Episode 106: How to Meal Prep in Under an Hour: Simple Nutrition for your Busy Week

In this episode of Fit, Fueled, and Busy, host Janine shares her streamlined meal prep routine that helps her stay on track with her health and fitness goals. Janine walks through her step-by-step process for prepping meals in just 30 to 45 minutes, including her go-to recipes for breakfast and lunch. She provides insights on how to season and cook air-fried chicken, roasted potatoes, and sweet potatoes, along with a quick protein-packed recipe featuring ground beef and sautéed vegetables. Janine also highlights the convenience of using a crockpot for meal prep. This episode aims to inspire listeners to simplify their meal prep with nutritious, quick, and easy-to-make meals.

00:00 Welcome to Fit Fueled and Busy

00:17 Introduction to Meal Prepping

01:06 Breakfast Routine

01:21 Lunch Preparation

01:40 Cooking and Combining Ingredients

05:12 Quick and Easy Meal Ideas

05:51 Crockpot Tips and Final Thoughts

06:35 Conclusion and Next Week's Preview

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Transcript

0:23

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Fit Fueled and Busy. I'm your host, Janine, and I'm so glad that you're here with us today. I cannot believe that it's November already and it's the first Wednesday of the month, which means we're kicking things off with a focus on nutrition. This week, I wanna walk you through how I meal prep each week to stay on track with my health and fitness goals. The best part, it only takes me about 30 to 45 minutes total. I'll share exactly what I do so you can see how simple it can be to eat healthy, even when life feels busy. Now, I'll be honest, I eat the same breakfast pretty much every day. I love it. It keeps me full, and it's easy. Same goes for lunch. I usually eat a version of the same thing Monday through Friday. Doing that gives me flexibility at dinner to enjoy whatever my family's having without overthinking it. So today I'll share what I typically do for breakfast and lunch. And then one more quick meal idea. That's great for busy weeks. So I always start my day with one whole egg, some egg whites, diced potatoes, and half an avocado. It's super simple, super balanced. I'm getting my protein, carbs, and healthy fats right from the start. For lunch, I usually go with air fried chicken, a veggie mix, you know those steamer bags with corn, carrot peas, and green beans, and some diced sweet potatoes. And I'm gonna walk you through exactly how I prep all of that on Sundays. So I'm ready to go for the week. So let's start with the chicken prep. I grab about two to three pounds of boneless chicken breast. Sometimes I'll get the chicken breasts that are pre trimmed, and sometimes I get the ones that aren't, and I'll just trim it myself. But regardless, I take the chicken breast and I dice them into about one to one and a half inch cubes. Then I toss them in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and I season them. You can honestly use any spices that you like, and let's be honest, Pinterest is full of ideas, but here's what I've been loving lately for about two pounds of chicken a. I'll toss in one and a half teaspoons of garlic powder, one and a half teaspoons of onion powder, a teaspoon of kosher salt, half a teaspoon of black pepper, and half a teaspoon of paprika. I mix it all together, pop it in the air fryer at 400 degrees for about 12 to 13 minutes, and stir halfway through when the air fryer prompts me to. While the chicken is cooking, I will prep both of my potatoes. So I will wash and dice four to five rested potatoes and cut them into one inch cubes. I toss them with a little bit of olive oil and usually salt and pepper and either garlic salt, or I do also really like, uh. Kinder's butter, buttery garlic seasoning. It's so good. So it just depends on what I'm feeling. Maybe it's just a little bit of salt and pepper and garlic salt. Or sometimes I'll just go straight for the kinder's, buttery garlic seasoning. I also, during that time, usually have time to prep my sweet potatoes, so I will peel and dice about three to four sweet potatoes and toss them in olive oil and season them as well. Lately I've been seizing my sweet potatoes with one teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of garlic powder, half a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. So once my chicken is done cooking and I have prepped both of my potatoes, I've washed them, diced them. Season them, or for my sweet potatoes, I've peeled them, diced them, and seasoned them. I will then cook my potatoes. So typically what I do, since I only have one air fryer, is I will put my resite potatoes in the air fryer at 400 degrees for about 22 minutes, stirring them halfway through. And while those are cooking in the air fryer, I will bake my sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes. Giving them a quick stir once or twice while they're cooking. I can get all of this done in about 45 minutes total, which is awesome. And here's how it kind of all comes together into my breakfast and lunch. So on Monday mornings for breakfast, I'll keep it quick and easy. I just warm up some diced potatoes, scramble one egg plus my egg whites, and slice up half an avocado less than 10 minutes, and I'm ready to go for lunch. It's about the same thing. I heat up my veggie steamer bag, weigh out my chicken and sweet potatoes, and I've got a delicious protein packed meal ready in under 10 minutes. The best part about this type of meal prep is you can always mix up your seasonings to change the flavor and keep things interesting. Here's another meal that I love. It's higher in protein, lower in carbs, and super quick. I will slice up zucchini and yellow squash, and sometimes I'll throw in a little red onion or bell peppers if I have it. And I saute all of that in one pan and in another skillet I'll cook up some ground beef. You can season the ground beef however you want. I usually go with garlic, salt, or taco seasoning, depending on my mood. And then when it's cooked and my vegetables are sauteed, I mix everything together and that's it. It reheats really well, and it only takes me about 15 minutes total from start to finish. I will also say I am totally a crockpot girl and I have no problem with putting a. Whole chicken that is usually cut up. I will buy a whole chicken with the bone in still that's diced up by the thigh, the breast, the wing, et cetera, and season it and then put it in my crockpot for about six hours. That's another great way to, get a good amount of protein prepped and ready for the week. So you see meal prepping doesn't have to be fancy or complicated. I aim for quality nutrient packed meals I can make in under an hour, and I always make enough to last at least three to four days, sometimes even longer. So I hope that this episode gave you some ideas and maybe a little inspiration to simplify your meal prep routine. I really focus on quality. I try not to get too crazy with it or try anything too intricate. It's a very simple, very basic, but it fits my needs and my current lifestyle. And so that's what I like about it. So thank you so much for tuning in to Fit Fuel, then Busy. If you found this helpful, share it with a friend and I'll see you next week when we shift gears to talk about fitness.