Healthy Meal Prep Without the Rules: A Realistic Weekly Menu
Lisa standing beside all of the finished meal prep meals
My Meal Prep Process
Everything Bagel Quesadillas, Pistachio Pesto Broccoli Salad, French Onion Turkey Burgers with Zucchini Rice
Meal prep is not just about following a set of rules, weighing and measuring food and counting every single calorie you consume. It’s about setting up a system that works for you! One you can repeat over and over. One that make it easy for you to take care of yourself and your family.
Here’s what I made this week:
Breakfast: Sheet Pan Quesadillas
These are hearty, flavorful, and surprisingly easy. I used habanero lime tortillas from Trader Joe’s (so good), and made a seasoned ground chicken mixture that tastes like breakfast sausage but without the weird texture or ingredients that never sit right with me. I added kale and eggs for a full, nourishing breakfast that reheats well.
Ingredients:
Flour tortillas (I used habanero lime from Trader Joe’s)
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Spinach
Ground chicken
Splash of maple syrup
Everything but the Bagel seasoning
Lunch: Pistachio Pesto Broccoli Salad
This is a bold, hearty salad that holds up all week. I grilled lemon-marinated chicken and tossed it with lentils, chickpeas, broccoli, and shredded carrots. The star is a homemade pistachio arugula pesto that adds richness and brightness. It’s the kind of meal that gets better as it sits.
Ingredients:
Sugar snap peas
Grilled chicken (breast, marinated with olive oil, lemon zest & juice, white vinegar)
Broccoli (pre-washed, cut into small florets)
Shredded carrots
Cooked lentils (I used pre-cooked ones from Trader Joe’s)
Garbanzo beans
Jalapeño (finely diced)
Pistachio arugula pesto
Pistachios
Arugula
Garlic
Lemon zest & juice
Olive oil
Italian cheese blend
Salt
Water (to thin as needed)
Dinner: French Onion Turkey Burgers with Zucchini Rice
Dinner this week is all about cozy comfort with a lighter feel. I made turkey burgers with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese, paired with roasted yellow zucchini folded into garlicky brown rice.
Ingredients:
Ground turkey
Caramelized onions (homemade, frozen and thawed)
Swiss cheese slices
Brown rice
Yellow zucchini
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt & pepper
Snack: Peach Chia Pudding
This week I made a super simple peach chia pudding using frozen peaches. It’s hydrating, refreshing, and easy to scoop into a bowl whenever I need a quick bite.
Ingredients:
Chia seeds
Frozen peaches (thawed, diced)
Water
Maple syrup
Shopping List
To make things even easier, here’s a full list of everything I used this week, grouped by grocery store sections so you can shop faster.
Produce
Spinach
Broccoli
Shredded carrots
Jalapeño
Arugula
Onions
Lemons
Garlic
Yellow zucchini
Frozen peaches
Protein
Ground chicken
Ground turkey
Chicken breast
Dairy & Eggs
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Swiss cheese slices
Italian cheese blend, shredded
Grains and Bread
Flour tortillas (like the habanero lime ones from Trader Joe’s)
Brown rice
Pantry Staples
Olive oil
Maple syrup
Pistachios (store in the freezer)
Chia seeds
Everything but the bagel seasoning
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Salt & pepper
Optional / Specialty
Pre-cooked lentils
Caramelized onions (homemade or store-bought)
My Final Thoughts
Every week, I remind myself that meal prep doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. It’s not about doing everything right. It’s about creating a rhythm that helps me feel more grounded, nourished, and present in my life.
If meal prep has ever felt overwhelming or restrictive, I hope this helps reframe it as something flexible, joyful, and deeply supportive. You don’t need a full plan to start. Just one small step that makes the week ahead feel a little easier.
If that sounds like something you want to build for yourself, I’d love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel or explore my Meal Prep E-Book for tools, ideas, and guidance to help you get started.
Let’s keep making this work for real life, one meal at a time!