I think one of the pitfalls for new meal preppers is monotony; if you're forced to eat the same food for every single meal, you're bound to divert from your plan. Keep things fresh and interesting with a balanced menu, while still keeping it simple — you don't want to have to make 15 different recipes for a five-day week, right?
Here's what my sample week looks like:
- Breakfasts: Three smoothies, two overnight oats
- Lunches: Three salads, two protein bowls
- Dinners: Three protein bowls, two soups
You can mix these up throughout the week and alternate. (In other words, you could have smoothies for breakfast on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and overnight oats on Tuesday and Thursday. The same is true for salads, bowls, and soups.) The bases will be similar and easy to prepare, but you can dress them up in different ways.
For example, preparing overnight oats comes down to having oats, chia, and plant milk — or regular milk, whatever works — but you can mix in different spices and toppings to incorporate more variety. With salads, you can spice things up with different dressings and toppings, but you'll still portion out the same leafy green base.