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  4. Meal Prep Recipes to Help You Lose Weight

Meal Prep Recipes to Help You Lose Weight

Lisa Valente
Lisa Valente, M.S., RD Updated September 19, 2022
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a blue bowl full of chicken and vegetables and a smaller bowl with dressing

Meal prep can help you lose weight by setting you up for success. When you have a healthy plan in place you're less likely to grab take-out and processed foods on the run. Here are EatingWell's best meal-prep recipes for weight loss that are rich in veggies, fruits, whole grains, healthy protein and fat to help you reach your weight loss goals in a healthy way.

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Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing

a blue bowl full of chicken and vegetables and a smaller bowl with dressing
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For this healthy 30-minute dinner, treat your veggies like pasta and cook until al dente, or just done. If you have a little extra time, double or triple the lemon-tahini dressing and use it to quickly dress a salad or as a sauce for steak or shrimp.

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Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower Rice

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This easy-to-make and meal-prep burrito bowl is even better than takeout! You'll never miss the carbs in this protein-packed, super-flavorful meal that replaces the cilantro-lime rice with cauliflower rice. We love this with chicken but it would be just as delicious with shrimp.

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Spicy Slaw Bowls with Shrimp & Edamame

Spicy Slaw Bowls with Shrimp & Edamame
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The quick 10-minute Spicy Cabbage Slaw serves as the low-carb base in this veggie-packed lunch recipe. Topped with high-protein edamame and shrimp, this satisfying lunch will help you power through the afternoon.

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Meal-Prep Roasted Vegetable Bowls with Pesto

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Your co-workers will be jealous when you pull out this healthy lunch of roasted veggies and brown rice. Put together 4 lunches when you have time and you will have packable lunches (or ready-to-eat dinners) for several days--just grab a container on your way out the door in the morning.

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Creamy Blueberry-Pecan Overnight Oatmeal

Creamy Blueberry-Pecan Overnight Oatmeal
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In this no-cook overnight oatmeal recipe, just quickly reheat the oats in the morning and top with berries, maple syrup and pecans for an easy, on-the-go breakfast.

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Peanut Butter Protein Overnight Oats

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Powdered peanut butter is a handy pantry staple that makes a great vegan protein booster for oatmeal and smoothies. Double or triple this recipe to meal-prep breakfasts for the week or to have breakfast ready for the entire family.

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Edamame & Veggie Rice Bowl

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The ingredients in this vegan grain bowl recipe can be prepped ahead for an easy lunch to pack for work. The tangy citrus dressing is a refreshing flavor with the sweet caramel of the roasted sheet-pan veggies.

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Meal-Prep Falafel Bowls with Tahini Sauce

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These quick Mediterranean-inspired couscous bowls come together in 20 minutes thanks to healthy convenience items like frozen falafel and steam-in-bag fresh green beans. Whisk together the simple tahini sauce while the other ingredients cook.

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Colorful Roasted Sheet-Pan Veggies

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These easy roasted vegetables will give your plate a pop of color. Give the cubes of butternut squash a head start for 10 minutes to soften in the oven before adding in the other veggies. The broccoli, peppers and onion are naturally more tender than the butternut squash and cook more quickly. That way everything ends up finishing at the same time.

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Meal-Prep Cilantro-Lime Chicken Bowls

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Prep all four servings of this easy recipe at once for ready-to-eat dinners or packable lunches for the rest of the week. If you don't like a lot of heat, try using mild chili powder, and leave out the jalapeño from the rice.

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Meal-Prep Curried Chicken & Chili-Lime Chicken

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Save time and maximize your efforts by mixing up two separate chicken marinades and cooking multiple recipes at once. This simple but flavorful meal-prep chicken dinner idea lets you cook ahead and not be bored with your choices by mid-week. Both recipes are roasted together on a baking sheet; a foil barrier keeps them separate. Make this base chicken recipe and use it to create the Meal-Prep Chili-Lime Chicken Bowls & Meal-Prep Curried Chicken Bowls (see associated recipes) for lunch or dinner this week.

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Easy Brown Rice

Easy Brown Rice
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Here's the only recipe you need to make perfect brown rice every time! This healthy whole grain is great on its own as a side dish, or use it in your favorite recipes calling for cooked brown rice.

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Creamy Vegan Cashew Sauce

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You'll never guess this creamy sauce is completely vegan, and actually made from pureed cashews. To keep it gluten-free, use tamari.

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Make-Ahead Smoothie Freezer Packs

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Smoothies are a great healthy breakfast for kids, but busy parents know there's no time for all that chopping and measuring in the morning rush. Make these easy DIY smoothie packs ahead of time and stash them in your freezer until you're ready to whir up a fruit-filled meal or snack kids will love. This makes enough for a workweek's worth of smoothies!

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Soy-Lime Roasted Tofu

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Here we marinate tofu cubes in soy sauce and lime juice with a touch of toasted sesame oil, then roast them--perfect tofu every time.

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Vegan Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Vegan Freezer Breakfast Burritos
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Having a stash of flavorful bean burritos in your freezer means you'll always have a satisfying plant-based meal ready for a grab-and-go breakfast on a busy morning or to take to the campsite for an easy campfire meal. Our vegan breakfast filling--made with tofu and prepared to mimic scrambled eggs--is tossed with beans, veggies and salsa for a delicious and ultra-satisfying meal.

