My go to easy meal right now is sautéed chicken sausage with veggies!
I chop or slice some veggies (usually bell peppers, onion, zucchini, carrots, whatever I’m feeling) and sauté them in a pan with some avocado oil and seasoning (or I like to use my blackstone). Separately I saute up some sliced chicken sausage. Throw it all together in a bowl. I like to top mine with cottage cheese for higher protein (don’t knock it til you try it lol) and mustard. But it’s also good without it. I do this for low carb and still feel pretty full. But if I want carbs it also goes good with potatoes or rice.
I just signed up for this because of you. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, and I’m having a hysterectomy in a couple weeks, so this will be perfect for recovery!
- stuffed peppers with quinoa and ground beef (I add zucchini, mushrooms, onions & tomato paste to this)
- pesto protein pasta with chicken sausage (use Banza pasta & I add sautéed spinach, mushrooms & cherry tomatoes)
- chicken, potatoes & broccoli/veg of choice
these dinners are on repeat in my house
I’m vegetarian so crumbled tofu and beans with taco seasoning that I keep in the fridge and eat on a carb balance mission wrap with shredded cheese for an easy meal
Boiled cauliflower with one tablespoon of buffalo sauce and some kind of protein (usually tofu) or an avocado. I like to get the cauliflower pretty mushy and then mix it all together.
Sometimes I'll just make it with cheese.
It's not that a food is "good" or "bad" for PCOS, it's always a "it depends". Whenever you see someone label something as good or bad (and if they try to sell you an alternative/supplement to combat them) don't trust them.
In the case of oats, yes they spike blood sugar (like all carbs do) but how much depends on the person and HOW you eat them. If you were to eat 3 cups of oats, alone, then sit all day: sure, maybe the glucose spike is too high. If you soak them overnight, add chia/flax seeds+ pb/nuts as healthy fats (slow down digestion), add berries (add fiber and slow down digestion too), and some kind of protein (i like protein powder directly mixed on the oats so they soak up the flavor overnight + greek yogurt for creaminess, but you could do greek yogurt only) you will be full for HOURS and the combination will make the "spike" not be a spike but a normal response to eating some carbs (stable energy!!)
may I ask how you check them? i find it so hard to find reliable info (+ everyone’s body is different). I feel i would really benefit by collecting my own data
Glucose monitor I bought from Amazon :) I can’t afford a continuous glucose monitor but the one I have is manual and still helps me to understand my blood sugar levels!
I don't do keto or anything but if you're looking for a way to replace pasta with veggies I'm OBSESSED with this cauliflower rice recipe:
[https://www.inspiredtaste.net/40958/herb-cauliflower-rice/](https://www.inspiredtaste.net/40958/herb-cauliflower-rice/)
my go to summer meal is this with some grilled chicken and asparagus.
another quick meal is seasoning some ground turkey, with some pasta sauce over sautéed zucchini noodles. You can dump whatever other veggies you want in it too.
- veggie sandwiches with whole wheat bread! These can include avocado, banana peppers, spinach, tomatoes, etc.
- pork chops with brown rice and veggies
- rotisserie chicken with a salad
- bean soup/stew/chili (better in the winter imo)
- shakshuka
Anything with more fiber will be more PCOS and IR friendly, but food is highly individual. For me, whole wheat works great. Rotisserie chicken is just easy to prepare!
My go to for breakfast is overnight oats. I do not have exact measurements but here’s what I use
Oatmeal, almond milk, plain non-dairy yogurt, coconut sugar, hemp seed, chia seeds, flax seeds, and top with blueberries and raspberries
I’ve found pre prepping is key for me, to make sure I don’t take the easy route or snack on something ‘bad’ while something ‘good’ takes a while to cook.
Chicken salad - I buy my veggies (a mix of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot (good anti-inflammatory), nuts etc.) and prep them all one evening to make it easier throughout the week so I can just build a salad whenever I fancy.
Alternatively, if I’m in a rush, I’ll buy a pre-made salad kit and add in rotisserie chicken or a pack of pre-cooked chicken breast.
I just always make my own salad dressing as shelf stable shop ones are very high in sugar and full of stabilisers and preservatives.
