Recipes

How to Meal Prep for the Week: 7-Day Meal Plan + Grocery List

I’m giving you everything you need to meal prep a week’s worth of healthy dinners for your family; including a meal plan, grocery list, five easy and delicious dinner recipes, and a full video tutorial including my pro tips on how to make each meal in 30 minutes or less!

*If you’re having trouble seeing the video above, try turning off or pausing your ad-blocker. If you prefer, you can also view this ‘How to Meal Prep: 7-Day Meal Plan and Grocery List’ video on YouTube here.

How do you do it all and still manage to get healthy dinners on the table for your family?

First, I don’t do it all {I’m learning to ask for help and let the crumbs on the floor just be for this season of life with a toddler}. Second, MEAL PREP.

I can assure you that I’m not awesome at everything, but I do think I rock when it comes to meal prep and creating a healthy meal plan for my family. And that’s why I created this video and ‘how to meal prep’ guide. I want to show you exactly how I execute seven days of easy and healthy weeknight dinners for my family.

AND I’m giving you all the tools you need in this post to become a meal prepping maven in your own home. Including: 

1. A printable weekly meal plan
2. A printable grocery list
3. A printable, step-by-step meal prep guide — outlining exactly what you need to do each day of the week to set you up for success!
4. Five family-friendly, weeknight dinner recipes — made in 30 minutes if you follow this plan.

This easy meal prep guide was designed by a busy woman {me!}, for other busy women who are doing the best they can to feed their family healthy, budget-friendly meals. If you watched the video above, or you’ve done one of my 15-minute workouts, you know I’m all about efficiency.

I take shortcuts when I can, like buying pre-chopped veggies and steam-in-bag rice; making this meal plan realistic and attainable.

Why I Meal Prep

• Saves time. Doing 1-2 hours of meal prep, typically on Sunday’s for me, saves me 15-20 minutes each night. Which allows me to stress-less and actually sit down and enjoy dinner with my family.
• Budget-friendly. Having a weekly meal plan allows me to buy in bulk and have a specific grocery list that I stick to.
• Avoids food waste. Having a weekly meal plan also reduces food waste because I buy exactly what I need.
• Eat Healthier. I know exactly what I’m eating for the week — veggie-loaded, balanced meals. And the leftovers make an easy meal prep lunch.
• More flexibility. People tend to think of meal planning as inflexible, while in reality I find that having the structure of planned meals allows me and my family to be more adaptable during the week.

Meal prep is my sanity-saver. Over the past five years I’ve taught myself how to meal prep for one person, then two people, and now feeding a family.

I even have a whole section of the blog dedicated to Meal Prep Recipes!

But I know the whole idea of meal prep and meal planning can be overwhelming. So let me make it simple for you!

First, watch the video above to see exactly how I execute this seven day meal plan of easy and healthy weeknight dinners for my family.

Second, get all the tools you need to execute this seven day meal plan in your very own kitchen below — including: a weekly meal plan, grocery list, meal prep guide, and five family-friendly, weeknight dinner recipes. And I’ve added some of my favorite meal prep accessories at the bottom of this post as well.

How to Meal Prep Step One: Weeknight Dinner Meal Plan

Here’s your meal plan for the week, five recipes spanning seven nights. These are some of my favorite, staple weeknight dinner recipes that you can make anytime of the year. Click here to download a printable PDF file of this weeknight dinner meal plan!

I start my meal plan on Sunday because typically I have more time to meal prep on Sunday’s, but feel free to adapt this meal plan to fit your schedule!

How to Meal Prep Step Two: Weeknight Dinner Recipes

Here are the five weeknight dinner recipes that accompany the above meal plan. I’ve added notes below each recipe to show you how I personally make each recipe; typically adding more veggies or modifying steps to make the recipes easier {and possible to make in 30 minutes or less}.

Note, I’ve taken the ingredient list from each recipe and created a downloadable and printable grocery list for you below.

Day One Sunday: Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken from Fit Foodie Finds

Sunday’s are typically my most meal prep intensive meal, since I have a bit more time to prep. Sunday’s are also a great day to use the crockpot and make a double batch of this Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken recipe to build up your freezer supply for those nights you don’t want to cook. 

You can find this full Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken recipe here, but here’s how I personally modify the recipe to make it my own:

• I add 3-4 chopped peppers instead of the 2 sliced peppers in the recipe. I love adding more veggies when I can and I choose to chop the peppers so they are easier for my toddler to eat versus sliced peppers.
• I also add 1-2 chopped zucchinis, because more veggies and I bought peppers and zucchini in bulk for this meal plan {see grocery list below}.
• I batch cook brown rice in rice cooker if making this recipe on Sunday {because we’ll be making tacos later in the week}. But if I’m making this recipe during the week I’ll take the easy route and use steam-in-a-bag brown rice.

Day Two Monday: One Pan Roasted Chicken + Veggies from The Real Food RD’s

Monday’s are busy so let’s keep it simple with this One Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies, sheet pan meal. 

