7 Simple Staples for Healthy Meal Prepping

Chicken thighs retain their moisture and soak up all different types of seasonings and marinades, making them a meal prep star. Just season to your liking, throw onto a sheet pan and roast from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on whether you’re cooking bone-in or boneless thighs. Here's a recipe for inspiration.

Need more fiber, protein and healthy fats in your diet? Don’t we all! Mix up a dense bean salad and you have an easy salad topper, side dish or mix-in for pasta or rice. You can play around with different beans, seasonings and added veggies to customize this to your taste preferences too.

Save big and prep for the week with shredded meat that you can cook hands-off in a slow cooker. All you need is meat, broth or water, seasonings and time. Chicken breast is popular for this cooking method, but pork or beef are also delicious. This is another easily customizable option, or make it with just salt, pepper and some garlic, then add different seasonings and sauces as you reheat it through the week.

You can throw all different types of veggies onto a sheet tray with a little oil and some seasonings for big nutrient boosts in all of your meals. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, eggplant, squash, cauliflower and/or bell peppers are a good place to start, but feel free to get creative (or simply toss anything that’s on its last leg from the fridge onto your sheet pan!).

You can speed up your day-to-day food prep by cooking a big batch or two of grains at the start of the week. Try varying your options to avoid boredom. Cook a batch of quinoa, barley, farro, oats and/or brown rice to have a solid, hearty base for just about every meal for the week.

Eggs cook quickly, but on your busiest days, even the few minutes spent scrambling an egg can be too much. Instead, take 10 minutes on the weekend to hard-boil a whole batch of eggs for the week. These are great to throw on grain bowls or salads for extra protein or eat them straight-up with seasoning and hot sauce for a delicious snack.

When you’re prepping your roasted veggies and grains for the week, take a few minutes to whip up a homemade dressing, too. This is a fast way to add tons of flavor to your meals, and it’s much more flavorful (and often healthier!) than store-bought dressings. Here’s a simple recipe to get you started.