Every Sunday, I prepare my husband and my lunches for the week. We started this a few months back when we decided that we wanted to eat even healthier than what we did. (We used to have whole wheat bread , turkey/cheese/mustard sandwiches) Also, we decided that it is easier to make the lunches ahead of time instead of the night before because of our hectic schedules. Making our lunches ahead of time allows us to just “grab and go” in the morning, we don’t have to choose, and everything is already pre- portioned out. It is very simple to cook these, because I buy them in bulk and cook them in bulk. We hit up Sam’s Club to purchase these items with an approximate average cost/meal of less than $2 and under 300 calories. It takes approximately 20 minutes to prepare, cook, and portion out our meals on Sunday.
Our lunches usually consist of:
- PROTEIN: 4 oz of Tilapia, Salmon, Chicken Breast, or Turkey Burgers
- GREEN VEGETABLE: 1 cup of Broccoli, Green beans, Zucchini, Steamed Fresh Spinach or Kale (Sometimes it is a fresh veggie from our garden!!)
- WHOLE GRAIN: 1/4 cup of whole wheat bread, quinoa, or old fashioned oatmeal
Making our lunches ahead of time has allowed my husband and I to eat healthy during our busy work day, know our caloric intake, and not stress about what we are going to eat for lunch. Not to mention, it saves us money!
I like to pride myself in knowing that I home cooked all of our lunches for the week. Almost every day at work, I have coworkers coming to me asking me what I am eating for lunch and they always tell me that they “Don’t have time to cook that” or “You eat too healthy.” I find myself being the only employee at my work that actually eats a homemade meal for lunch. Let me remind you that I am only 23 and I am surrounded by various generations of men. Most of their wives are unemployed or retired or are what was once dubbed a “homemaker”. They explain to me that their wives don’t have the time to make them lunches or even cook them dinner. My response? “I am 23. I work full time, go to school full time, have a toddler, a husband, 3 pets, blog for SKINNYMOM!!!, and am the Key Caller for our FRG, and I STILL find time to cook for my family.” NO EXCUSES!
**Please do not get me wrong. I LOVE how busy my life is. I MAKE my life this busy for a reason. I don’t expect nor need SYMPATHY! I love my life as an Army wife and would not change it for the world.**
Hi there,
I want to prep lunches and dinners for the week but do you portion them and then freeze them? I am a little bit paranoid of freezing meat them dethawing, please let me know.
Good for you! I have been trying to set something like this up for myself and my family – your post was encouraging! If I might ask, will something you make on Sunday night keep until Friday? Or do you also prep during the week? That would be my only concern! Congratulations on having a busy life and still managing to have a healthy lunch! You are setting a good example for those around you and your child
Hey ladies!! Jodie, I portion them for (5 days of portions for lunch) and then put them in the fridge! To answer both of your questions the meal still tastes fresh & yummy on day #5. Honestly there are times when I will cook for the weekend too, so day #7 is still great! Also, I know I was worried at first about reheating the fish in the microwave at work, but no one has ever said “Eww it smells fishy in this place”. Not sure if that is the Tilapia or I am doing something right. Let me know if you have any other questions! I really love that we have them prepped already because there it just makes life that much more easier!
Thanks for the post! I have been wanting to do this for some time but thought it would rake more time than this! My husband and I are police officers and don’t always have access to heat things for lunch… do you have any favorites that don’t have to be heated but can be made in bulk like this?
Michelle, first thank you for you and your husband service! That is a wonderful question and in fact a challenging one! I am fortunate enough to have a microwave and at times my husband is too. I guess it does depend on how you like your food. You can always opt for a large spinach salad with lots of veggies with a diced chicken breast or ground turkey. Keep cold packs in a lunch box to keep your salad cold while you’re on shift. Think of fresh cut veggies and fruit for sides because most of these do not need to be cold or hot. Also for snacks you can always do almonds! Hopefully that helps a little?! Maybe tuna packs that are made with water?
Love this idea! I need to do this more often, it would be so much easier during the week. Do you do chicken and tilapia ,etc all in one week or eat te same thing all week??
Thanks!!
Samantha, I am a little confused by your question but I hope I can answer it. I cook all of our lunches on Sunday (chicken, tilapia, turkey burgers, veggies and while grains) we eat this every day of the week following. I know that eating roughly thr same thing every week can be boring but I like to know the exact caloric intake and it is easier to prepare that way. I hope that helps. Please let me know of you have any more questions
Thanks for your post Jessica, I am not very great in the kitchen…lol and I never would have thought to prep meat for 5 days as I thought on the 3rd day it wouldnt be good anymore, good to know though because this will make life easier for me with a busy schedule.