You can find this full One Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggie recipe here, but here’s how I personally modify the recipe to make it my own:

• I use 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of the bone in chicken thighs the recipe calls for. It’s just easier for my family, but I do always use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts because they stay so much juicier {no one wants to eat a dry chicken breast}. 
• I make this meal on repeat weekly so it’s all about mixing up the chicken seasonings; Paleo Powder seasonings are my personal favorite {get the variety pack it’s so worth it}!
• I also mix up the veggies. The recipe calls for carrots, green beans and red potatoes which is a great combo. But since I make this recipe weekly, I mix in sweet potatoes or squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and so on. And if you’re on a budget, you can absolutely use frozen veggies for this sheet pan meal.
• I buy pre-chopped veggies when possible.
• I add my veggies to a large, gallon ziplock bag, season with minced garlic, avocado oil, and seasonings of choice. Shake well and add to the sheet pan.
• I always make an extra sheet pan of roasted veggies for meal prep lunches. But instead of drizzling the avocado oil on these veggies, I’ll use spray avocado oil {I like Primal Kitchen’s Spray Avocado Oil}. Using the spray keeps your meal prep veggies from getting soggy.

Day Three Tuesday: Blackened Salmon Tacos from Nourish Move Love

Taco Tuesday!

You can find this full Blackened Salmon Taco Recipe here, but here’s how I personally modify the recipe to make it my own:

• I always add sautéed, fajita style veggies — peppers, onions, and sometimes zucchini. If you watched the video above you know I pre-chopped these fajita veggies on Sunday when I was chopping peppers for the chicken curry {more on this in the meal prep guide below}.
• I skip the avocado slaw and just add avocado to the tacos. The recipe calls for creamy avocado slaw, which is delicious, but if I’m making this for my family I’ll skip it, but if I’m making this recipe for guests I always make the slaw, it’s pretty dang good!
• I use pre-made taco seasoning, typically from Trader Joe’s.
• I add canned sweet corn and black beans to this meal as it’s an easy, budget-friendly way to fill up the plate. I’ll also add a side of tortilla chips.
• I use batch cooked brown rice that I made earlier in the week, or if I don’t have that on hand I take the easy route and use steam-in-a-bag brown rice.

Tacos are a weekly staple in our house, and they seem to be the only way I can get my husband and toddler to eat salmon. That said if you’re family doesn’t love salmon you can easy switch out the proteins to make this recipe different each week — steak, shrimp, chicken, carnitas and so on.

Day Four Wednesday: Leftovers or Eat Out

The goal of this weeknight dinner meal plan is to make it work for you.

My family typically has a church event on Wednesday nights so it’s a great night to scrounge for leftovers from previous nights, pull a meal from the freezer, make turkey sandwiches, or eat out. 

This doesn’t have to be day four, Wednesday, for you; but again this meal plan is meant to be realistic and attainable and we all need an easy, leftovers for dinner night. 

Day Five Thursday: Breakfast Bowls for Dinner from Nourish Move Love

As you near the end of the week, breakfast for dinner is a great choice because you can really use whatever veggies you left on hand to pull this meal together. Or if you’re on a budget, pull or pull frozen veggies from the freezer.

You can find this full Breakfast Bowls for Dinner Recipe here, but here’s how I personally modify the recipe to make it my own:

• I scramble my eggs in bulk to make it easy.
• I use whatever veggies I have on hand, or pull frozen veggies from the freezer. I also love adding thawed, frozen spinach instead of wilting spinach to save time. 
• Some weeks I add turkey sausage an some weeks I just make the eggs the main source of protein. It all depends what I have on hand.
• I let everyone add their own toppings to build their bowl — avocado, cheese, hot sauce, and the like. 
• If I’m feeling really ambitious I’ll whip up some pancakes, or pull these Meal Prep Spinach Banana Pancakes from the freezer. Or I’ll take the easy route and add avocado toast as an easy side.

Day Six Friday: Homemade Pizza from Nourish Move Love {recipe below}

I started the week with roasted veggies, and I’m ending the week with homemade pizza.

You can find this Homemade Pizza Recipe below, but here’s how I personally make it my own:

• I buy store-bought whole wheat pizza dough or crust, typically a sprouted grain crust. You can certainly make your own pizza crust, like this Zucchini Pizza Crust or this Cauliflower Pizza Crust. 
• I also buy pre-made pizza sauce. I look for labels with few, clean ingredients and no added sugar.
• I use whatever veggies I have on hand for toppings. Again I love adding thawed, frozen spinach instead to my pizza as well. 
• I also typically add browned Italian sausage, but sometimes I pull the easy card and buy pre-cooked Italian sausage so I can dice and add without browning. 

Day Seven Saturday: Leftovers or Eat Out

Again, the goal of this weeknight dinner meal plan is to make it work for you. You don’t have to do leftover or eat out on day seven, Saturday, but the weekend is typically when you’re eating out for social events. 

How to Meal Prep Step Three: Grocery List

I’ve taken the ingredient list from each five meal prep recipes above and created a grocery list for you. Click here to download the printable PDF grocery list!

Note, this meal plan feeds my family of 3 {2 adults with big appetites and 1 toddler}, but feel free to edit this grocery list to fit your family’s needs.

