Meal preparation is an area that just about everyone I know struggles with. Time, mess and effort are just some of the many reasons that cooking wholesome homemade meals can be difficult to do on a daily basis.
Whether you work in or out of the home lunches out can get expensive quickly. Sure, that seemingly “healthy” salad, sandwich and chips or double cheeseburger and fries taste pretty amazing, but they probably aren’t being too kind to your wallet or waistline.
I had been seeing meal prep “bowls” float around on social media for a few months and I kept thinking to myself, I should really do that. Then one day a friend of mine started making these boxed lunches for her and her husband. I thought to myself – hey I’ll get some of those boxes and try out this new trend and I am so happy that I did. Erin, if you’re reading this, thanks for the motivation.
It is so nice to know that after I get my kids fed and entertained and the house sort of picked up that I can just grab a box and have a delicious nutrient packed lunch ready in minutes. I have also found that when I eat a more balanced meal at lunch that I have more energy throughout the afternoon and evening. My usual afternoon slump seems to disappear when I fuel my body with protein and complex carbohydrates.
Plus, once you’ve put the work into making the food you are sort of, well, compelled to eat it. So if you spend the time and money to prepare healthy food you are setting yourself up for successfully eating it -amiright?!
So how do I make these boxes?
I purchased a set of EZ Prepa Meal Prep Containers (affiliate) from amazon about 2 months ago and I have been Bento lunching ever since! Anyways, these are BPA-free, microwave and dishwasher safe and have been a tremendous help – I cannot recommend them enough! Here they are, all washed and ready to be filled 🙂
I make all the food for the week on Sunday afternoon or evening. Every week the ingredients are a little different, it just depends on what is in season, on sale, or in my refrigerator or freezer. I also plan to use at least one part of the “box” ingredients in Sunday night’s dinner. Remember if you’re taking the time to make fresh, homemade food, you may as well enjoy it and save yourself some time.
I use the boxes with 3 compartments so each box has space for a protein, a vegetable and a carbohydrate. Some weeks I double the veggies and skip the carbs or vice versa. You will find what works best for you.
For the protein I usually do chicken, but have also done shrimp, turkey Italian sausage and ground turkey – the possibilities are endless. When doing chicken I usually marinate boneless skinless breasts and grill or bake them in the oven.
Here’s what I made this week:
Sriracha Marinade for my chicken breasts. *recipe can be found at the end of this post.
I let them marinate for 3-4 hours, but you could easily do this a day ahead. If you really want to save time you can make several “bags” of marinated chicken and freeze them, so all you have to do is thaw and cook them!
This week it was warmish here (by warmish I mean above freezing – ha!) so I decided to grill.
Ta-da! Remember I mentioned that I make sure to use some of the prepped food for Sunday night’s dinner? Well, we had Cesar salad for dinner and topped it with some of these beautiful grilled chicken breasts.
Onto the veggies and complex carbs….
I happen to really like quinoa, so I usually make up a big batch. I portion 1/2 of it into a freezer bag
to use for another meal or to thaw and use in next week’s Bento boxes!
Notice a trend here? When I’m prepping food, I try to save myself as much time for future food preparation as well.
Other carbohydrate options include – wild, white or brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, couscous, pasta, and the list goes on and on. In fact, when I was at the grocery store I saw these organic precooked, yes you read that correctly – already cooked bags of quinoa and other grains. So you could just buy something like this and portion the contents into your boxes – talk about easy!
As far as veggies go, I suggest you pick whatever you love to eat. I’ve roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower, steamed broccoli, made cucumber and tomato salads, grilled peppers and onions, sauteed asparagus….heck you can even make a bag of steamed veggies in the microwave. This week, for example, I steamed 2 pounds of fresh green beans and then tossed them in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper – delicious.
Now that you have your three main components cooked, you are ready to set up an assembly line and fill your Bento boxes! You can eyeball it or use a measuring cup, it’s totally up to you.
Lastly, I put lids on them, stack ’em up and put them in the refrigerator. These will last about 5 days, you can stretch it to 6, but if you don’t think you’ll finish them all just toss the extra one(s) in the freezer. I usually make 6 boxes every week. That way my husband and I each have 3 meals prepared. It is the right number for us, but you may want to make more or less.
If you work out of the home, make sure to pack your Bento box with an ice pack or make sure put it in the refrigerator at work. The boxes I use are microwave safe, but I prefer to transfer my food to a ceramic plate to heat it up.
And that, my friends, is how I Bento Box Lunch Prep for the week. Just 4 easy steps:
- Prep all food (protein, carbohydrate, vegetable)
- Set up assembly line
- Fill bento boxes
- Refrigerate and relax -> lunch is made for the week!
If you have any questions, please, please don’t hesitate to ask! I LOVE questions and hope to hear from you soon!
Have you tried you own Bento Box Lunch Prepping? If so, take a picture and tag me @thegreengiraffeeats
[recipe id=”1329″]