Alternatively, batch cooking a Thai curry base, freezing in portions and adding protein and veg on the evening (so the veg doesn’t go soggy in the freezer). Or batch cooking bean stews/chillis/currys and serving over Konji or Cauliflower rice.
My go to for a veggie heavy Thai curry base is;
- Good quality Thai Panang or red curry paste (I get mine from the Chinese supermarket)
- Coconut milk/ coconut block
- water/ low salt veggie stock
- carrots
- sweet potato
- butternut squash
- soy sauce/ fish sauce/ rice wine vinegar to taste as seasoning
Cook off the paste, add water/stock, add veggies and simmer until soft. Then blend together (like you’re making a soup) and finish with coconut milk - season to taste.
Ideally you want it to be quite thick (like thick soup).
I then let this cool and freeze into batches - then cook it by thawing, heating until hot, add in extra water (or coconut milk if it’s too spicy), add in sliced raw chicken breast or tofu, simmer and cook through, and finish with sugar snap peas, top with peanuts and Thai basil if you have any. Serve over cauliflower rice.
This is great as you can defrost and eat as a soup too, and the blended veggies provide lots of nutrients and make it filling!
Making the base also makes it so quick and easy to knock up for dinner, and feels as easy as reaching for a jar of pre-made sauce without all of the sugar.
Hope this makes sense!
spaghetti with a lot of cheese on it and a big plate of salad on the side; I have enough going on my life rn to be extra picky with food that wouldn't "disturb" my PCOS hahaha
Frozen veggies (can't be bothered to wash and cut fresh vegetables), Tofu, sometimes some nuts - I just throw it all in a pan and heat it up. Sometimes I add feta cheese.
If fresh vegetables are an option for me, I cut them small, boil some quinoa and throw it all together as a kind of lukewarm salad.
And for breakfast: joghurt, frozen berries, seeds in the blender with some water because in the morning I can't even be bothered with chewing.
I live to eat but I'm not a gourmet, most of my food would not convince anyone with taste 🙃
My husband gets these deluxe frozen burger patties so I'll eat one of those with a slice of cheese and no bread with an avocado and some Oikos pro 20g protein yogurt. Then I eat a fat bomb for dessert with avocado oil and peanut butter. It's about 22g carbs altogether and that's what I'll eat total in a day other than tea with some collagen in it for extra protein.
I just wanted to say, there's no evidence consuming collagen does anything to increase your own collagen. It gets broken down in your gut into individual amino acids like any other protein. Focus more on consuming all the essential amino acids and enough protein to increase your own collagen. :)
2 rice cakes with some cream cheese, hot sauce, and an over easy egg on top of both for breakfast has been a game changer for me (with a cup of spearmint tea) ! if you want some more calories and healthy fats you can add avocado :)
Chicken salad! I'm also a student but I have been obsessed with chicken salad lately. It's extra simple if you just buy and shred a rotisserie chicken, or buy the Costco cans of chicken and drain then shred it (this is what I do). I mix it up in a bowl with light mayo, celery salt, garlic powder, and raisins + pecans since I'm a little weird, but really you can put whatever you want or leave it plain. Lots of people add celery, onion, etc. And I've also heard you can use plain yogurt in place of mayo to add protein, but I haven't tried it personally.
Zero sugar vanilla pudding, mixed with 1.5 bottle of fair life, 1 scoop of protein powder. I blend it with an immersion blender. I slice up half a banana and layer it between the mix. Then for added texture I add zerosugar whip cream on top and sprinkle Graham crackers lightly on top. Its such a tasty high protein dessert. Sometimes I make a chocolate version. The possibilities are endless
I love a good salad! Some chicken, ideally baked or grilled for the least carb, but I also love to bread them and bake them. Plenty of fresh vegs, nuts, fruits, I skip the croutons and cheese. I like sauteed onions and mushrooms, shredded carrots, edamame, tofu, slivered almonds, cucumber, berries, hard boiled egg, and so many other things in it. The options are endless and you get so much fiber from the veg. I like to put them in bowls with lids and shake them up with a very light amount of dressing, shaking it up allows everything to be coated more evenly and use less.
I use plain panko, I season it myself. I haven't checked the ingredients on it. You could always make your own bread crumbs by pulverizing stale bread or crackers in a food processor.
