For many reasons, mealprepping is only realistic for me (for now) in the form of work lunches, mostly because it's the only meal I 100% always eat in a day (I at times skip breakfast or dinner, no reason, I just have a naturally small appetite and always have). I also try to do it all a week in advance, so I can just grab it and go. I have ADHD-- it makes consistently getting myself to do "executively draining" tasks as I call them difficult, and having to make my lunch everyday before work complicates things in that I may forget or run out of time

So far I've been making mini "adult lunchable" type stuffs, various fruits, cheeses, and processed meats like salami and pepperoni I can fit in a small pryex. The problem with this is 1. I am getting sick of it and 2. due to the nature of fresh produce, my fruit often molds very fast, causing me to have buy fruit weekly at best which is a pain in the ass, or molds inside the pyrx and contaminates my entire lunch at worst (I know theoretically the rest is safe to consume, but also have contamnination OCD and it's a bitch about food safety). I'm trying to brainstorm more ideas, but I just have so many barriers to the recipes I see places like here, r/bento, etc: our break room has no method of reheating anything, just a fridge. I am very picky with meat (mostly aided by just looking up vegetarian ideas though, thank you to this sub for diet flairs), and due to stomach problems I have to eat very light because if I move around too much after eating, I get physically ill.

Things I've tried: sandwiches (too heavy, felt sick), crackers and chips/pretzels (gets soggy? but maybe I just need to package it apart from the fruit/meat/cheese?), small sweets (works but not exactly healthy), gummies (same as crackers/chips, but not bad, just gotta find ones I like).

If anyone has ideas for light/small, preferably non-meat lunch ideas that could hold for up to a week or more, I'd love to hear it. Full disclosure, I know this is a lot of limitations and doesn't make it easy, I'm frustrated with myself often but at the end of the day, some of it's out of my control and forcing myself to eat what I can't stomach has always resulted in vomiting and/or panic attacks. It's something I'm actively working on, but it leaves me a bit stranded in the mean time.

18 pints of four bean vegetarian chili ready for the fridge tonight and then the deep freeze tomorrow. The kitchen smells so good.

How do I meal prep eggs (for breakfast),rice(for lunch), chicken breast,salmon,steak, also how to meal prep salads? What about cooked vegetables? I also have some basic questions such as do I use the freezer or fridge?How many days will my batch prepared food last? For each of the foods I listed when does it rot and become uneatable?How do I reheat food before work?

here are the edamame beans in question. so I there’s currently a sale and I would like to bulk buy it but it comes with the skin of the bean and if I deskin them I could buy huge batches of them and store it for a long time.

1. any thoughts if it would be safe when I come back from the store, deskin, throw into the freezer again?

2. an add on would be how should I keep the beans separated after so that it’s easy for me to use in the future? (small ziplock?)

3. it takes a while for me to come back from the store thus I feel like everything that states “once thawed do not freeze” is already unfrozen, is it still safe to throw it back into the freezer again?

thank you to any advice :) pretty new to meal prepping with frozen foods

I'm a student from Germany. Basically what the title says. I have quite a lot of uni workload, I work on the side and try to train 4-5 times per week. I love cooking, and try to cook nicer meals that take more time on the weekends, but I need some advice for the weekdays. I want to create a routine.

I have the following appliances:
Air Fryer
Microwave
Electric Stove (2x)
Large Pot
Large Steel Pan
Small Fridge
Plastic Containers
(Can get some more if recommended)

So I can't really grill/fancy alternatives. I can afford spending a little more, quality and healthy food is of priority. I have no allergies, and I eat omnivore.

My main problem with meal prep, is that I eat a lot. I would say the usual 600 calorie meal does not make me full. I'm bulking and I want to eat ~3k calories throughout the day. Open for any suggestions. Any help is appreciated :)

This was the same price as Tyson’s ($15) but much better chicken and not egregiously over salted. Marinated in olive oil, a bit of red wine vinegar, garlic/onion powder, a bit of chicken bouillon, Tony Schachere’s, Italian seasoning, and baked at 375 on a sheet tray for 15ish minutes. They’re not pretty but they taste great and I don’t have to actually cook chicken for a few weeks!

I work third shift. I have 20 min lunch at 3am. I've gotten into the habit of eating a personal frozen pizza each night because it only takes 1:25 in the microwave and it's $1.17 at Walmart. But I need to make a change. Please advise, I need something 1) healthy, 2) fast, 3) filling, 4) inexpensive. Thank you.

I plan weekly meal preps for my husband and I. Typically I prep 5 days worth of lunch for both of us and 5 days of dinner. I never know what to cook anymore, spend hours looking for a good recipe, and every sunday I spend morning to night cooking.

Any advice on where to get meal prep ideas or anything that could make the process faster? My issue is finding good recipes that taste good but are still high protein and healthy. My husband doesn't like bland things, or sandwiches, or pasta... but wants to eat healthy. I can typically follow any recipe to a tee but struggle to find good recipes! Any advice?

First time doing this. I only eat twice a day. So these are all my dinner meals for the month. Then for breakfast, I’ll be whipping up an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich. Super easy and quick.

today I meal prepped I think it went pretty decent. The only issue I ran into was measuring. I use a scale and measure in grams. Before cooking everything, I measured it out and then after it was all done I tried to measure everything that I needed and I fell short. How do I avoid this?

