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A Meal Prep Guide for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Created February 15, 2018
Prep for Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
An hour or two of your time once a week could save an hour or two of your time every day. Curious? Skeptical? This a.m. to p.m. prep plan will show you how to stretch an hour or two of work into an entire week of meals, and make you a total believer in the power of the meal prep.

Here’s what you need to know about this meal prep plan: it’s intended for one person, but easy to customize if you want to prep for two people or your family. Your breakfast for the week is a freezer-friendly recipe that has eight servings so you can grab and go during the morning rush. For lunch, we suggest one of our five-star recipes that has four servings so lunch is covered Monday through Thursday. And for dinner, we give you two options that will feed you all week long, plus provide leftovers for Friday’s lunch. Ready? Let’s do this!

Breakfast for the Week: Denver Omelet Burritos

Freezer Friendly Denver Omelet Breakfast Burritos

If you’re in need of some serious motivation to roll out of bed in the morning, these wake up-worthy breakfast burritos should do the trick. When you make them ahead of time, all you have to do is heat ‘em and eat ‘em. Get Recipe: Freezer-Friendly Denver Omelet Breakfast Burritos

Your Prep Plan: Follow the recipe in its entirety. When the burrito filling is ready, roll it up into a tortilla and then wrap in aluminum foil. If you follow the instructions, you should be able to get 7-10 burritos out of the recipe. Place your burritos into a gallon zip-top freezer bag and store in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat, remove the foil, wrap the burrito in a paper towel and microwave for two to three minutes.

Prep for Denver Omelet Burritos

Lunch for the Week: Greek Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Greek Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Break up with that whole lettuce-for-lunch thing! This Greek-inspired chicken salad is the better-for-you recipe you’ll actually look forward to when lunchtime rolls around. It makes four sandwiches so you can eat them for the rest of the week. Get Recipe: Greek Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Your Prep Plan: Chop those veggies and dice that chicken! You can mix the cucumbers, olives, feta and chicken cubes together and then mix with the dressing mixture. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, fill a pita or lettuce wrap with the filling.

Prep for Greek Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Dinner #1: Copycat Olive Garden™ Pasta e Fagioli

Copycat Olive Garden™ Pasta e Fagioli

A bowl of soup can often leave you feeling unsatisfied and starving later, but this hearty, Italian sausage-filled soup tells a different story. In less than a half an hour, you can whip up a batch of restaurant-worthy soup and have plenty of leftovers for dinner in the days to come. It also makes for a super satisfying lunch! Get Recipe: Copycat Olive Garden™ Pasta e Fagioli

Your Prep Plan: You can prep this recipe by chopping all of the vegetables and storing them in separate containers. When you’re ready to make the soup, follow the recipe and enjoy a bowl (or two!) for dinner. Store the leftovers in an airight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat your leftovers, microwave desired amount in a microwave-safe bowl. Make sure to cover before microwaving!

Prep for Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

Dinner #2: Tex-Mex Beef and Rice Skillet

Tex-Mex Beef and Rice Skillet

If there’s an easier dinner than a 30-minute skillet, we don’t know about it. Start with a pound of ground beef, add a few diced veggies and cooked rice, and dinner is done. This recipe makes six servings so you should have plenty leftovers for dinner the next day or Friday’s lunch. Get Recipe: Tex-Mex Beef and Rice Skillet

Your Prep Plan: To make this recipe even easier, you can pre-chop your onions and bell peppers and also cook your rice ahead of time. When it comes time to cook the recipe, it will only take about 15 minutes from start to finish! Store leftovers in the fridge and when you’re ready to dive in again for round two, microwave for about two minutes.

Prep for Tex-Mex Beef and Rice Skillet

Grocery List

Okay, this is where you need that little bit of motivation we were talking about. But don’t worry, we took care of the hard part and wrote the grocery list for you. (Note: we’re assuming you already have the basics like salt, pepper, olive oil, vegetable oil and cooking spray in your pantry.)

Freezer-Friendly Denver Omelet Breakfast Burritos

  • 1 large onion
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • 1 large green bell pepper
  • 1 package (16 oz) Cascadian Farm™ Frozen Organic Country Style Potatoes
  • 12 eggs
  • 1 package (8 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup diced ham
  • 8-10 Old El Paso™ flour tortillas for burritos

Greek Chicken Salad Sandwiches

  • 2 cups diced, cooked chicken
  • 1 cup diced cucumber
  • ½ crumbled feta cheese
  • ¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives
  • 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
  • Dried basil
  • 4 pita pockets

Copycat Olive Garden™ Pasta e Fagioli

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 2/3 cup diced carrots
  • 2/3 cup diced celery
  • 2/3 cup diced onion 
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 can (15 oz) great Northern beans
  • 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans
  • Ditalini pasta (you’ll need one cup)
  • 2 boxes (32 oz) Progresso™ chicken broth
  • 2 cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen™ Organic Diced Tomatoes Fire Roasted
  • ¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Tex-Mex Beef and Rice Skillet

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 medium red bell pepper
  • 1 bag of frozen corn kernels
  • 1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso™ enchilada sauce
  • 1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso™ original taco seasoning mix
  • 3 cups cooked white rice
  • 1 package (you’ll need 4 ounces) of shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • Fresh cilantro leaves

More Meal Prep Ideas

Meals you can prep ahead of time are a real sanity-saver during the week. Get more meal prep ideas here.