1 Hour Prep = Lunch All Week
Here’s a variation! You’ve got legumes (lentils), nuts (almonds), fruit (citrus), veg (cabbage), herb (mint). Add leafy salad greens! And you could include sweet potato, avocado, quinoa, egg…
Streamline your lunch routine with just one hour of prep! Learn how to create versatile, nutritious meals that keep well and taste great, so you can enjoy stress-free, homemade lunches all week long. Perfect for busy schedules and budget-friendly meal planning.
The week begins, and you’re full of ambition: You will make a healthy lunch to bring to work every day. Monday, you nail it. Tuesday, you cobble together a passable meal from what you have on hand. Wednesday, you open your fridge, feel zero inspiration, and buy your lunch. Thursday and Friday you don’t even try. Sound familiar? For many of us, prepping and assembling a healthy lunch five mornings a week simply isn’t doable. But the alternative - buying lunch every day - is expensive and often not so healthy.
My solution? Spend ONE hour prepping on Sunday, and you’ll have healthy lunches at the ready all week long.
Here’s my simple breakdown, including a list of ingredients, a 3-step prep guide, and your menu for the week. (NOTE: You’ll likely already have at least some of the shopping-list items in your pantry, so be sure to check before you head to the store)
3-STEP PREP
STEP 1: Get going on the tasks that require heat, and prepare the raw ingredients while you’re waiting for the cooking to be complete.
Bake 2 large sweet potatoes:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Prick the skin of the sweet potatoes with a fork 5-6 times, place on the baking sheet and cook until tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Once cool, slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and store in the refrigerator.
Cook 1 cup of dry quinoa:
Rinse the quinoa in a sieve, then transfer to a medium pot over medium heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the quinoa is dry and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes, then add 1 ¾ cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.Hard boil 6 eggs:
Place 6 eggs into a medium bowl and fill it up with hot water so the eggs are submerged (this step brings the cold eggs up to temperature so when you drop them into boiling water they won’t crack open).
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil with ½ teaspoon baking soda (you won’t taste this—it’s simply a trick to make the eggs easier to peel once they’re done). Once the water is boiling, use a slotted spoon to carefully lower the eggs in one at a time and set a timer for 10 minutes.
After 8 minutes, refill your first bowl with ice and cold water.
After 10 minutes, transfer the eggs to the ice water to help with easier peeling. Once cool, store in the refrigerator.
STEP 2: Prepare the Mediterranean Salad ingredients: Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and onion. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Wash and dry the parsley keeping the stems attached. Trim the ends of the stems and place in a jar of water like you would flowers. Place a plastic bag over the leaves and store in the refrigerator. When you assemble your lunch tear or chop some parsley leaves from the bunch.
STEP 3: Make the dressing: Mince the shallot and combine it in a jar with the Dijon mustard, honey, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 pinches of salt and, 1 pinch of pepper.