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Sheet-Pan Roasted Root Vegetables

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One pan is all you need for a heaping pile of nutritious, tender and colorful root vegetables. Whip up this large-batch recipe at the beginning of the week to use in easy, healthy dinners all week long.

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Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding

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Switch up your morning oatmeal routine with this so-easy chia pudding recipe. It's made just like overnight oats--combine chia and your milk of choice, let soak overnight, then top with juicy blueberries and crunchy almonds and dig in!

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Basic Quinoa

Basic Quinoa
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This foolproof recipe for perfectly cooked quinoa is fast and easy! Use cooked quinoa as a simple healthy side dish, in a salad or as a base for a delicious main dish.

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Chopped Cobb Salad

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This single-serving recipe for Cobb salad swaps chicken in for bacon, which makes it a great source of protein for lunch. If you prefer another salad dressing, feel free to use that instead of our honey-mustard vinaigrette.

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Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce

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In a vegan riff on green goddess dressing, cashews provide a creamy base with tons of flavor from herbs and apple-cider vinegar. Drizzle it all over this bowl of quinoa and roasted vegetables to make a satisfying vegan dinner or easy packable lunch that is ready in just 30 minutes.

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Muffin-Tin Quiches with Smoked Cheddar & Potato

Muffin-Tin Quiches with Smoked Cheddar & Potato
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Potatoes, cheese and greens make this mini quiche recipe delicious and satisfying. Bake up a batch over the weekend and you'll have breakfast available in a hurry for the rest of the week.

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Apple Cinnamon Chia Pudding

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Switch up your morning oatmeal routine with this so-easy chia pudding recipe. It's made just like overnight oats: combine chia and your milk of choice, let soak overnight, then top with the classic flavor combo of apples and cinnamon, with pecans for added crunch.

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Meal-Prep Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs

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Cook up six servings of chicken at once with this quick and easy meal-prep recipe: you'll have recipe-ready cooked chicken in the fridge for throw-together lunches and dinners throughout the week. This simple sheet-pan chicken thigh recipe gets an easy burst of flavor from dried oregano and a clove of garlic.

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Quinoa & Chia Oatmeal Mix

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Make your own hot cereal mix with this healthy recipe. Keep it on hand and just cook up the amount you need when you're ready for a hot breakfast. One serving of the warm cereal contains 6 grams of fiber--almost a quarter of your daily quota-which helps stave off hunger throughout the morning.

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Chickpea & Quinoa Grain Bowl

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It seems grain bowls have as many variations as there are stars in the sky, and there is no wrong way to build one! But we prefer to keep things classic and simple with hummus, quinoa, avocado and loads of veggies!

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Meal-Prep Chili-Lime Chicken Bowls

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Skip takeout and whip up these equally delicious, and easy-to-make burrito bowls at home. They're great for a fast and easy dinner or as meal-prep lunches to pack for work throughout the week.

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Roasted Root Veggies & Greens over Spiced Lentils

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This earthy bowl of lentils bursting with Middle Eastern flavors is topped with leftover roasted root veggies from a large batch for an easy weeknight dinner. Keep it vegan or add a drizzle of plain yogurt for extra richness.

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Sheet-Pan Eggs with Spinach & Ham

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Making a big batch of eggs has never been easier with this one-pan oven-baked eggs recipe. Whether you are making brunch for a crowd or just want to meal-prep healthy breakfasts for the week, you'll have 12 servings ready in just 45 minutes.

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By Lisa Valente, M.S., RD

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    1 of 29 Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing
    2 of 29 Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower Rice
    3 of 29 Spicy Slaw Bowls with Shrimp & Edamame
    4 of 29 Meal-Prep Roasted Vegetable Bowls with Pesto
    5 of 29 Creamy Blueberry-Pecan Overnight Oatmeal
    6 of 29 Peanut Butter Protein Overnight Oats
    7 of 29 Edamame & Veggie Rice Bowl
    8 of 29 Meal-Prep Falafel Bowls with Tahini Sauce
    9 of 29 Colorful Roasted Sheet-Pan Veggies
    10 of 29 Meal-Prep Cilantro-Lime Chicken Bowls
    11 of 29 Meal-Prep Curried Chicken & Chili-Lime Chicken
    12 of 29 Easy Brown Rice
    13 of 29 Creamy Vegan Cashew Sauce
    14 of 29 Make-Ahead Smoothie Freezer Packs
    15 of 29 Soy-Lime Roasted Tofu
    16 of 29 Vegan Freezer Breakfast Burritos
    17 of 29 Sheet-Pan Roasted Root Vegetables
    18 of 29 Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding
    19 of 29 Basic Quinoa
    20 of 29 Chopped Cobb Salad
    21 of 29 Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce
    22 of 29 Muffin-Tin Quiches with Smoked Cheddar & Potato
    23 of 29 Apple Cinnamon Chia Pudding
    24 of 29 Meal-Prep Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs
    25 of 29 Quinoa & Chia Oatmeal Mix
    26 of 29 Chickpea & Quinoa Grain Bowl
    27 of 29 Meal-Prep Chili-Lime Chicken Bowls
    28 of 29 Roasted Root Veggies & Greens over Spiced Lentils
    29 of 29 Sheet-Pan Eggs with Spinach & Ham

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