Step One: Plan Your Meals

Before you head to the grocery store, you need a plan [2], which will actually save you time from wandering the aisles, trying to decide what to make for the week. If you're new to meal prepping, maybe you just want to plan out dinners. Or maybe you're going full force into meal prepping and you know what you're going to eat for breakfast [3], lunch, and snacks, too. After you plan, make a shopping list and hit the grocery store so you have everything ready by Monday.

Make One-Portion Smoothie Packs

The hurdle of having to prepare you protein- and fibre-packed smoothie can make you want to skip it for a scone. So prep all the fruits and greens you use in your smoothies and freeze individual DIY smoothie packs [4]. It not only makes a fast breakfast even faster, but it ensures you stick to a portion-perfect calorie amount.

Make Slow-Cooker Oatmeal

Steel cut oats are lower on the glycemic index than quick or rolled oats, which means they'll stabilize your blood sugar levels and keep you feeling full longer. They take over 40 minutes to cook though, so make a batch of this pumpkin pie overnight steel cut oatmeal [5] and it'll be ready for you first thing in the morning. Store leftovers in separate glass containers so you can quickly warm them up all week.

Freeze Oatmeal

If you're a fan of steel-cut oatmeal for keeping you full all morning long, this freezer hack [6] is a huge time-saver. Just make a big batch on the stove, and freeze smaller portions using a muffin tin. Pop the little oatmeal pucks into a freezer bag and a week of healthy, fibre-full breakfasts is ready.

Freeze All Kinds of Grains

Don't stop at oatmeal! You can cook up other grains such as quinoa, rice, millet, and barley and freeze those, too [7]. You can even combine two or more grains, and it's a great, quick way to get some protein and fibre into your meal without having to spend 20 minutes cooking them up each time.

Prep Overnight Oat Packs

How do you make the quickest breakfast even quicker? Prep your entire week of overnight oats [8] all at once.

Set Up Your Snacks With Protein Balls

To prevent mindless snacking between meals, pre-make a batch of protein balls to keep in your fridge or gym bag. Try these delicious recipes:

• Coconut-covered chocolate almond protein balls [9]
• Chocolate peanut butter protein balls [10]
• Three-ingredient vegan protein balls [11]
• Lemon coconut protein balls [12]
• Chocolate chip cookie dough balls [13]

Freeze Pureed Veggies

Not just for baby food, freeze pureed veggies [14] like green beans, butternut squash, and carrots and add them to soups, smoothies, and sauces to increase the fibre and other nutrients.

Prep Your Own Salad Bar

Here's a salad hack that will make those dinner salads happen. Wash and cut all your favourite veggies, then store them in closed mason jars. Each night, take out the six or so jars and you've got a DIY salad bar [15].

Freeze Your Greens

Tired of tossing greens week after week? This ice-cube hack [16] is a must. Pick up some BPA-free ice-cube trays or baby-food trays, and buy a variety of greens. You can puree them separately in a food processor or blender, or puree them together, adding a little water to yield a smooth consistency. Pour the puree into the little wells, attach the lids, and freeze them. When you're ready to make your smoothie, just grab a few and throw them in your blender — it's a great time-saver. You can also freeze greens as is in baggies — just be sure to wash and reuse them.

Pack (Crisp) Salads For a Full Week

Don't have time to cut up a salad every single night? Here's a way to make all the salads you need for your workweek at once [17].

Freeze Pureed Beans

Puree a can of beans, freeze the puree, and use these magical frozen bean cubes [18] in anything you can think of. Add one to your bowl of oatmeal [19], throw a few in the blender when whipping up your kale smoothie [20], or mix them into pasta sauce, soups [21], or cooked whole grains. One cube is 26 calories, and offers 1.3 grams of fibre and 1.6 grams of protein, but won't affect the taste of the dish.

Pre-Cut Your Veggies

All that meal planning won't do you any good if you don't actually follow through. One way to make each dinner happen is to get a head start on the prep. Cut up veggies you'll be using for all your recipes, like sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and squash for roasting, or carrots, celery, and onion for soups.

Make Bite-Size Desserts

If you know you have a sweet tooth, indulging it can satisfy cravings and prevent you from binge-eating on an entire pint of ice cream later. Make a batch of a healthy dessert like these no-bake vegan brownies [22], so you can grab one and be done.

Freeze Cookie Dough

If you love to bake but know you can't just stop at one cookie, whip up your cookie dough and freeze the batter into ice-cube trays [23]. That way you can pop out one or two, bake those in your toaster oven, and you'll indulge a little without the temptation to keep reaching for more.

Freeze Eggs

If you're into protein in the morning to sustain your energy and always seem to be running out of eggs, this freezer hack [24] is for you. Just scramble a dozen eggs, freeze them in muffin cups, and they'll stay good up to six months.

Prep and Portion Fresh Snacks

We tend to reach for chips and crackers because they're easy and right there. Make fresh fruits and veggies just as easily accessible by washing, cutting, and storing them in containers [25] at eye-level in your fridge.

Make a Huge Pot of Beans

Cook a big batch of dry beans in a pot or the slow-cooker [26] to use for lunchtime salads, or for soups or burritos for the week's dinners. Store in the fridge or freeze smaller portions for later.

Prep 1-Pan Meals

Add protein and veggies to a sheet pan, roast, and lunch is done! Or you can prep uncooked one-pan meals and store them in the fridge to roast later that week. Here are some ideas:

• Roasted tempeh with onions, peppers, and sweet potato [27]
• Roasted tofu, sweet potato, and red pepper [28]
• Roasted tofu, cauliflower, and broccoli [29]

Create Soup Packs

Prep ingredients for your favourite soup and freeze for later [30]! These are great for cooking on the stove or in the slow-cooker.