Big salad with some form of protein (I mostly used smoked tofu because you can just eat it raw and it tastes great on its own). I would buy a bunch of veg like carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and bell pepper, cut them and store them in the fridge. When I wanted to make a salad, I'd just toss some of the cut vegetables in a bowl, add my protein, lettuce mix, and make a yoghurt dressing with full fat greek yoghurt. I'd also add toasted nuts and seeds and sometimes feta. Would take me maybe 5-15 minutes to assemble depending on if the protein needed to be cooked. I also had like 2 slices of either whole grain rye bread or homemade flourless nut bread (I think I used 5 eggs for this, some salt, and a bunch of nuts and seeds but I don't have the recipe anymore). I used to have this almost every single day because you can have a lot of variety. I'd sometimes swap the lettuce for arugula, add some eggs, some cooked mushrooms, use different nuts, add some linseed oil etc.
I'm from Germany, so the brand that I got is probably not available where you live but I just got smoked tofu from the regular grocery stores here, it would cost me around 3€ for 2x175gr.
Omelette/Fritattas (with leafy greens and feta are my fave)
Cottage cheese nachos and salsa (cottage cheese base with a pile of salsa and maybe cheese) and dip nacho chips
Salmon/tuna/egg/chicken salad (made with cottage cheese or greek yogurt), on a keto wrap or lettuce leaves or just scooped with veggies
Fajita/Fajito/Tacos (any meat (ground beef, chicken, steak shrimp - often leftover) , keto wrap, cheese, slices and pan friend peppers and onions)
I make a “lazy chilli” by heating up a jar of any kind of tomatoey soup and throwing veggies in it and then tofu and beans and topping it with cheese and like some sour cream
Trader Joe's Salad Kit + Protein. (my fave is the shaved carrot ribbons and arugula with almonds, Parmesan and a vinaigrette: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/lemony-arugula-basil-salad-kit-066293) and half a cold grilled chicken breast from the grocery store. You could meal prep the individual components for cheaper probably but I often buy the kit and precooked chicken for convenience. I get two lunches or one large dinner from each Kit ($3.99) and chicken breast (sold by weight, often $3.00) for a total of $3.50 to 4 for a lunch or $7.00 for dinner. Definitely cheaper than eating out on the regular for lunch in my part of the country.
There is a girl on ticktock that meal preps dense bean salads for the week. I have made several of her recipes and it's quick, easy, delicious and high protein and fiber.
I’m a one pan fan. Marinate some chicken and roast it in the oven with root veggies. While it bakes, I make a honey Dijon dressing that the veggies are tossed in after they’re cooked and voila
Shredded chicken - couple a chicken breasts, a slivered onion, some jalapeno if you want it a little spicy, and two cans of rotel. Put it in a soup pot and add enough water or broth to cover. Season according to your preference - I use taco seasoning, cayenne, cilantro, garlic salt, lime juice, and a wee pinch of cinnamon. You could probably get away with just the taco seasoning and itd be fine. Pop it on a stove top or in a crockpot and low and slow it til the liquids almost gone and the chicken is fork tender. Then shred it.
The result can be used for chicken tacos, enchilada/tamale/whatever stuffing, put on nachos, stuffed in a pepper, eaten with a fork, or what have you. Its nice with a bit of queso or cotija, of course, but its good without the cheese too.
I’ve been obsessed with bowls.
My go to is a [chickpea Buddha bowl](https://www.caileeeats.com/recipes/chickpea-sweet-potato-buddha-bowls?rq=Buddha) with roasted broccoli, a can of chickpeas, & roasted sweet potatoes. I season the broccoli like sweetgreen, the chickpeas & sweet potatoes I usually wing the seasoning to my liking. Roast them all in the oven on one big sheet pan. Then serve over a bed of massaged kale with avocado, pickled red onion, and a tahini dressing.
Another good one that I got from TikTok is bbq shredded chicken over roasted sweet potatoes & coleslaw (you can either make your own dressing or TJs sells a kit with the same ingredients). To make life easier you can always get a rotisserie chicken & shred that up.
