Been meal prepping for a few years but this is my best prep ever, for the least amount of effort, and I feel like I won something!

I recently moved to a new apartment and finally have a big kitchen, which has inspired me to really work on my meal prep game. I just finished my third full week of meal prepping since moving in (with a few days gap between weeks 2 and 3 in which I went and visited my sister in a nearby city) and I genuinely feel like I've finally nailed the perfect set of dishes that require no effort and can all be prepped in just 2 hours on the weekend! <br><br>My prep works in a way where I cook everything in advance and it's all just a mix-and-match situation. I hate those meal preps where you cook a batch of chicken breast, rice, and steamed veggies and then divide it into 5 containers for the same monotonous meal every day. <br><br>Here's my prep:<br><br>* Quinoa (2 cups cooked)<br>* Turmeric rice (2 cups cooked)<br>* Whole wheat pasta (1.5 cups cooked)<br>* 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed and roasted (1 large bowl full)<br>* 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed and roasted (1 large bowl full)<br>* 4 stalks of asparagus, air fried (1 large bowl full)<br>* 8 chicken breast cutlets, marinated in a sauce of my choice (this time it was a bit of soy, olive oil, honey, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil) and then air fried (all 8 cutlets in 1 large bowl)<br>* 4 hard-boiled eggs (all 4 in 1 large bowl)<br>* A huge bag of mixed greens (with 8 small bags of mixed nuts)<br>* A large bowl of roasted chickpeas in different seasonings (with 8 small bags of portioned-out roasted chickpeas)<br>* A large bowl of homemade coleslaw made with purple cabbage and carrots (with 8 small bags of portioned-out coleslaw)<br>* 8 small bags of mixed berries<br>* 8 small pieces of dark chocolate (100 calories each, to curb my cravings)<br><br>I also have a small fridge at work that can fit 2 meal containers and 1 snack container, so I bring 2 meals and 1 snack with me to work every day and keep them refrigerated. I switch out the meals/snack every 2 days so that the food doesn't go bad. <br><br>With all of this, I can make so many different meals:<br>- chicken and quinoa bowl<br>- quinoa and roasted veggie bowl<br>- chicken and veggie bowl<br>- rice and roasted veggie bowl<br>- rice and chicken bowl<br>- pasta and roasted veggie bowl<br>- pasta and chicken bowl<br>- salads with chicken<br>- salads with roasted chickpeas<br>- salad with coleslaw<br>- chicken and coleslaw wrap<br>- rice and roasted veggie wrap<br>- rice and chicken wrap<br>- quinoa and roasted veggie wrap<br>- bowl of roasted chickpeas and mixed nuts<br>- bowl of roasted chickpeas and roasted veggies<br>- bowl of mixed nuts and dried fruits<br>- apple slices with almond butter<br>- protein smoothie with mixed berries and almond milk<br>- and many many more! I feel like I'm never going to run out of combinations<br><br>Some notes for people who might find this helpful:<br>- I air fry the chicken and asparagus because I don't like the taste of steamed chicken and asparagus. Steamed would be much healthier, and I steam my broccoli at home, but I just can't stand steamed chicken and asparagus.<br>- I choose to marinate and air-fry all 8 chicken cutlets at once because I like having that extra 10 minutes during the week where I don't have to worry about cooking dinner. If you'd rather save yourself the effort and money by just having plain steamed chicken breast and veggies, that's totally an option too! Just steam a bunch of chicken and a variety of veggies, portion them out, and you're good to go<br>- I always mix and match between quinoa and rice and pasta, and I always switch up at least 2-3 things in every meal, so I feel like I'm never eating the same thing. I'll have a bowl of chicken, roasted butternut squash, and quinoa, and the next day I'll have a bowl of chicken, roasted sweet potato, and rice, and the next day I'll have a bowl of pasta, roasted butternut squash, and chicken. I never feel like I'm eating the same meal and I love it!<br>- I add mixed nuts and seeds to my salads for crunch and texture. I hate the crunch of raw carrots and raw bell peppers and I prefer them roasted, so I add crunch to my salads with nuts instead<br>- I always keep a few snacks at my desk and a few at home. I have a bad habit of overeating at night when watching Netflix, so having a few healthy snacks lying around helps me stay in control. A small bowl of mixed nuts and a small bowl of roasted chickpeas are enough to curb my cravings without ruining everything<br><br>I just want to reiterate that the amount of effort I put into this meal prep is very very minimal. All I do is chop a few veggies, cook a few things, season the chicken and chickpeas, boil some water for the pasta and quinoa, and air-fry the chicken. In total, it takes me about 2 hours every weekend. I already have a few containers and bags and things at home which I reuse every week, so I don't have to constantly keep buying more. I already have olive oil and salt and pepper and things at home as well, so I only need to buy the veggies and chicken and stuff every week. <br><br>The best part is that I don't even have to think about it at all. Every saturday morning, I just set aside 2 hours to make everything in bulk, portion it all out, and then forget about it until next saturday when I do it all again. I don't have to worry about dinner during the week because I know I have a few meals already prepped and sitting in the fridge, and I don't have to worry about constantly buying things every few days. <br><br>It's been a long time coming and a lot of exhausting experimentation to get here, and I finally feel like I've finally nailed the perfect meal prep for me and I'm so proud of myself. It took a lot of time and effort but I'm genuinely so happy with how it's all working out.