Cook a Slew of Sweet Potatoes

Have cooked sweet potatoes on hand for the week to use in salads, Buddha bowls, or for this yummy banana almond butter sweet potato breakfast [31]. You can roast them whole in the oven or use this slow-cooker method [32].

Marinate Tofu

Sesame ginger tofu on your salad sounds amazing, right? Marinate tofu ahead of time [33] in your fridge so it's ready to use later — buy tofu that's already cubed to save time. Not into tofu? Marinate chickpeas [34], chicken, or tempeh [35].

Freeze Almond Milk For Quick Smoothies

For creamy, icy cold, and quick morning protein smoothies, freeze almond milk in ice cube trays [36]. This works for soy milk and hydrating coconut water [37].

Prep Lasagna and Have Lunch For the Week

Whether you prep it to make later in the week, or bake it for a week of lunches, make lasagna a healthy option by using tofu instead of ricotta [38] and adding spinach and roasted veggies.

Slow Cook Some Spaghetti Squash

If you love using spaghetti squash in place of pasta, cook a whole squash in your slow-cooker [39] to use for the week.

Prep a Week of Buddha Bowls

If it feels too chilly for cold salads, make a week of Buddha bowls [40]. Hearty and satisfying with so many textures and flavours, these Buddha bowls come together in one hour. Your taste buds will delight in roasted sweet potatoes, baked tofu, sautéed spiced chickpeas [41], steamed broccoli, red peppers, kale, and quinoa. Topped with an easy-to-make creamy peanut sauce, lunch is going to be so awesome!

Prep Your Salad Toppings

If you prefer keeping your leafy greens super crisp and fresh, just prep and pack a week of salad toppings without the lettuce.

Cook Quinoa

Bored with oatmeal? Cook up some quinoa! This recipe for slow-cooker apple pie quinoa [42] makes a week's worth of breakfast all at once. You can also add to your salads or for a quick side for dinner.

Breakfast Up With Banana Bread

For grab-and-go breakfasts, make a loaf of banana bread to have for the week. This recipe is gluten-free [43], but if you want extra protein, bake this recipe that's made using protein powder [44]. Not a banana fan? Make this protein-packed pumpkin bread [45] or this sweet potato protein bread [46].

Create Curry For the Week

Get excited for savory sweet curry at lunch time. You can make a big batch of this sweet potato chickpea curry in your slow-cooker [47], and cook a big pot of grains to enjoy with it. Lunch for the week will take less than an hour!

Bake Some Breakfast Bars

Ever crave cookies for breakfast? Then make a batch of these chewy oatmeal protein bars [48]. A 176-calorie square offers 8.4 grams of hunger-satiating protein.

Massage Your Kale Ahead of Time

Who has time to massage kale [49] for their dinner salads every single night? Save time by massageing a big bowl on Sunday, and store it in an airtight glass container in the fridge. It'll stay fresh all week.

Bake Multiple Egg Muffins

Make a big batch of turkey sausage egg muffins [50] or egg and veggie muffins [51] in advance, freeze them, then microwave a couple each morning.

Make a Quinoa Egg Bake

Pair eggs with whole grains for a filling breakfast, and prepare a quinoa egg bake [52] ahead of time. Microwave a piece while brewing your coffee, and you'll have a hot breakfast served in minutes.

Create Veggie Plates

Is eating more veggies a goal? Prep five days of veggie bowls, so you can use them for lunch or dinner. These have massaged kale, steamed green beans and broccoli, and roasted sweet potato.

Freeze Ripe Bananas For Smoothies

Peel, slice, and freeze bananas in freezer-safe baggies so they're ready for protein smoothies [53] in the morning. You can also throw them in your oatmeal.

Make Your Own Protein Bars

If you love the ease of grabbing a protein bar, but you don't want to pay tons of money per bar and don't love some of the odd ingredients you find in them, make a big batch of your own. These chocolate almond protein bars are vegan, gluten-free, and offer almost 13 grams of protein per 166-calorie bar. [54]

Make Protein Muffins

For a quick breakfast, whip up a batch of these lemon blueberry protein muffins [55]. For just 300 calories, two muffins offers 12 grams of protein and almost five grams of fibre. You can freeze some to have later in the month, too.

Pre-Measure You Own Pancake Mix

Bisquick, as the name suggests, might be quick, but it's not the healthiest. DIY [56] your own healthy pancake mix [57] using whole wheat flour for added fibre. You can even add protein powder to your jar. Save even more time by making and freezing pancakes to warm up in seconds.

Prep Snacks

If you tend to overeat snacks like nuts, tortilla chips, pretzels, trail mix, or dried fruit, the calories can add up if you're not paying attention. Measure out portions in little containers [58] or baggies so you can grab them during the week.

Create an Egg Casserole

Take 20 minutes for prep the night before, set your slow cooker to low while you sleep, and wake up to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking [59] in the kitchen. Store the rest of the servings in the fridge in separate containers so breakfast is easy to grab the next morning, re-heat, and enjoy.

Freeze Grated Courgette

Aside from courgette bread [60], you can use frozen shredded courgette [61] to make zoats [62], or sautée as a dinner side with a pepper and any fresh herbs you might have on hand.

Make a Quinoa Bake

For a twist on oatmeal, cooked quinoa offers more protein. Make a quinoa breakfast bake [63] before bed, and you can eat a square warmed up with a dollop of yoghurt. Save the rest and re-heat throughout the week.