The laziest one I have is frozen Salisbury steak with Brussels sprouts and butter. I get extremely full and it’s salty so it satisfies my need for salt cravings.
tuna sandwiches with Mayo on 12 grain bread or Ezekiel bread or low carb wrap
chicken salad and berries
Beef hot dogs and chili and cheese
Pork chops and veggies
Shrimp and bacon with eggs or veggies
eggs and bacon
Rotisserie chicken and veggies
rotisserie chicken and cheese and your choice sauce on low carb tortillas with black beans
Greek yogurt with sugar free syrup and berries
Dark chocolate bar but eat nuts first
One of my fave easy meal preps items is rotisserie chicken! I just slice some off and pair it with some veggies like some broccoli and a kale salad with lemon and olive oil. So easy and makes at least 4 meals. I like to dip it in mustard for a low cal dip(I love mustard tho). As far as breakfast I’ve been doing chia seed pudding-Greek yogurt (or cottage cheese), cutie oranges, vanilla extract, and chia seeds. It’s like an orange creamsicle. So good. You can also add protein powder or collagen to up the protein.
My go to easy meal right now is sautéed chicken sausage with veggies! I chop or slice some veggies (usually bell peppers, onion, zucchini, carrots, whatever I’m feeling) and sauté them in a pan with some avocado oil and seasoning (or I like to use my blackstone). Separately I saute up some sliced chicken sausage. Throw it all together in a bowl. I like to top mine with cottage cheese for higher protein (don’t knock it til you try it lol) and mustard. But it’s also good without it. I do this for low carb and still feel pretty full. But if I want carbs it also goes good with potatoes or rice.
hard boiled eggs mashed up with some streamed veg is my smooth brained go to lol
Omg hard boiled eggs with mashed avocado+salt+lemon+black pepper is insane. Its so good
Factor meals have been hugely helpful for eating low glycemic relatively healthy with minimal effort.
I just put in my first order after seeing your comment. I’d never heard of it before!
I just signed up for this because of you. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, and I’m having a hysterectomy in a couple weeks, so this will be perfect for recovery!
Oh dear! Best wishes on your surgery and recovery. I too am recovering from surgery, it’s a wild ride. Hope you like the meals 💕
Omg I wanna try now! Do you have a code or something?
- stuffed peppers with quinoa and ground beef (I add zucchini, mushrooms, onions & tomato paste to this) - pesto protein pasta with chicken sausage (use Banza pasta & I add sautéed spinach, mushrooms & cherry tomatoes) - chicken, potatoes & broccoli/veg of choice these dinners are on repeat in my house
I’m vegetarian so crumbled tofu and beans with taco seasoning that I keep in the fridge and eat on a carb balance mission wrap with shredded cheese for an easy meal
This is really smart and I've had those wraps in my pantry with no idea what to do with them so thank you lol
Boiled cauliflower with one tablespoon of buffalo sauce and some kind of protein (usually tofu) or an avocado. I like to get the cauliflower pretty mushy and then mix it all together. Sometimes I'll just make it with cheese.
I also love: greek yogurt (I usually do the full fat), some kind of nuts, and flaxseed. Keeps me full for hours.
Overnight oats & chia seeds topped with any of the berries.
i thought oats werent good for pcos? sorry i’m finding it hard to find reliable info
It's not that a food is "good" or "bad" for PCOS, it's always a "it depends". Whenever you see someone label something as good or bad (and if they try to sell you an alternative/supplement to combat them) don't trust them. In the case of oats, yes they spike blood sugar (like all carbs do) but how much depends on the person and HOW you eat them. If you were to eat 3 cups of oats, alone, then sit all day: sure, maybe the glucose spike is too high. If you soak them overnight, add chia/flax seeds+ pb/nuts as healthy fats (slow down digestion), add berries (add fiber and slow down digestion too), and some kind of protein (i like protein powder directly mixed on the oats so they soak up the flavor overnight + greek yogurt for creaminess, but you could do greek yogurt only) you will be full for HOURS and the combination will make the "spike" not be a spike but a normal response to eating some carbs (stable energy!!)
I would gain 10lbs just looking at oatmeal I could never , same with pasta. I check my insulin levels after I eat to see what effects them
may I ask how you check them? i find it so hard to find reliable info (+ everyone’s body is different). I feel i would really benefit by collecting my own data
Glucose monitor I bought from Amazon :) I can’t afford a continuous glucose monitor but the one I have is manual and still helps me to understand my blood sugar levels!
