not add some roasted seeds or nuts, maybe some dried fruit if that’s your sort of thing. A thumb of cheese or some smashed avocado will seal it off nicely.

When you’re first starting off, it might seem daunting, not knowing where to start, or what works well together. A good idea is to come up with some ‘themes’ and work off of those. For example, you can start off with Mexican. Use rice as your grain and base for the bowls, and start building up fajita, burrito or taco bowls. You can grill some chicken strips with onion and bell peppers, or add black beans with sweetcorn, salsa and guacamole. You can make sushi bowls with various fish and toppings, or go Italian and use pasta as your base. Once you’ve got it down, feel free to swap things out and mix it up a bit. Bon appetit!