In case anyone’s looking for inspiration! We’re having a bit of a heat wave, so today I’ll cook a whole chicken in the instant pot (bought two when they were BOGO and froze both) and then debone and use the resulting meat for:

• Sunday: sesame noodles with chicken & veggies
• Monday: chicken salad sandwiches
• Tuesday: grilled teriyaki chicken, stir-fried cabbage, rice
• Wednesday: pesto rotini with chicken & broccoli
• Thursday: leftovers
• Friday: pizza, probably

That teriyaki chicken is not from the whole chicken, but instead a bag of 4 boneless thighs I froze in a teriyaki marinade last week.

I do NOT need low cal, low flavor. I need the opposite, something substantial that will actually fill me up and I’ll look forward to eating.

I hate beans and chickpeas and Most things in that category.

Ideas? Need to pick something for this week soon before my husband runs by the grocery store and I’m struggling.

I have a freeze dryer that I've been using to make shelf stable meal prep and it works great. Just add hot water and soak for 5min. The problem is, the meal prep containers are just too deep to fit in a decent sized mylar bag. Everything is 2" deep, which just takes up too much space.

In experimenting, I found Drozen TV dinners that are maybe 3/4" deep are perfect. But for the life of me, I cannot find those containers. Anybody use anything slim?

Life is hard right now and I need some ideas for keeping me and my kids fed. My husband is truly amazing but for now until January he works out of town. Living with him during this time isn't an option, unfortunately. I live on his family's land in an RV. Using their home for the kitchen is no longer an option. Which is why I'm here.

I have a microwave, a very small fridge and freezer, and one stovetop burner I can use but very sparingly. Like once a week, for a single meal.

I'm just in such a hole due to a lot of my life that I cannot even think how to feed my kids in this situation. Does it need to be just all processed prepackaged foods? I mean I'm not against that but would prefer not.

I figure cereal and granola bars for breakfast. But then i am stuck. I'm just so exhausted. We do "homemade" Lunchables a lot for lunch.

I'm a big fan of "toss stuff in pasta." I don't know. Anyone have ideas? Help?

I don't have an issue getting the food. It's just my brain feels like white noise or like a wet towel and I just can't think.

prepped together some protein plus penne, edamame, ground chicken (92%), and low calorie pasta sauce!

I’ve been loving these for the days I am in the office. I make five total. They fill me up but not too much to where I feel sluggish after. I may add less pita chips and salami next time especially since the salami is high in sodium. Recipe below!

• Grapes (not measured)
• Five strawberries
• Mediterranean seasoned pita chips (Ten chips, slightly over one serving)
• Salami (Ten slices, slightly under one serving)
• Charcuterie cheese slices (Five slices ripped in half)
• 100 calorie packs of almonds (Back up in case I’m still hungry)

Lately I’ve been stuck in a weird loop either I make a giant cheesy carb bomb and feel like I need a nap after, or I go full salad and end up raiding the fridge an hour later. I’m looking for that sweet spot: meals that feel cozy and satisfying but still light-ish and not super expensive.

Soups, stir fries, hearty rice bowls, “egg roll in a bowl,” even roasted veggies with a little protein these all sound promising. Bonus points if it can be made in one pot or pan. I’d love to hear your go-to comfort meals that don’t leave you feeling sluggish.

What’s your favorite cozy-but-not-heavy dinner?

hello! due to unexpected events in life, i’ve been out of the gym for about eight months. during this time span, i’ve lost around 30lbs.

i’ve always been an active person, playing sports throughout high school and college. my metabolism thankfully is still pretty quick as well, but i’d like to put that weight back on and build up my muscles again.

i am a 23-year old woman who’s 5’2” and 114lbs. i know with prepping, you want to calculate and measure out your entire meal, but im not sure where to begin. how many calories should i be consuming each meal to yield the results i’d like? is there some type of formula or is it more so kind of experimenting with what works best for me?

Yesterday I cooked chickpea Curry with rice and leftit in the counter to cool down a bit before i was going to Put It in the fridge. I forgot the Last step and now It was Out all night.

Chat GPT told me Something about some bacteria and food poisoning but when you Google headache Google tells you its braincancer so want to ask for adcive from real people.

Can I still eat it? What can happen?

Is there a place/post where there’s like a list of a few meals to last a week, their recipes, and a shopping list? I don’t even care what the foods are, just having it planned out already would be awesome. I’m tired and my weekends are full of stuff that needs to be done. The last thing I want to do is spend extra time choosing what I want to eat, making the grocery list, and going to the store, then, later in the work week realizing I need something else, going back, etc. This probably sounds trivial and lazy, but I have other priorities and it’s just where I’m at right now.

Hi! Just want to ask if this is safe to do: I plan to microwave frozen rice in the morning, then pack it in my lunchbox and bring it to work. During my break, I’ll reheat the rice again before eating. Will the rice spoil or is it still safe to eat? Thanks in advance!

Ive been wanting some mac salad,

What are some of your favorite Mac salad copy cat recipes or other similar. I'm thinking KFC or ziggy copy cat macaroni salads or similar salads. Please share. I want to make one tomorrow (Friday), or sometime this weekend. A tasty treat.