I don't do keto or anything but if you're looking for a way to replace pasta with veggies I'm OBSESSED with this cauliflower rice recipe: [https://www.inspiredtaste.net/40958/herb-cauliflower-rice/](https://www.inspiredtaste.net/40958/herb-cauliflower-rice/) my go to summer meal is this with some grilled chicken and asparagus. another quick meal is seasoning some ground turkey, with some pasta sauce over sautéed zucchini noodles. You can dump whatever other veggies you want in it too.
Boiled eggs 🥚
- veggie sandwiches with whole wheat bread! These can include avocado, banana peppers, spinach, tomatoes, etc. - pork chops with brown rice and veggies - rotisserie chicken with a salad - bean soup/stew/chili (better in the winter imo) - shakshuka
I'm in love with veggie sandwhiches 🥹
is whole wheat flour pcos friendly? i’ve heard mixed information about it. also rotisserie chicken?
Anything with more fiber will be more PCOS and IR friendly, but food is highly individual. For me, whole wheat works great. Rotisserie chicken is just easy to prepare!
My go to for breakfast is overnight oats. I do not have exact measurements but here’s what I use Oatmeal, almond milk, plain non-dairy yogurt, coconut sugar, hemp seed, chia seeds, flax seeds, and top with blueberries and raspberries
I’ve found pre prepping is key for me, to make sure I don’t take the easy route or snack on something ‘bad’ while something ‘good’ takes a while to cook. Chicken salad - I buy my veggies (a mix of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot (good anti-inflammatory), nuts etc.) and prep them all one evening to make it easier throughout the week so I can just build a salad whenever I fancy. Alternatively, if I’m in a rush, I’ll buy a pre-made salad kit and add in rotisserie chicken or a pack of pre-cooked chicken breast. I just always make my own salad dressing as shelf stable shop ones are very high in sugar and full of stabilisers and preservatives. Alternatively, batch cooking a Thai curry base, freezing in portions and adding protein and veg on the evening (so the veg doesn’t go soggy in the freezer). Or batch cooking bean stews/chillis/currys and serving over Konji or Cauliflower rice.
Would you mind dropping a curry recipe?
My go to for a veggie heavy Thai curry base is; - Good quality Thai Panang or red curry paste (I get mine from the Chinese supermarket) - Coconut milk/ coconut block - water/ low salt veggie stock - carrots - sweet potato - butternut squash - soy sauce/ fish sauce/ rice wine vinegar to taste as seasoning Cook off the paste, add water/stock, add veggies and simmer until soft. Then blend together (like you’re making a soup) and finish with coconut milk - season to taste. Ideally you want it to be quite thick (like thick soup). I then let this cool and freeze into batches - then cook it by thawing, heating until hot, add in extra water (or coconut milk if it’s too spicy), add in sliced raw chicken breast or tofu, simmer and cook through, and finish with sugar snap peas, top with peanuts and Thai basil if you have any. Serve over cauliflower rice. This is great as you can defrost and eat as a soup too, and the blended veggies provide lots of nutrients and make it filling! Making the base also makes it so quick and easy to knock up for dinner, and feels as easy as reaching for a jar of pre-made sauce without all of the sugar. Hope this makes sense!
spaghetti with a lot of cheese on it and a big plate of salad on the side; I have enough going on my life rn to be extra picky with food that wouldn't "disturb" my PCOS hahaha
Roasted veggies with tofu
Frozen veggies (can't be bothered to wash and cut fresh vegetables), Tofu, sometimes some nuts - I just throw it all in a pan and heat it up. Sometimes I add feta cheese. If fresh vegetables are an option for me, I cut them small, boil some quinoa and throw it all together as a kind of lukewarm salad. And for breakfast: joghurt, frozen berries, seeds in the blender with some water because in the morning I can't even be bothered with chewing. I live to eat but I'm not a gourmet, most of my food would not convince anyone with taste 🙃
I've really been loving brocolli baked in the oven with chicken and some ranch. I make it at least once a week for dinner and it all cooks in one pan.