How to Meal Prep Step Four: Meal Prep Guide

The method behind the madness. There’s a reason for the specific recipes I choose, ingredients used, and the specific days for each recipe.

Not only are these meal prep recipes favorites, but these five recipes allow you to purchase ingredients like peppers and zucchini in bulk. Additionally, you can chop veggies in bulk on certain days to save you time and energy later in the week.

I wanted to show you exactly how I execute this seven day meal plan, so I’m sharing my step-by-step prep guide below. That said, the majority of this information is also found in the video above. 

Below you’ll find instructions on how I bulk meal prep, chop veggies, cook and store leftovers.

You can download a printable version of this day-by-day meal prep guide here!

You can also download this complete ‘How to Meal Prep Guide’ as one single document here — including the weekly meal plan, grocery list, and prep guide.

Meal Prep Day One: Sunday (my most meal prep intensive day)

1. Prep and chop peppers and zucchini for Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken and Blackened Salmon Tacos. You won’t be making the salmon tacos until later in the week, but I like to chop peppers in bulk when I can. Store the pre-chopped peppers in a produce saver container or in a ziplock bag with paper towels to keep fresh.
2. Batch cook brown rice for Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken and Blackened Salmon Tacos. Again you won’t be making the salmon tacos until later in the week, but bulk cooking rice makes life easier. Store the pre-cooked rice in a glass, airtight container in the fridge. The other option is to use frozen, steam in a bag brown rice.
3. Option to pre-chop veggies {carrots, green beans and potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes} if needed for Monday night’s One Pan Roasted Chicken + Veggies. If you can buy pre-chopped veggies great! But if not, I like to prep and chop my Monday night dinner veggies on Sunday, because Mondays are always my busiest days of the week. Store the pre-chopped veggies in a produce saver container or in a ziplock bag with paper towels to keep fresh
4. If making a double batch of Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken on Sunday, store the leftovers in an airtight, glass container in the freezer.

Meal Prep Day Two: Monday

1. Chop veggies {carrots, green beans and potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes} if needed for Monday night’s One Pan Roasted Chicken + Veggies. And chop extra veggies for additional sheet pan of meal prep roasted veggies if you’d like. The other option is to buy pre-chopped veggies when you can.
2. Store extra, meal prep roasted veggies in airtight glass container in fridge. They usually stay good for 2-3 days.

Meal Prep Day Three: Tuesday

1. Chop peppers for Blackened Salmon Tacos if you did not already chop extra peppers on Sunday night. If you did pre-chop peppers on Sunday, lucky you! Grab those pre-chopped peppers and pre-cooked brown rice and throw together an easy weeknight dinner!

Meal Prep Day Four: Wednesday

1. No prep today!

Meal Prep Day Five: Thursday

1. Prep and chop peppers and veggies {Brussels sprouts, zucchini, potatoes, sweet potatoes} for Breakfast Bowls for Dinner. Option to also chop extra peppers for Friday night’s Homemade Pizzas. Store the pre-chopped peppers in a produce saver container or in a ziplock bag with paper towels to keep fresh.
2. If making breakfast sausage for breakfast bowls, you have the option to also brown the Italian sausage for for tomorrow night’s Homemade Pizzas, depending on what type of sausage you buy. If I buy ground sausage I’ll do this, but if I buy pre-cooked sausage, like I did for this video, then I’ll just add it to the pizza on Friday night.

Meal Prep Day Six: Friday

1. You made it to the weekend! Dinner tonight will come together quickly thanks to prep work you did earlier in the week, and you’re eating out tomorrow, so no prep needed there either! Congratulations, you made it through the week!

Whether you’re using this ‘how to meal prep guide’ for inspiration, or following it exactly as is for a weight loss meal plan; I hope you love these seven healthy meal prep recipes as much as my family does!

If you’re looking for more meal prep recipe inspiration be sure to check out my Meal Prep Breakfast Ideas!

And I plan to do another budget-friendly meal prep post similar to this, but in the meantime you can check out these Budget-Friendly Meal Prep ideas.

Meal Prep Accessories: My Favorite Products

The whole reason we meal plan and meal prep is to save time and make our lives easier, right? These are some of my of my favorite meal prep accessories that also make life a little easier!

• Leak-Proof Glass Meal Prep Storage Containers {variety of sizes}
• Leak-Proof Glass Meal Prep Containers {3-compartment bento box style}
• Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowl Set 
• Rubbermaid Meal Prep Produce Saver Containers 
• Replace Ziplock Bags with these Stasher Reusable Silicon Food Storage Bags
• Slow Cooker Crock Pot  
• Silicone Baking Mats 
• Sheet Pans 
• Glass Food Jar On the Go
• Food products
  • Primal Kitchen Avocado Spray {Get 10% OFF all Primal Kitchen products using code: NML}
  • Paleo Powder All Purpose Seasoning {get the variety pack, it’s worth it}
  • NOW Foods Avocado Oil {Get $10 OFF orders of $40 or more using code: NMLNOW10}

This post does include affiliate links and I earn a small commission on each purchase. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Nourish Move Love.

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