Sep 1

Sep 1 Make Ahead Lunches

Meal Prep Lunch? Sure!

In the last post, I shared lunches that you can make quickly and which create minimal dishes. If you missed it, be sure to check out the 15 Minute Lunch Idea post. Now let’s take a look at options you can make in advance.

Make ahead lunch was a tactic I used all the time before I transitioned to fully work from home. I would identify one dish I could make for the week’s lunches. Sometimes it was a big batch of chili that I could make quickly in a slow cooker on Instant Pot. Other weeks I would make up salad jars. If I felt like a little more hands-on cooking, I’d mix up enchiladas or Vegetable Balti Bowls. On Sunday afternoons I’d batch cook, making one big dish for breakfast (see the Work Week Breakfast Meal Plan), one for the week’s lunches, and our Sunday dinner.

It’s a tactic I use less now that I work from home, but on certain weeks it is still a great solution. What makes meal prep worthwhile is the time and energy it gives back to your life. Trying to answer the question What’s for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? every day is exhausting. So I don't deal with it daily, I batch cook often. People often think I’m in the kitchen 2-3 times a day cooking and it’s just not true. Especially in the summer, I can’t stand the heat so if the oven is going on I’m making at least two dishes in it!

So now that my new routines are settling in, my remaining question has been: how do I know when to meal prep v. make lunch on the fly? It always go back to the same four questions we’ve been asking in this series. These days, on Saturday morning I grab a cup of coffee and our calendar. I assess what’s on deck for the next week, ask myself the four questions below based on our schedule for the week and decide to meal prep when these are my answers:

How much time do you want to spend making lunch on any given day?
5 minutes or less.
Are you ok eating leftovers for lunch?
Absolutely.
Are you willing to do a little meal prep?
Sure. Sunday afternoon is the best window for me to meal prep for the week.
How many dirty dishes can you tolerate creating?
Ugh. Dishwasher only please.

If you have time saving kitchen tools, use them! I meal prepped this super simple lunch by making meatballs in a slow cooker and spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot. All I had to do was assemble and sprinkle with cheese. Yum!

And it’s that simple. Some weeks I put in a little more effort at lunch during the workday. Other weeks, I put in all the effort on Sundays, pack it up into individual servings like I used to for the office, and don’t think about it again. And some weeks I just pull a slow cooker freezer meal out on Monday morning, dump it in the slow cooker and forget about it until lunch.

What I do know is that right now what works one week doesn’t always work the next. We’re settling into 6 months of living during a worldwide pandemic. I have a better handle on how to approach each week but it takes a little reflection and intentionality to help me keep my balance. So I fall back on my key meal planning principles (sign up for the newsletter to get your free copy).

Keep scrolling for make ahead lunch options and to get your foodspiration!

Make Ahead Lunch Ideas

Enchiladas - Vegetarian Enchiladas are our go to. We tend to save meat for breakfast or dinner and enjoy more veggies during the day. You can easily tweak this recipe by adding a cup or two of shredded pork, chicken, or ground beef.
Vegetarian Balti Bowls - Spicy and delicious! This is packed with flavor, vitamins, and antioxidants. Chana Masala, and this Lazy Genius Chickpea Lunch Bowl, are also great vegetarian options for those who love Indian food.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes - Bake the sweet potatoes in advance and keep in the fridge. Warm up at lunch time and top how you’d like. Here are a few options:
- Classic - add yogurt or sour cream and chives or green onions with a little butter, salt, and pepper.
- Pulled BBQ Chicken - cook chicken in a slow cooker with BBQ sauce. After a few hours, when the chicken is cooked thoroughly, use two forks to shred. Add the BBQ chicken to the top of the sweet potato. If you want, add some greens and sour cream.
- Cuban Pork - see the post for details.
Mediterranean Salad - this is a very savory and hearty salad that you can meal prep and enjoy if you’re taking on-the-go or working at home. Meal prep the components: marinated potatoes and tuna, hardboiled eggs, and any additional toppings. You can assemble the salad quickly the day you’ll eat it.
Chili - There are so many recipes it can be hard to get bored with chili! Many can be made with minimal effort by using your slow cooker or Instant Pot. Check out The Wandering Hearth - Best of Chili for 4 solid options include a Pumpkin Chili, just in time for Fall, and a Vegan Black Bean chili that both Joe and I love.
Collard Greens and Rice or Beans - I love greens so much. They are affordable, packed with vitamins, and hold up well to savory and spicy flavors. I simmer an onion, a few cloves of garlic, 2 cups of chicken or pork stock, 2 TBS of Apple Cider Vinegar with a Ham Hock or Smoked Turkey Leg for about 2-3 hours. Then I add shredded collard greens and slowly simmer for 60 -90 mins. At some point in the recipe, I’ll remove the meat, shred the edible parts and return it to the pot while tossing the bones. You can serve this over brown rice, beans, or with a side of cornbread. Recently I’ve been prepping the greens and rice/beans in advance. Then, at lunch I quickly pan fry a chili pepper to add on top for a little heat and crunch. I’m obsessed!!!
Stuffed Peppers - You can stuff peppers with so many delicious fillings!
- Traditional beef, rice and tomatoes.
- Philadelphia Cheesesteak
- Gumbo
- Vegetarian Sweet Potato, Rice, and Black Beans
Quiche - with or without crust. Because I love plugging this cookbook so much, I’m going to refer you to Leanne Brown’s Good and Cheap (page 114). You can download it for free, but if you purchase a copy, they donate a book to someone in need. Once you have a quiche recipe you like it is very easy to swap fillings for various flavor combinations. This can be a fun way to highlight seasonal flavors.
Salad Salads - you can certainly meal prep and make these yourself, but you can also purchase them from the store. You don’t have to make everything! We love the Trader Joe’s Curry Chicken Salad. Egg Salad, Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, Ham Salad, Black Bean Salad, and Seafood Salad all work well in wraps, stuffed in 1/2 an avocado or on top of greens for a simple salad. These earned their place on the 15 minute lunch list and also here because I often meal prep with them by making salad jars. Remember when you make a salad jar to add the toppings and dressing to the bottom and the lettuce on top. This keeps the lettuce from getting soggy and also dumps out into a bowl with the lettuce on the bottom and toppings where they belong!