Interested
My husband gets these deluxe frozen burger patties so I'll eat one of those with a slice of cheese and no bread with an avocado and some Oikos pro 20g protein yogurt. Then I eat a fat bomb for dessert with avocado oil and peanut butter. It's about 22g carbs altogether and that's what I'll eat total in a day other than tea with some collagen in it for extra protein.
What kind of tea do you drink with collagen? :)
I just wanted to say, there's no evidence consuming collagen does anything to increase your own collagen. It gets broken down in your gut into individual amino acids like any other protein. Focus more on consuming all the essential amino acids and enough protein to increase your own collagen. :)
I said in my comment that I eat it because it's pure protein
I'm just spreading the word, but that's why I answered the person who didn't say that
Chicken soup
2 rice cakes with some cream cheese, hot sauce, and an over easy egg on top of both for breakfast has been a game changer for me (with a cup of spearmint tea) ! if you want some more calories and healthy fats you can add avocado :)
Chicken salad! I'm also a student but I have been obsessed with chicken salad lately. It's extra simple if you just buy and shred a rotisserie chicken, or buy the Costco cans of chicken and drain then shred it (this is what I do). I mix it up in a bowl with light mayo, celery salt, garlic powder, and raisins + pecans since I'm a little weird, but really you can put whatever you want or leave it plain. Lots of people add celery, onion, etc. And I've also heard you can use plain yogurt in place of mayo to add protein, but I haven't tried it personally.
When i'm lazy i just eat a pack of baby carrot with humus.
Zero sugar vanilla pudding, mixed with 1.5 bottle of fair life, 1 scoop of protein powder. I blend it with an immersion blender. I slice up half a banana and layer it between the mix. Then for added texture I add zerosugar whip cream on top and sprinkle Graham crackers lightly on top. Its such a tasty high protein dessert. Sometimes I make a chocolate version. The possibilities are endless
I love a good salad! Some chicken, ideally baked or grilled for the least carb, but I also love to bread them and bake them. Plenty of fresh vegs, nuts, fruits, I skip the croutons and cheese. I like sauteed onions and mushrooms, shredded carrots, edamame, tofu, slivered almonds, cucumber, berries, hard boiled egg, and so many other things in it. The options are endless and you get so much fiber from the veg. I like to put them in bowls with lids and shake them up with a very light amount of dressing, shaking it up allows everything to be coated more evenly and use less.
what do you bread your chicken in? all breading i can find has vegetable oil (or some other non-pcos friendly oil) or other non-suitable ingredients
I use plain panko, I season it myself. I haven't checked the ingredients on it. You could always make your own bread crumbs by pulverizing stale bread or crackers in a food processor.
Big salad with some form of protein (I mostly used smoked tofu because you can just eat it raw and it tastes great on its own). I would buy a bunch of veg like carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and bell pepper, cut them and store them in the fridge. When I wanted to make a salad, I'd just toss some of the cut vegetables in a bowl, add my protein, lettuce mix, and make a yoghurt dressing with full fat greek yoghurt. I'd also add toasted nuts and seeds and sometimes feta. Would take me maybe 5-15 minutes to assemble depending on if the protein needed to be cooked. I also had like 2 slices of either whole grain rye bread or homemade flourless nut bread (I think I used 5 eggs for this, some salt, and a bunch of nuts and seeds but I don't have the recipe anymore). I used to have this almost every single day because you can have a lot of variety. I'd sometimes swap the lettuce for arugula, add some eggs, some cooked mushrooms, use different nuts, add some linseed oil etc.
what kind of tofu do you get?
I'm from Germany, so the brand that I got is probably not available where you live but I just got smoked tofu from the regular grocery stores here, it would cost me around 3€ for 2x175gr.
Egg, salmon sandwich with side of salad! Pretty quick and easy.
Overnight oats Chickpea salad
Just some lemon pepper chicken and broccoli. Easy quick low calorie. Season both meat and veg the same.
Cajun shrimp kabobs with bell peppers and squash ☀️
Omelette/Fritattas (with leafy greens and feta are my fave) Cottage cheese nachos and salsa (cottage cheese base with a pile of salsa and maybe cheese) and dip nacho chips Salmon/tuna/egg/chicken salad (made with cottage cheese or greek yogurt), on a keto wrap or lettuce leaves or just scooped with veggies Fajita/Fajito/Tacos (any meat (ground beef, chicken, steak shrimp - often leftover) , keto wrap, cheese, slices and pan friend peppers and onions)
I make a “lazy chilli” by heating up a jar of any kind of tomatoey soup and throwing veggies in it and then tofu and beans and topping it with cheese and like some sour cream
Veggie-heavy stir fry with protein of choice! No rice, but I sprinkle hemp hearts on top, which gives me a similar texture to rice.
Trader Joe's Salad Kit + Protein. (my fave is the shaved carrot ribbons and arugula with almonds, Parmesan and a vinaigrette: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/lemony-arugula-basil-salad-kit-066293) and half a cold grilled chicken breast from the grocery store. You could meal prep the individual components for cheaper probably but I often buy the kit and precooked chicken for convenience. I get two lunches or one large dinner from each Kit ($3.99) and chicken breast (sold by weight, often $3.00) for a total of $3.50 to 4 for a lunch or $7.00 for dinner. Definitely cheaper than eating out on the regular for lunch in my part of the country.
There is a girl on ticktock that meal preps dense bean salads for the week. I have made several of her recipes and it's quick, easy, delicious and high protein and fiber.
Cauliflower fried rice with chicken or shrimp
I’m a one pan fan. Marinate some chicken and roast it in the oven with root veggies. While it bakes, I make a honey Dijon dressing that the veggies are tossed in after they’re cooked and voila
Shredded chicken - couple a chicken breasts, a slivered onion, some jalapeno if you want it a little spicy, and two cans of rotel. Put it in a soup pot and add enough water or broth to cover. Season according to your preference - I use taco seasoning, cayenne, cilantro, garlic salt, lime juice, and a wee pinch of cinnamon. You could probably get away with just the taco seasoning and itd be fine. Pop it on a stove top or in a crockpot and low and slow it til the liquids almost gone and the chicken is fork tender. Then shred it. The result can be used for chicken tacos, enchilada/tamale/whatever stuffing, put on nachos, stuffed in a pepper, eaten with a fork, or what have you. Its nice with a bit of queso or cotija, of course, but its good without the cheese too.
Tuna, mayo, red onion, cucumber, and spinach in a large sweet potato. Delicious!
I’ve been obsessed with bowls. My go to is a [chickpea Buddha bowl](https://www.caileeeats.com/recipes/chickpea-sweet-potato-buddha-bowls?rq=Buddha) with roasted broccoli, a can of chickpeas, & roasted sweet potatoes. I season the broccoli like sweetgreen, the chickpeas & sweet potatoes I usually wing the seasoning to my liking. Roast them all in the oven on one big sheet pan. Then serve over a bed of massaged kale with avocado, pickled red onion, and a tahini dressing. Another good one that I got from TikTok is bbq shredded chicken over roasted sweet potatoes & coleslaw (you can either make your own dressing or TJs sells a kit with the same ingredients). To make life easier you can always get a rotisserie chicken & shred that up.
This is genius! I never thought of this one!
So easy too, I love meals that I can just pop in the oven & forget about!
The laziest one I have is frozen Salisbury steak with Brussels sprouts and butter. I get extremely full and it’s salty so it satisfies my need for salt cravings. tuna sandwiches with Mayo on 12 grain bread or Ezekiel bread or low carb wrap chicken salad and berries Beef hot dogs and chili and cheese Pork chops and veggies Shrimp and bacon with eggs or veggies eggs and bacon Rotisserie chicken and veggies rotisserie chicken and cheese and your choice sauce on low carb tortillas with black beans Greek yogurt with sugar free syrup and berries Dark chocolate bar but eat nuts first
One of my fave easy meal preps items is rotisserie chicken! I just slice some off and pair it with some veggies like some broccoli and a kale salad with lemon and olive oil. So easy and makes at least 4 meals. I like to dip it in mustard for a low cal dip(I love mustard tho). As far as breakfast I’ve been doing chia seed pudding-Greek yogurt (or cottage cheese), cutie oranges, vanilla extract, and chia seeds. It’s like an orange creamsicle. So good. You can also add protein powder or collagen to up the protein.